Polo Bar

Tucked into the ground floor of the Westbury Hotel on the corner of Conduit Street, the Polo Bar takes its cues from Art Deco New York rather than anything overtly equestrian despite the name, with Swarovski crystal fittings and Fendi-designed detailing giving the small room a compact, jewel-box glamour that punches well above its actual footprint.

The cocktail list is built around a set of house signatures, drinks like the Mayfair Gold, a mix of gin, lychee and elderflower topped with rosé Champagne, that lean sweet and celebratory rather than spirit-forward, alongside a broader classics list for anyone who wants something drier and more restrained to start the evening. Seating is a mix of low leather banquettes and stools at the bar itself, both of which fill up fast once the after-work crowd arrives. A pianist plays most evenings, adding to the sense that this is a bar built for occasions rather than a quick weekday pint.

It has picked up recognition over the years from London bar award circuits, including past Best Hotel Bar honours, and while awards from a decade ago are no guarantee of current form on their own, the room and service standard have stayed consistent enough on recent visits that the reputation still broadly holds up. Bar snacks run to olives, nuts and a short charcuterie selection rather than a full food menu, which keeps the focus squarely on the drinks list.

Being attached to a five-star hotel on a smart Mayfair corner, it draws a mix of hotel guests passing through, pre-dinner drinkers heading elsewhere in the area, and a steady after-work crowd from nearby offices, which keeps the small space reliably busy most evenings of the week.

The honest caveat: the room is genuinely small, so it fills quickly and can mean standing rather than a seat once evening trade properly picks up, and cocktail prices sit at the higher end of what a Mayfair hotel bar typically charges, which is worth factoring in before settling in for a long session rather than one or two drinks.