Drink

A Bar with Shapes for a NameLondon, England

No, we’re not trying to be funny. This Bauhaus-inspired London hotspot actually has shapes for a name: a yellow triangle, a red square and a blue circle.

There’s not a single word on the bar’s exterior to help tell it apart from the dry cleaners on its left and the public library on its right and it’s that creative mystery that sees A Bar with Shapes for a Name (or Shapes for short) sitting at number 61 on The World’s 50 Best Bars extended list.

Its love for primary colours aside, this bar’s focus on all things functionalist and minimalistic makes it a pretty cool spot to hang out – think long communal style seating, a stripped-back studio-esque design and only 20 bottles that make up the bar’s 12 cocktails on offer.

Out of those 12, there’s a few must-drinks. The ‘Pastel’ is an obvious choice thanks to its carbonation, vodka base and complex flavours of lime, rhubarb and raspberry but if gin’s more your thing, try the ‘Loop Light’. A nod to the bar’s artistic roots, this cocktail has only three ingredients (gin, citra hops and pipacha oolong tea) and is dangerously easy to drink.

You know what else is dangerous? The prices. The cocktails range between 8 – 12 pounds, and when you couple that with the bar’s closing time of 4 am, you might find that you and your bank account aren’t on speaking terms when the sun comes up.

Amaro in London’s west and Viajante87 in Notting Hill also make the annual list, sitting at 90 and 99 respectively, so who’s up for after-work drinks?

A Bar with Shapes for a Name is open 7 days a week and takes reservations from 5 pm to 10 pm. After that, only walk-ins are accepted ’till this late-night hotspot closes at 4 am.

Tags: bar, drink, england, london

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