Quo Vadis Club

(Photo courtesy of Quo Vadis Club)

This members-only club in a former home of Karl Marx is on two floors above the excellent British-food destination Quo Vadis. It offers a pool room, a martini trolley and a bartender who creates drinks based upon a patron’s favorite spirit and cocktail ingredients. quovadissoho.co.uk

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Callooh Callay

(Photo courtesy of Callooh Callay)

Named after a line in the nonsense verse poem “Jabberwocky,” by Lewis Carroll, this superhip spot has cocktails that would make the Mad Hatter rethink his predilection for tea. The oddball menu includes the Marmageddon, a cocktail made with tequila, fresh lime juice and beer that’s garnished with a savory swipe of the polarizing British condiment Marmite. In addition to a bar and lounge with wacky decor, the pub has a members-only area called the JubJub that changes its cocktail selection weekly. calloohcallaybar.com

Artesian

(Photo courtesy of Artesian)

Located in the posh Langham Hotel, this gorgeously opulent bar serves inventive cocktails like the playful Pina Colada Koko Aleko Summer Groove, made in a slushy machine with fresh pineapple, coconut and a float of Prosecco. The bar has more than 50 rums but also highlights other spirits, in drinks like the fluorescent, absurdly named Blue Lagoon Jerry Shretstha Bubble POP Feat Evinka K, a summery gin and blue Curaçao cocktail with tapioca pearls. artesian-bar.co.uk

Experimental Cocktail Club

(Photo courtesy of Experimental Cocktail Club.)

In 2006 Romee De Goriainoff abandoned a career in finance to open the Experimental Cocktail Club, which brought creative mixology to the previously staid Parisian cocktail scene. In 2010 he debuted this London outpost housed in an intimate, low-lit Georgian townhouse in Chinatown, outfitted with mirrored ceilings and velvet and leather armchairs. The complex, inventive cocktails range from the St.-Germain-des-Prés (Hendrick’s gin, elderflower liqueur, egg white, chile, lime and cucumber) to mysterious premixed cocktails that arrive in a brown apothecary bottle meant to be poured tableside. experimentalcocktailclublondon.com

Montgomery Place

(Photo courtesy of Montgomery Place)

This softly lit speakeasy offers a Rat Pack vibe and terrific old-school drinks. montgomeryplace.co.uk

To see the rest of London's Coolest Bars, visit FoodandWine.com.