Public service announcement: London’s bars need you. Yes, you mister/missus/mx cocktail lover. It’s no good thinking that you’ll do your bit once this Covid-19 malarkey is under control. The truth is if we don’t get out there to support our bars and restaurants right here, right now, there’s a good chance they won’t be around when we eventually come out the other side. Harsh we know, but sometimes you’ve gotta tell it like it is. Which is why this year’s London Cocktail Week running from 1-31 October couldn’t be better timed.
Like everything in 2020, the format has changed. In a good way in this instance… Instead of a week of activity and £6 libations, this year’s celebration of cocktail creativity will run for an entire month. Cool no? The other big change is that in place of the usual Cocktail Village in Spitalfields Market all of the activity will be focused in London’s bars. As it should be.
There are 230 or so in all, covering all points of the capital’s compass. Choose from your swanky five-star hotels (including Scarfes Bar at The Rosewood, Artesian at The Langham and The Donovan Bar at Brown’s Hotel); award-winners (taking in Swift, Kwant, Callooh Callay and Lyaness at Sea Containers London among the line-up); and good time bars (like London Cocktail Club, Trailer Happiness and Swingers); as well as more experimental offerings (such as Scout, Tayer + Elementary and the Experimental Cocktail Club).
Rest assured, all of them have ensured that everything is as kushti as possible. That means social distancing is in place, hand sanitiser is at the ready and face covering worn by the bar teams is now the norm. But you have to do your bit too. Including:
- No socialising in groups of more than six (including you)
- The wearing of face masks when you’re moving around the venue
- Washing/sanitising your hands on a regular basis (standard, surely?)
- Giving in your contact details for Track and Trace purposes
- No standing at the bar
And don’t let a 10pm curfew put you off. With a month chock-full of innovative bargain-priced cocktails and ingenious brand activations planned, there’s plenty of time to check out all of your favourites and discover a few new ones as well.
We’ll be bringing you our picks from the packed calendar of events, including bars serving non-alcoholic offerings for anyone doing Sober October. But first things first, sign up for your £15 wristband which gives you access to £6 cocktails in all of the participating venues (£9 if you fancy pimping things up with a cocktail with a Moët Champagne base). Sign up here. And there are treats in store for those in the hospitality industry too. Register for your free wristband here.
For more information see londoncocktailweek.com
#LondonCocktailWeek2020
