Artesian

Artesian occupies the ground floor of The Langham, London, the grande dame that has stood at the head of Regent Street since 1865. Named after the 360-foot artesian well sunk beneath the hotel, it is the bar that put London back at the front of the cocktail conversation, taking the title of World's Best Bar four years running from 2012 to 2015. The room, by David Collins Studio, is unmistakable: a mirror-inlaid back bar rising like a lacquered pagoda, oversized hand-worked chandeliers, walls of jewelled glass, and the deep purple leather that has become the bar's signature. It reads as theatre without ever tipping into spectacle.

For a private event the whole bar takes over as one exclusive space, seating around 45 for dinner and holding up to 80 for a standing reception. The kitchen sends a full food menu alongside the cocktails, so an evening can run from a seated dinner into a late reception under the chandeliers, and the bar trades until 1am on Thursday to Saturday behind a smart-casual door.

Under head bartender Giulia Cuccurullo the list has kept its appetite for invention, most recently through the ingredient-led Ultimo menu. Artesian sits within The Langham and can be arranged as a private hire through the house.