The Distillery Bar

You'll find this place tucked away on Great Suffolk Street in Southwark, just the right distance from the Tate Modern madness but close enough that you can slip in after a gallery trip without feeling like you've abandoned the neighbourhood. The Distillery Bar does that rare thing of being serious about cocktails without taking itself too seriously—the sort of spot where you're as likely to see someone in paint-splattered jeans as someone in a suit, and nobody's performing for Instagram. The drinks are properly made, the staff actually know their stuff, and there's a real sense that people come back here because they genuinely want to, not because it's on some list.