Medbar Southampton

You'll find this sprawling cocktail spot right on Oxford Street, where the drinks are as ambitious as the opening hours. The bartenders here don't mess about – they're proper cocktail nerds who'll talk you through their latest creation with genuine enthusiasm, whether you're after a perfect negroni or something more adventurous from their Med-inspired menu. The space feels like it's been designed for proper sessions, with enough room to breathe even when it gets busy (which it does, especially at weekends). They've nailed that sweet spot between somewhere you can have a civilised early evening drink and somewhere you'll end up at 1am wondering where the night went. At around £8-10 a cocktail, it's not cheap, but the quality justifies the price tag.