Top Fives: Cocktail bars

So you don't fancy another night on the boring old beer or weary old wine. You want

1. The Lab

Not to include The Lab in a 'best cocktail bar' list would be a criminal oversight: three years old and still unrivalled when it comes to sheer choice and value for money, the resident mixologists enjoy creating the drinks almost as much as we enjoy consuming them.
12 Old Compton Street W1. Tel: 020 7437 7820. Tube: Leicester Square

2. Ling Ling at Hakkasan

The dark woodbedecked Christian Liagre-designed bar is about as beautiful as they come. But it's not all about the aesthetics: the Dick Bradsell-devised menu is impeccable, and lycheebased house confection, The Hakka, is a legend among long drinks.
8 Hanway Place W1. Tel: 020 7907 1888. Tube: Tottenham Court Road

3. Claridge's

A David Collins-designed delight, the recently revamped bar is well worth an attempt at circumventing Claridge's door staff. Go for a classic (or seven) and experience a level of staff solicitude other establishments would do well to emulate.
55 Brook Street W1. Tel: 020 7629 8860. Tube: Bond Street

4. The Purple Bar at Sanderson

Our wallets ache at the very mention of Ian Schrager's most exclusive of enclaves: but, much as it pains us to admit, the luscious 10oz martinis are worth every penny. Re-mortgaging is so this season, anyway.
Sanderson, 50 Berners Street W1. Tel: 020 7300 9500. Tube: Oxford Circus

5. The Blue Bar

One of Madge's favourite watering holes, the David Collins-designed annexe of The Berkeley Hotel seduces patrons with gimmick-free revisions of old favourites: think strawberry and cream martinis and ginger cosmopolitans. A stunner in every sense.
The Berkeley, Wilton Place SW1. Tel: 020 7235 6000. Tube: Hyde Park Corner