Rules Cocktail Bar

Warning, if you visit this hidden away bar you will be transported back in time — which is amazing! From the moment you make your way up the carpeted stairs you get a sense that you are heading towards the Victorian era and once you actually enter the room — wow!
Elegant, relaxed and plush red seating is the theme here, coupled with the great table service, this place is certainly the place to be for those wanting to escape the loud bars of London. They have 10 cocktails on their menu but the mixologists will also make traditional cocktails too. The cocktails cost about £14, but this place is worth checking out if you want something a bit different.

Not Colin Fields, but certainly a solid cocktail. Yes, most certainly.
Enjoyed Sipsmith’s small batch gin, stirred with a splash of vermouth and a generous twist. Nicely done

Lovely respite from the world, great cocktails, friendly, interesting and measured bartender… Great place for relaxing, drinking and chatting with 1 or two friends of similar motivations. Wild bar its not…

As part of the ancient Rules Restaurant Rules Cocktail bar is quaint accompaniment. The traditional interior carries over into the bar where soft lighting, rich woods along with red and leather have you feeling like you are in an elegant and cozy space. They flaunt a varied cocktail list with both traditional drinks as well as those acknowledging newer times– like the Kate Middleton. Overall, the bar leaves you feeling a bit special and exclusive.

Classic cocktails and classic cocktail bars are back in fashion so why not head to one of the London’s oldest restaurants for a throwback experience. Located upstairs above the famous restaurant, the cocktail bar has more of the same dark paneled, country estate library décor to it with suited waiters and attentive service. The space itself is bit small and can get busy later on, but can be quite nice early afternoon for catch up drinks with a friend. Elegant and comfortable, with a bar area as well as table seating, it is well suited for relaxed cold winter nights. The bartender does know his stuff and prepared a classic martini with pride and perfection. All very British indeed.

I could see myself having a 5 star experience here. 4 stars for now, until I return…
Rules is a great little semi-​hidden spot with a very intimate, comfortable yet upscale feel. Unmarked door with a very dressed up but very friendly doorman.
Had the Tec 9, really interesting and unique flavors. Delicious frothy top, strong espresso taste but different somehow without any distinct tequila flavor. Their bartenders really know their stuff. Comfy chairs and low lighting (but not too low) add to the atmosphere. Mixed nuts with your drink.
In addition to the «short list» of specialty cocktails the waitress assured me they also make «classic cocktails». Good wine and spirits menu, nice selection of single malts. Definitely excited to return!

Rules is the highest caliber of cocktail bar, taking its inspiration from the old-​fashioned smoking rooms, and infusing it with slightly brighter lighting and brilliantly mixed drinks. The only thing that prevents this from becoming a five-​star review is the price, since I know that many places in the Covent Garden area can do amazing things and not take £13/​$ 20 for it.
Nonetheless, ascend the stairs through the entrance held open by a top-​hat bedecked doorman, slide into one of the leather chairs or snuggle into a loveseat, and sip liquid bliss. I had the tequila espresso cocktail, which was interesting and flavorful. Everything on the menu looked amazing, though my budget precluded my enjoyment of them.
This happened to be a stop for tequila Tuesday, a little bit of a diversion from the normal evening. I’d highly recommend an entire evening to enjoy all of the atmosphere and personality of Rules. On a night where there’s a fair amount of other people enjoying the same thing, I imagine it’s easy to slip back into the olden days and reminisce for old England.

My husband and I visited Rules on a Sunday evening. Unlike prior reviews, the doorman was quite pleasant and even cracked a few jokes as he swiped his «hotel key card» against the car reader on the door to let us into the upstairs cocktail bar. I must note that it was kind of strange to be greeted by an official looking doorman to enter a bar, however.
Once inside, we sat at a high top table near the bar. We had good service, however, there were only two other tables seated in the bar and I felt the turnaround for drinks was VERY slow. I can’t imagine what the turnaround time would be if the place had been at capacity. This is somewhat expected in any cocktail bar where great care is taken to making drinks but somewhat annoying at the same time.
I think it is safe to say that the other patrons were tourists as they were dressed in trainers (aka tennis shoes) and clothing which would allow them to be comfortable whilst running around the city all day long. The décor is very old fashioned but don’t let that put you off because the cocktails are fancy and tasty! And the cocktails probably have a fancy price but I wouldn’t know because we ordered off menu and I didn’t get a chance to see our bill.
One thing I do know is that I could sit in Rules all day long sipping down their cocktails but I’d probably have to declare bankruptcy thereafter. Mmmm.

Oh Rules, how quintessentially British you are…
This is supposedly the oldest restaurant in England, and that doesn’t surprise me one bit. Rules is so British that I bet the Queen herself feels insecure walking in here. As others mention, there’s the cocktail bar up the stairs and then there’s the stuffy restaurant below. I’ve been to both and had a grand ol’ British time. The doorman looks like he should be at Harrods and is sure to do a once over to make sure you don’t look like a peasant upon strolling up to the place. If you make it past him, you’re greeted by a maitre’d who isn’t as stuffy & full of himself as you’d expect.
The cocktail lounge upstairs serves traditional cocktails in fancy crystal and charges you a proper fortune to imbibe one, but it is, as others have pointed out, sort of a blast from the past as you easily feel transported to a time when you could see proper English gents in top hats smoking & sipping on something fancy.
Dinner is a rather formal affair and the lengthy menu offers no shortage of traditional English cuisine, specifically game meats that most North Americans have never even seen on a menu. Hell, they’ve even got a disclaimer on their menu that warns patrons that some game & fowl may contain trace amounts of bullets, so be careful! That was cool… Fortunately for me, my mains didn’t contain any bullets and I was able to just savor it all.
I’ve eaten here on a few occasions with work colleagues and enjoyed myself each time. Although I can’t remember now what I ate while there, and I don’t recall ever walking out being completely blown away by the food, the experience itself is something I believe any visitor to London should indulge in. It’s pricey, it’s old, it’s stuffy, but it’s got British charm like no other restaurant in town and that makes it well worth it, at least once. Just be sure you do yourself a favor and make a reservation well in advance, as walk-​ins are literally unheard of here.

Don’t go to this cocktail bar.
Don’t wander around Soho for an hour attempting to force your 5-​strong group into packed, inferior joints filled with raucous businessmen, tipsy Sloanes and haughty barstaff before giving up and heading to the Strand on the off-​chance that Rules might have a space.
Don’t huddle under the creaky awning to avoid the December drizzle and peer longingly into the ancient restaurant’s warm, inviting interior.
Don’t take the secret staircase next door and pass into a wood-​panelled haven of ye olde English charm, bedecked with ageless paintings, padded armchairs, velvet sofas and gently alive with charming waiters who attend your every whim without the slightest ounce of contempt or arrogance.
Don’t partake of an exquisite cocktail, expertly mixed at the bar, poured with perfect precision into a pre-​iced glass before your very eyes, garnished appropriately, and left to linger on its sterling silver coaster as the aromas gently tickle your nose.
Don’t balk at the £14 prices. (Ok, do that). Don’t take a sip and suddenly appreciate why such a ransom is fully justified.
Don’t spend the entire evening nursing a single drink without once being made to feel as if you are wasting everybody’s time and space upon this paltry planet.
Don’t do any of this. Because if you do, it won’t be nearly so special. Nobody should discover the secret. I only want it for myself.
Go away.

This place could easily have fallen into the 2 star category. The prices are high (£13.50 minimum for a signature cocktail), the entrance is hidden, there’s a dressed up dude guarding the door; all elements of a douchey night out. However, instead of taking itself too seriously this place rises above it and provides excellent service with an excellent product creating an excellent experience.
The dressed up doorman was super friendly and welcoming. The hostess was equally warm and inviting. Our service, though a tad slow, was friendly and helpful. The drink came out in a glass the size of a small bucket (I almost needed two hands to hold it). The room felt like an ‘old money’ posh living room, super comfortable and elegant but not overdone or trying too hard.
I could easily have felt overcharged for my night out (especially since a service charge was added to our bill) but instead I left in good spirits and feeling charmed by the whole experience. Although this isn’t an ‘after work cocktail’ type place it is a ‘special occasion cocktail’ place and if I ever need to have one of those I know where I’ll be going.

Allow me to be the contrarian voice concerning the Rules. The Rules is not for everyone. Before you enter the cocktail bar, you need to deal with the antiquated doorman whose look of utter contempt upon me and my friend entering the bar certainly did not set me at ease. It was a simple question, really. I wanted to assure I was at the right place because the Rules Cocktail Bar is actually separated from the restaurant, unmarked, and requires you to kind of «know» it’s there. To those who call this classy and elegant, I would offer this is the very definition of pretentious. McKayla is not impressed, and neither am I.
What is more impressive is the beauty of the actual lounge on the second floor. The seats are lush and comfortable, the décor classic and heavy without being gaudy or showy. The drink menu is for the most part minimalist and focuses on quality liquors and rather classic preparations. If you are looking for a more modern take on cocktails, this is not the bar for you. Maybe try ECC although I have a hard time recommending that experience to anyone.
The crowd assembled here generally skews towards the 30 – 40 range. This probably should not be too surprising given the décor, the pretentious vibe of the place, and the relative expense of the drinks.
The Rules really reminded me of the Gibson back home in DC except that the execution of drinks at the Rules is superior. However, there is unnecessary attitude and an overrated cocktail menu (the cocktails at Dishoom and Zenna are superior, and the former isn’t even a cocktail bar) which unfortunately create some resemblance of a mirror image. Meatloaf was wrong. Sometimes, 2 out of 3 really is bad.

Rules is a place out of time — and that’s just how they like it.
I had heard of Rules Restaurant (legendarily, the oldest restaurant in England), but I had no idea they had a cocktail bar tucked away to one side. In fact, there is a separate staircase you climb to get up to this small, intimate, English bar.
I mention that it is an English bar because it is, in fact, probably the most English bar I have ever been too. It feels like stepping back in time and you may find Charles Dickens sitting at one of these dark wooden tables, surrounded by antlers of animals killed on the walls, faded floral pattered carpet on the floor and a staff behind the bar dressed up to the nines. I wouldn’t sit with Mr. Dickens though, as this is not a bar for spontaneous socializing. This is a bar for conversation with friends or contemplation by yourself.
There must have been no more than six people in the entire bar when we arrived on a Friday evening and I was told that it was always like this.
The cocktails are, of course, where this place really shines. They have a menu of wonderful creations, many of them you won’t find anywhere else in London (either variations on classic drinks like a dark and stormy or Bloody Mary or new ones that they have created.) Or you can just tell the bartender what kind of spirit and what kind of drink you are craving and they will make you something fresh, new, and fantastic.
The drinks — expensive. You’re going to pay anywhere from £12 to £15 a pop. But to know this little hideaway, and enjoy it, makes it worth it for sure.

Alright, I guess I’m outing myself as being boring, but I really dislike hip & trendy places where it’s all about seeing and been seen.
This place, Rules Cocktailbar, is one of the least pretentious places I’ve come alon in a long time. In fact, it feels like this place kind of got stuck at the beginning of this century… with it’s formal and old-​fashioned wait staff, the antiquated decoration and the absence of any kind of music.
I’ve been here a couple times now, and both times I especially enjoyed the fact that this place is quiet and that you can have a wonderfully intimate conversation without having to shout at each other. (Try that at the bar of the W Hotel!) Plus, the waiters here are super well-​trained, very forthcoming and extremely polite. Yes, they’ve definitely undergone some good schooling and having worked in the 5-​star luxury business for a long time, I appreciate this immensely.

It’s official. I am old
After a beautiful afternoon tea at the Lanesborough Hotel with the ladies, we decided to pop into Covent Garden for a quick drink. We walked to Porterhouse but once inside it smelt like beer and sweat (the football was on) and was far too crowded. We walked back out. We walked into Jewel across the road but the music was so loud and thumpy we couldn’t hear ourselves think and the clientele just seemed so young and dolled up. We walked back out.
Third time lucky, we walked along to Rules and enquired about seating in the cocktail bar upstairs. Yes, of course they could accommodate us, please go on up… !
JB shouting «Hi Nan!» as we ascended the stairs to the cocktail bar really did sum up the décor — like being in your grandma’s house. That is if your grandma were a rich, British aristocratic type.
Being London’s oldest restaurant (I’m unsure about the bar), they had really hammed up the Diamond Jubilee theme with Union Jack cushions featuring the British bulldog, jubilee flags and banners and royal-​inspired cocktails.
We didn’t buy into it and opted instead for a lovely bottle of white before settling into the plush chairs and enjoying the ‘front room’ ambience. Oh it was lovely — quiet and civilised.
So yes, I am old! But am I bovvered? Not one jot!

Finally a bar with no music, excellent cocktails and the right mix of English style coziness and informality. I’ll be back!

I’ve been contemplating this review for the past two or three weeks, since the first time I made it to Rules’ cocktail bar and I’ve come to a conclusion: this is, in my mind, the paragon of a London cocktail bar.
Places like The Nightjar, The Connaught, and 69 Colebrooke Row may have great names in the scene, but all of them pale in comparison to the ideal experience that this lounge offers for me. The combination of classic, elegant, timeless ambiance coupled with an utter lack of a pretension, rounded out by the necessary exquisite cocktail program makes this first-​floor institute of imbibition exceptional.
Any bar that makes liberal use of ingredients like Chartreuse and Galliano is likely to be a hit with me, but I’ve rarely (if ever) encountered the likes of barrel-​aged cachaça or wormwood bitters. An education in drink lore and obscure alcoholic products is just a bonus byproduct of a visit here — an addictive element far stronger than the booze itself to an enthusiast of my ilk.
It does give me pause, however, that Brian, the spirits savant who started this venture three years ago, has just departed to work on another project, which does beg the question of if/​how Rules will change under the guiding hand of another. I’m more than willing to continue patronising this establishment to see how it evolves.

Just to make this totally transparent, I am reviewing the cocktail bar upstairs at Rules, officially the oldest restaurant in London (opened in 1798 in case you were wondering). Accessed up a narrow stairs to the right of the restaurant entrance, this is such a wonderful place that I am a little loathed to tell everyone about it and fill it with more people, but I really must share the love.
The cocktail bar upstairs doesn’t do a great job of publicising it seems, as it is very rarely packed and there is always place to sit down with friends. The décor echos the downstairs restaurant pretty well, i.e. oldy worldy and a little like your grandmothers house…
But hey, you don’t come to a cocktail bar for the cut and colour of the drapes do you? Well, I don’t, I go here for the drinks! In a word: Incredible
It is on an ‘invitation only’ basis that you are allowed to sit at the bar, seats there are always reserved, but what that means is that they are reserved for whomever the barman deems both worthy and presentable to share that intimate space with him — I have been invited to sit there a number of times and I strongly advise you to try your luck as the experience is definitely heightened when you get a chance to look at how these liquid masterpieces are stitched together. Oh, and that doesn’t mean you need to be dressed to the nines to get in, but ‘presentable’ is a bare minimum.
I won’t even bother going into detail of the menu, if you can’t decide what you’d like, just explain in a few words the kinds of spirits and tastes you do and don’t like and the barman will bring you something you would probably not have chosen, but it will be one that you will enjoy immeasurably.
The show that is put on when making these cocktails is less of a wanky Tom Cruise ‘throw things over my shoulder and catch it in my crotch’ style, but more of Flight Lt, Colin Blythe ‘I’ll concentrate so hard on getting this perfect that I’m willing to sacrifice my eyesight’ approach. The subtle hand twists, the orange peel swipes, the lacing of a highball with strong alcohol before filling it with the desired mix is all part of a fantastic dance that you’ll never get tired of watching (mainly because you then get to taste!)
The bar manager at the higher end of middle age is called Brian, worked there for many a year and a splendid gentleman and perfect host. If he’s not there to serve you, have no fear, he has a small number of bar tenders that are members of his own ‘magic circle’ and are all privy to his mixological secrets — you won’t be disappointed.