The clocks have gone forward, the temperature is slowly on the rise and the final hint that fun, sunnier days are on their way is that our monthly bars round-up features its first rooftop venue of 2024. The sunglasses are out for stylish Parisians drinkers, as the French capital offers up the newly opened rooftop terrace of the chic Hotel Pilgrim for wine and vintage cocktails in the fifth arrondissement. Meanwhile, Down Under, where summer is coming to a close, a beloved zero-waste bar Re is revived at a new location. And in London, there are cocktails with a view at a new bar in The City.
Read on to discover the most exciting new bars to visit this April.
THE BEST NEW BARS TO VISIT IN APRIL 2024
Two Drops
London, UK
From the group behind Barrafina, Quo Vadis and the existing wine bar The Drop, Two Drops takes up a cosy spot at Battersea Power Station and could make the perfect stop for an after-work drink if you live in the vicinity: besides the diverse wine list, there’s also a tempting shortlist of aperitifs and three beers on tap. Baps, toasties, cheese boards and the like will be available if you fancy turning a swift drink into a longer, more leisurely evening.
Open 26 April, instagram.com/2dropsbattersea
Hotel Pilgrim rooftop bar
Paris, France
For a sundowner above the hustle and bustle of Paris, just off Boulevard Saint-German in the Latin Quarter, Hotel Pilgrim has the solution. This design-forward destination offers the choice of a mid-century lounge with a fireplace indoors, or, if the sun is shining, a seat on the rooftop terrace. Like its interiors, the lounge’s cocktail list favours late vintage classics: Dirty Martinis and Penicillins. There’s a good selection of wines by the glass, all of which are French, naturally.
Open now, hotelpilgrim.paris
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Prélude
Austin, US
Formerly under Alain Ducasse and Thomas Keller, Austin newcomer Mathew Peters is striking out on his own this spring with a new reservations-only bar at a 17th-century house in the heart of Austin. The house will open in full next year as a restaurant, Maven, but for now there are fine dining morsels like gougeres, croquettes and oysters to pair with cocktails.
Open 30 April, prelude-austin.com
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Samba Room
London, UK
Heron Tower is one of London’s favourite destinations for dinner with a view thanks to Sushi Samba, and the restaurant has further capitalised on its location by opening a new bar with a focus on the flavours of Japan, Brazil and Peru. Up on the 39th floor, guests follow a mirrored corridor to a warmly lit sky bar. Samba Room’s 10-drink cocktail menu was designed in collaboration with the team at Speak in Code, an award-winning bar in Manchester, and includes the Toki Serenade, crafted from Suntory Toki whisky, homemade Umeshu plum wine, and kukicha twig liqueur infused with shochu and cacao blanc, as well as the Lord of Miracles, a blend of creamy coconut milk and purple yam, laced with the spice of Thai basil-infused pisco. It’s inventive and adventurous drinking but whatever you choose, there are few better vantage points in London to enjoy while sipping.
Open 30 April, sushisamba.com
Fino
London, UK
Part of Fazenda, an Argentinian-Brazilian restaurant in The City, Fino is the ideal spot to sip your way through the wines of South America in leisurely style. The wine list is on a mission to broaden horizons, picking out the lesser-known winemaking regions to know outside of Mendoza, the Uco Valley and Maipo. There are dozens of wines by the glass and a cellar of hundreds of bottles.
Open now, fazenda.co.uk
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Re
Sydney, Australia
Matt Whiley’s ‘Re’ was a local treasure when it first opened: a groundbreaking zero-waste bar that landed his venue on the World’s Best Bars list – and with cocktails made from chicken feet caramel and black garlic vinegar, no small task. Now Re is shifting from South Everleigh to Redfern for a new stint in the Norfolk Hotel. It’s a smart move for Public Hospitality, the group behind the Norfolk, as it runs more than a dozen well-respected spots that could easily adopt some of Re’s practices. The most important part of the exercise – chicken feet caramel or no – has been to keep Re in the spotlight.
Open 30 April, thenorfolk.com.au
Ruma
Edinburgh, Scotland
If you’re looking for a place to explore what rum has to offer as a category, then this is it: Ruma is Scotland’s largest rum library. Ruma’s spot on Broughton Street – previously home to Treacle – makes it the latest newcomer to the New Town bar scene. As well as local spirits, there will be a global presence from distilleries as far apart as Guyana and Fiji. Guests don’t have to be rum aficionados to visit, however, as the bar will also be serving classic rum cocktails, as well as its own twists.
Open now, ruma.bar
