Barrio Shoreditch

Having staked out its territory in Angel and Soho, Barrio has brought its full-on fiesta good times to the cool kids of Shoreditch. Shantytown-chic is writ large across a corrugated-iron ceiling crawling with plastic vines, while rough-hewn wooden booths and blazing neon signs are shaken and stirred with a hefty shot of bright carnival colour. Cocktails – in jam jars – fuel the fun, with switched-on young staff knocking out the likes of ‘ron mocha boca’ (an X-rated chocolate milkshake made with rum, marzipan, coffee and cream). You can also lay down a solid foundation for the night with bite-sized empanadas, pork belly and plantain skewers, and shot glasses of spanking-fresh prawn ceviche. The ‘Downtown’ dance floor rocks to DJ beats, revving it up towards the end of the week; otherwise chill out in the Studio 54-esque ‘Uptown’ back bar.