Bread Street Kitchen (bar)

Buy into the Ramsay brand for a tenner at this compact street-level bar, the portal to the chef’s City juggernaut. The main act may be upstairs in the fantasy art-nouveau brasserie, but the bar adds quirky seating in the shape of pommel and vaulting horses. Cracking martinis including the signature Bread Street (cinnamon-infused Grey Goose shaken with hazelnuts, grapes, apple and lime) and classics such as the house take on mojito (muddled with pears) are conjured up by focused staff behind a rough, timber-clad zinc. On freezing nights, you can also take comfort in a hot toddy or BSK blaze (raisin-infused whiskey, pineapple, apples, pears and coconut liqueur flamed with cinnamon). Otherwise, 30 wines by the glass include fine claret and top-notch Burgundy for Square Mile dealers. To eat, pick from three different toppings for wood-fired pizzette, meatballs in tomato sauce or cured meats from £4.50.