Upstairs at Rules

Rules opened while Napoleon was off defeating the Ottoman Empire in Egypt – although its self-appointed ‘upstairs’ cocktail bar is barely five years old. This is the domain of genial Bostonian Brian Silva, a veteran of Scott’s & The Connaught who is revered by the current crop of ‘it-boy’ London bartenders. Shunning purées, berries, molecular malarkey or whatever the current new big thing may be, Silva prefers to ‘just focus on making great drinks’ – served in fine antique stemware. Few can resist the golden negroni (Cinzano Orancio & Poire William bolstering the traditional gin & Campari components); dirty or smoky martinis are exemplary, too. Otherwise take a trip across the pond for Long Island iced tea, Bronx, Brooklyn or Manhattan – Silva knows his way around every cocktail district in the book.