Match EC1

Match is the granddaddy of Clerkenwell bars & you’ll still be pushed to find better than this loungey, split-level watering hole. Mixologist Dale DeGroff’s ‘Matchnificent Seven’ – named after the eponymous movie’s leading men – is the menu-page we routinely turn to: an Old Fashioned is a tribute to the classic appeal of Steve McQueen, while a Dark & Stormy sums up brooding hulk James Coburn, both decently priced at under £7 a pop. There’s a snappy wine list, elegant fizz & bachelor-pad lager, but it really is all about the cocktails (backed by a selection of fashionable lite bites), not to mention hip swivelling to the coolest beats in Clerkenwell. Matchless!