This week's top five bars

 

The Bear Bar

This top boozer bustles after work with exuberant media types. Fill up on delicious meals prepared with ingredients from Smithfield Market, enjoy the guest ale and hang around after the crowds have thinned.

2 St John’s Square, London EC1M 4DE, 020 7608 2117; www.thebearbar.net

Sports Bar & Grill Farringdon

The newest edition to the group, this lively bar is a sports fiend’s fantasy, with its 20 large HD screens. Meals are unpretentious, tasty, good value and served all day. Munch on an award-winning burger while catching up on the latest sports coverage.

19-25 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6DQ, 020 7251 3813; www.sportsbarandgrill.co.uk

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The Mitre

In the heart of Greenwich, this substantial Grade II listed coaching inn is an elegant affair. Why not make an evening of it with a tasty meal from the traditional British menu, drinks at Sullivan’s bar and a bed in the comfortable 16-room hotel, upstairs?

291 Greenwich High Rd, London SE10 8NA, 020 8293 0037; www.mitregreenwich.com

Pitcher and Piano, Cornhill

Situated in a glorious, listed building in the City this welcoming, bustling establishment is a decadent affair, more akin to a gentleman’s club than a bar. And yet on offer is a surprisingly well-priced menu of superior drinks and meals available from breakfast till late.

28-31 Cornhill, London EC3V 3ND, 020-7929 3989; www.pitcherandpiano.com

Jackson’s Wine Bar       

A former bank, this lively West Ealing venue has a great party atmosphere with regular live music on the weekends, a perfect antidote to the January blues. A quality selection of drinks to boot may the good times roll!

79-80 Northfields Ave, London W13 9RR, 020-8840 7880

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