With fast, friendly staff and value for money, this chain of bars is the Burger King of the martini world.

When serving a classic martini they get full points for their lemon peel usage. They squeezed a fresh strip of peel over the glass and even rubbed some on the stem to add to the citrus aroma when you drink.

I was also offered a choice of gins and vodkas that I could have in my martini, while you could specify whether or not you would like it dry or sweet.

They chilled their glasses in a fridge and their gin in a cocktail shaker with ice so they get some points for temperature (they would get full points if they kept it all in the freezer).

The setting was a standard City of London bar: nothing special and crowded with after-work city folk. There was nowhere to properly sit down and sip slowly while the noise levels made it hard to talk. This is where they lose most points. There were very few nibbles available either.

However, at £9.50 for a classic martini it was a value-for-money venue for central London and at least the crowd were friendly (although some were pushy at the bar which really isn’t compatible with martini drinking).

All in all I would say it was a good London cocktail bar, but not an ideal setting for an actual classic martini. I might try some of the non-classic cocktails next time because some of them looked pretty good. I imagine this might be a good place to go with a group of favourable work mates to kick start a night.