Where to find the best martinis in London

Dukes Bar, at Dukes Hotel in St James’s, remains the gold standard for a martini in London. Concocted at your table by experts, it is both art and entertainment, the chilled vodka and gin arriving in frosted bottles atop a laden trolley. Finally, the difficulty of getting a seat in this diminutive bar encourages a dangerously early start. Wonderful. —James Wheaton, accountant, Chamonix, France

Dukes Bar: gin poured so cold it practically oozes into the glass, slipping like silk down the gullet. There’s simply nothing quite like it. There is reportedly a (perfectly understandable) two-martini limit per guest. —David L, finance, London, UK

Dukes Bar is said to have inspired Ian Fleming for James Bond’s signature martini. When you place an order, a bartender pushes a trolley with bottles of spirits in front of you, and you watch him making the martini with great pleasure as he introduces the ingredients while performing like a magician. Certainly worth the price. —Andy Lam, public service, Hong Kong

Dukes Bar is peerless for the quality of the martini (including the Vesper martini, inspired by Ian Fleming, who used to drink there) and for the performance, as the bartenders bring a trolley and make it at your table, poured with panache into an icy glass. Be warned: drink two of Dukes’ big, brim-full martinis on an empty stomach and straight-line walking is compromised. —Christopher Cramer, university professor, London, UK

You will get this answer a lot: Dukes Bar in St James’s. —Alexander Christou, brand owner, drinks industry, London, UK

When it comes to a martini, I’m very fussy and it’s amazing how few places know how to make a good one. You know you’re in for a bad one if they ask whether you want vodka or gin — a proper martini is always gin! I like my martini very dry and dirty. The best I have had in London is at Coupette on Bethnal Green Road: a perfect balance of flavours, served with a bowl of blue-cheese popcorn. The bar staff really know what they are doing. It’s a bit of a local secret. —Victoria Ainsworth, communications, London, UK

3 and 6 Bar at Fortnum & Mason department store: its dry-gin martini is technically excellent, but the bar itself is a wonderful respite from Piccadilly and the rest of Fortnum’s, especially at Christmas. Taking a martini there during a Christmas shopping trip feels slightly transgressive and the men’s department is dangerously close. —Michael White, restaurateur, London, UK

Ago Perrone and his amazing team at the Connaught Bar at The Connaught hotel in Mayfair are well positioned to serve the best martinis in town. Martinis are served at the table with no shortage of skill and sprezzatura. There’s no place you’d rather be when gravity takes hold of a ray of martini while getting perfumed with Italian lemon zest in plain air. —Nicolas Oorts, chief executive of Miraeus, Paris, France

The Connaught bar’s martini, with Tanqueray No.10 gin, expertly mixed in front of you by one of Europe’s best mixologists is further elevated with the addition of lavender, cardamom or coriander bitters and finished with a lemon twist. —Glenn Tysvaer, real estate, Scottsdale, Arizona, US

Happiness Forgets on Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, has repeatedly and justifiably won awards, including The World’s 50 Best Bars and the Spirited Awards’ Best International Cocktail Bar. It makes a perfect martini. Bar staff are incredibly friendly and astonishingly knowledgeable. —David Newns, fintech, London, UK

Ognisko, close to the museums of South Kensington. Housed in a white stucco building, it was a Polish officers’ club during the second world war. It has a dramatic old-school bar with an enormous baroque mirror. Well-made cocktails include the classic martini, and there is a wide selection of crisp vodkas to wash down delicious Polish dishes. —PD, asset management, London, UK

The best martini is served in the American-style Nickel Bar in The Ned hotel, a former bank headquarters in the City. The setting breathes Roaring Twenties: the vintage coupes the bar uses are perfect. The ultimate cocktail is made with affection, then served ice cold while instantly warming the lucky one who ordered it. And the band plays on. —Stephan Swinkels, law firm partner, the Netherlands

Since the crew of Dukes was replaced wholesale 10 years ago the best martini has been found a short walk away at The American Bar in The Stafford hotel. The formulation is almost identical but done out of sight and brought icy cold and extra dry to table. The secret to a great martini is parsimony. It is mostly gin, neat, frozen, with a twist of lemon. After the first two martinis, it really doesn’t matter how they are made. —Bryan Goh, chief investment officer, Singapore

The Zetter Townhouse in Clerkenwell does a lovely twist on a classic martini — its Köln martini comes slightly perfumed in a lovely glass. Over in St James’s a surprise is the bar at 45 Jermyn St. Ask for a martini made with The Botanist gin and a twist of grapefruit. It is utterly divine. —Alex Horne, barrister, London, UK

The legend of head barman Antonio Pizzuto, “Mr Martini”, lives on at The Egerton House, a gem of a boutique hotel in Knightsbridge. Savour the theatre of the trolley of freezing vodka or gin, a disdainful flick of the vermouth dropper (who needs that stuff anyway?) and a hand-carved twist. But as Pizzuto used to say: for martinis, two is not enough, but three is too many. —Anthony Davies, consultant, San Francisco, California, US