Mayfair is about to gain a hidden drinking den with a difference: a secret speakeasy-style cocktail bar is opening in the basement beneath a New York-style bagel shop on Princes Street.
No.1 Princes Street has been serving naturally fermented, handmade New York-style bagels and speciality coffee since it opened last month. The shop, which marked its debut with free bagels for early customers, is now taking on an after-dark alter ego, with its lower floor becoming a late-night bar inspired by Manhattan’s underground drinking scene.
By day, the venue remains a deli in the New York tradition: bagels boiled and baked on site, piled with classic fillings, alongside speciality coffee. As evening falls, the daytime trade winds down and the basement takes over, the space shifting from breakfast counter to cocktail den without missing a beat.
It is a neat trick: the same room that hands over coffee and bagels at 8am pours martinis at 8pm. The venue is pitching itself at drinkers looking for something a little more under the radar — the kind of place you bring friends to impress, rather than the kind you stumble across by accident.
The hidden bar is reached through the shop and down a staircase. The drinks list is unapologetically New York in spirit: signature serves include the No.1 Princes Martini, a Caviar Martini, the Tomatini and a classic Vesper, alongside modern staples such as a Mezcal Negroni and a Rhubarb Bellini. The martini is the undisputed headline act — fitting for a bar that takes its cues from New York, where the cocktail remains king — but fine wines, Champagne and craft beers mean non-martini drinkers are well catered for too.
DJs will play from Thursday to Saturday, and the bar opens from 3pm, Tuesday to Saturday — early enough for an after-work martini, late enough for a proper night out.
The concept riffs on a classic New York formula: the hidden bar tucked behind — or beneath — an unassuming shopfront. The most famous example is Please Don’t Tell in the East Village, concealed behind a hot dog shop. Mayfair’s version simply swaps hot dogs for bagels.
Londoners have never needed much persuading when it comes to secret drinking spots. From unmarked basement doors in Soho to the discreet clubs that have long defined Mayfair after dark, the capital has turned the hidden bar into something of an art form. A venue that serves bagels by day and martinis by night fits the mould neatly — and in a neighbourhood where exclusivity is currency, a bar you reach via a bagel shop is about as Mayfair as it gets.
Need to know: No.1 Princes Street is at 1 Princes Street, London W1B 2AY. The basement bar opens Tuesday to Saturday from 3pm, with DJs Thursday to Saturday. Entry is via the bagel shop and down the stairs — just follow the smell of fresh bagels, then keep going.
The opening continues a busy season for American-inspired arrivals in the capital, as Jersey Mike’s is bringing its subs to London this November.
The basement bar is now open, and entry is through the bagel shop — no password required, just an appetite for a proper martini.
For now, the venue is keeping things simple: head through the bagel shop and down the stairs.
And the location could hardly be more on-brand: Mayfair — famously the priciest square on the Monopoly board — has long traded on discretion, from private banks to appointment-only boutiques. A basement bar you enter through a bagel shop is entirely in keeping.
Whether it’s a bagel upstairs or a martini downstairs, No.1 Princes Street is bringing a little of New York to W1, from breakfast through to last orders.
