Dirty Martini, Covent Garden, London

Dirty Martini is located underneath Tutton’s on the corner of Covent Garden piazza. I went here as part of a crowd to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a table booked and ended up being pushed about in this crowded bar. Most of us agreed that we wouldn’t normally have come here, but that it was actually a lot more bearable than many other West End places on a Friday night.
OK, just don’t bother if you are not into cocktails. The bar staff are fairly efficient, but it takes an absolute age to be served. The choice of beers is limited to three or four bottled varieties. Wine list seemed OK, and the Sauvignon Blanc was rather nice.
Overall the place had quite a friendly vibe, even though it was far too loud for a decent conversation. The crowd seemed to have been made up of larger groups celebrating birthdays, etc and couples on their first date.

Have to say this has got to be one of my favourite bars in London. The atmosphere is excellent whether you come nearer the weekend when it is packed or the quieter times during the week. Service is always excellent and the cocktails are superb. Some of the best cocktails I have ever tasted. Don’t believe me? Try their chocolate and breakfast martinis. Great happy hours give excellent value for money. Service always good with friendly bar staff, excellent table service and human bouncers. Would highly advocate a trip to Dirty Martini and would not hesitate to bring friends / dates / clients here. Superb

Happy hour is until 9pm and that’s when I advise you to go! Cocktails are all around £7-8 which can really get expensive but until 9pm it’s half price. It’s hard to get a table as it’s tiny and people can reserve them but it’s a cool, classy bar with great martinis!

I would recommend the Lychee martini :) 10/10

The Dirty Martini is a pretty good find in Covent Garden. Its a cosy spot in a basement location and if you want a seat its best to get there for before 5.30pm and all the business people come in.

The happy hour prices (until 9pm!) of half price martini is a bargain and the martini choices are fab (gotta go the Chocolate Martini … weakness!)

The Dirty Martini gets very crowded though and the bar is very small so you’ll have to exercise some patience to get your yummy martinis! Don’t worry - its worth it! It’s a favourite of my friends as its in a nice central location and often they can get there in time to get a table and a few drinks in before the masses arrive.

In summary this is a good place, you get what you expect. Which based on the menu should be an excellent choice of drinks (seriously, best cocktail menu at this price so far in London…)

So, basically as the other reviewers have mentioned it’s in Covent Garden, quite well hidden down some stairs near the market. The bar itself is really nicely decorated (and the lighting helps) with the whole place having an intimate atmosphere. It does get cramped, but that’s hardly the fault of the bar, the customer chooses whether to use the place afterall.

My friends and I did get a table (reservation didn’t show) and we went through quite a bit of their menu between us. It’s all very good, all were as expected although service was a bit slow (to the table). We did however get used to this and order topups before we finished!

As noted, the liquer selection is wide and very good. Chocoltini (or whatever it is called) is fun… However there are some wicked Sake based drinks as well.

Finally the price is good, when we went before 7pm was half price cocktails, which meant £4 a go. Sweet and just an excuse to get off early from work :D

After reading good reviews about Dirty Martini I was very disappointed. It was in a good location although the steps to the entrance were quite steep esp when you’re drinking!

The staff were ok, not particularly friendly with the exception of the doorman who was nice.

On entering the bar area however, it was very cramped and the atmosphere was bad. The bar staff were quite rude, pushing past people who had drinks in their hands and did not manage the bar very well. The seating/standing areas were not well thought out in terms of practicality and it was basically just a place for posers!!

Good happy hour with half price cocktails until 7pm. My friends and I turned up early but all the seats were reserved so we initially couldn’ sit down, even though the bar says that if you do not turn up for a booking you lose your seat in ten minutes. The cockails are well made and the chocolate martini is fab!

This bar is down a small flight of steps, under Covent Garden. Entering is like finding a magical (beautifully decorated) cave, full of soft furninshings, low lights and flowers.

The bar runs along the entire length of one wall (but considering the modest size of the place, this isn’t difficult!), offering an enviable collection of mysterious spirits. There are bottled beers and champagnes, but what this place is really known for are the cocktails…

To say that they’re heavenly is an understatement! If you’re a fan of spirits and some unusual blends, then this is definately the place for you. My favourite is the Cherry Blossom Martini, served with a fresh pansy floating on top!
Flavours such as lychee, and tarragon are commonplace here; combined in delicious blends and served beautifully.

These drinks are like works of art, and served with plenty of fancy shaking and stirring… Unsurprisingly, you pay for the atmosphere and presentation. Drinks are around £7.00 on average, but take advantage of the nightly happy hours to fully experience this place at its best!

Very small bar that gets incredibly cramped on Saturday evenings but stylishly decorated and AMAZING drinks. Extensive cocktial menu with many many different and unusual kinds of martinis plus lots of other mouthwatering cocktails.

I can personally recommend the raspberry mojito! Try to take advantage of their happy hour which is early most evenings as the drinks are expensive but this is London so what do you expect!

i had an amaaaazing chocolate martini in here. It was like ice cream and cake in a glass. Brilliant. Best I’ve ever had. And the place is quite nice.

And yes, it was busy. But I’m just not happy with waiting for almost half an hour to get a drink. I don’t care how nice it is!

Given the location right in Covent Garden Piazza (albeit underground) I expected Dirty Martini to be pricier than it is.
So the central location makes it a decent place to pop in for a drink or two if you’re in the area.

Cocktails run between £6-8, and bar snacks are £3-5, with a decent variety that included duck and hoisin spring rolls, teriyaki salmon skewers, samosas, etc etc. Can’t say I recollect the music but the crowd was mixed, and the bartenders were chatty and laid back.

Best feature of Dirty Martini IMO is the extensive cocktail list, with cocktails sorted by their base. Sake, gin, champagne, vodka, whisky, tequila and rum cocktails give you a whole lot of room for trial and error. Sadly for me the gin-based passion fruit cocktail I tried was missing something… was a bit too sour, even for me.

Funky little underground bar/club in the heart of Covent Garden Market, this place is a great option for late night drinks in town.

With good options at happy hour, the prices soar afterwards, with a beer and vodka tonic setting me back the best part of a tenner. A little overpriced. Also slightly annoying bar staff. The location is so good, though, that it makes up for much of the rest.

Dirty Martini is a New York styled underground cocktail bar on Covent Garden Piazza.

It’s not scruffy but it’s not so up itself that you can’t wear trainers or jeans to get in. The decor is dark and the music seems to dart between house and funk.

I really enjoyed the Berry Cosmo and the Lychee Martini but my friend reports bad things about the Dirty Martini itself - it’s too alcoholic apparently!! haha.

Prices are between £5.95 - £7.95 and they also serve bar food, although I haven’t tried that myself.