Where To Get The New Dirty Negroni Taking Over London
I have always been a Negroni lover, and therefore a Campari lover. All throughout university, it was my order when it came time for cocktails. I’d make them for dinner parties, I’d have the Campari, vermouth and gin permanently stocked at home, and I’d go into Edinburgh with the intention of finding out what a perfect one must taste like.
In Partnership With Campari
Negroni Week in a city like London is therefore permanently in my calendar. It couldn’t get any better, right? Wrong. It could. Because my other favourite cocktail is a dirty martini. So when I found out that Campari has partnered with Perelló Olives to create the Dirty Negroni – bringing a hit of salty olive brine to the bitter classic – I couldn’t help but pinch myself. Better still, they’re serving it across six dedicated Negroni Lounges in London throughout September, alongside everything from a pasta masterclass and DJ sets to Negronis from £5 and a World’s 50 Best Bars takeover.
Here’s where to find them.
When I found out that Campari has partnered with Perelló Olives to create the Dirty Negroni – bringing a hit of salty olive brine to the bitter classic – I couldn’t help but pinch myself.
Mallory, Junior Food & Drink Editor
The Negroni passport
Because apparently I needed further encouragement to visit all six, there’s also a London Flagship Stamp Passport running between the Negroni Lounges. Pick up a stamp as you visit each participating venue and your sixth Negroni is complimentary. I’d use it less as a reason to race around all six and more as an excuse to explore a few new corners of London you might not usually drink in. That being said, this is a list of six bars that any London cocktail lover would recommend, so now’s a better time than ever to visit.
Negroni Week itself runs from 21st–27th September, but the celebrations stretch across the month, with additional Campari activations happening around the country. As for me? I’m still not abandoning the dirty martini. But adding olive brine to a Negroni has certainly complicated the decision for my drink of choice. Cheers!
Negroni Week itself runs from 21st–27th September, but the celebrations stretch across the month, with additional Campari activations happening around the country.
The Shaston Arms
If you need another reason to spend Sunday in Soho, The Shaston Arms is an incredible bet, and a house favourite of a gastro pub.
Every Sunday throughout the campaign, the pub is serving £5 Negronis with complimentary Perelló olives. It’s the simplest proposition of the six lounges, and I rather like it for that: a proper Soho pub, a very reasonably priced Negroni and a bowl of those unmistakable, moreish green olives.
Everything wraps up with a closing DJ event on 27th September, which also happens to be the final day of Negroni Week.
Where: 4-6 Ganton St, Carnaby, London W1F 7QN
Website: www.theshastonarms.co.uk
Next Door Records Two
Negronis and vinyl have enough retro appeal individually. Put the two together and you’ve got a very good Saturday afternoon. Over in Shepherd’s Bush, Next Door Records Two is pairing an £8 Dirty Negroni menu with custom bar snacks created by Lardo, alongside weekly Saturday vinyl DJ sessions. There’s less ceremony here than some of the other Negroni Lounges, which is a bit of the appeal. Grab a drink, order some snacks and settle in while someone else chooses the records.
Mark your calendars for Saturday 12th, to visit the red room downstairs to try a new, bespoke Negroni Rail with different twists.
Where: 182 Stoke Newington Rd, London N16 7UY
Website: www.nextdoorrecords.co.uk
Negronis and vinyl have enough retro appeal individually. Put the two together and you’ve got a very good Saturday afternoon.
Equal Parts
On 20th and 21st September, Mexico City’s Bar Mauro is taking over Equal Parts, the iconic Hackney cocktail bar. The retro Milanese-inspired spot currently sits at number 54 on the extended World’s 50 Best Bars list, so getting to try its drinks without booking a flight to Mexico is reason enough to put the dates in your diary.
There’s plenty happening outside of the takeover too. Every Wednesday, Equal Parts is pairing drinks with complimentary snacks by Auguste when ordering a Campari cocktail, with £1 from every drink donated to Hackney Food Bank. Come for the Dirty Negroni, but this is the stop for anyone who takes the contents of their cocktail glass particularly seriously.
Come for the Dirty Negroni, but this is the stop for anyone who takes the contents of their cocktail glass particularly seriously.
Where: 245 Hackney Rd, London E2 8NA
Website: www.equalpartslondon.com
Bar Brasso
Bar Brasso is going big for one day in particular. On 19th September, it’s hosting the official Campari and Perelló Aperitivo Day Party, running from 2pm until midnight. Owen Cutts is taking care of the soundtrack with DJ sets throughout the day, while chef Robin Gill – the man behind Darby’s – is curating complimentary bar bites to go alongside the drinks.
There will also be exclusive merchandise up for grabs. If you’re looking for the liveliest way to kick off Negroni Week before it officially begins on the 21st, this is probably it.
Where: Unit 2, 3 Viaduct Gdns, Nine Elms, London SW11 7AY
Website: www.barbrasso.com
Café 1001
You don’t often get much for £5 in London anymore, let alone a cocktail and something to eat. That being said, throughout September, Brick Lane institution Café 1001 is serving Dirty Negronis for a fiver, each accompanied by free Perelló olives. The space has been transformed for the month, and Saturdays will have the added bonus of DJ sessions.
The line-up includes Alexander Nut, Nina Yamada, Mari* & Hutch of Rizumu, Zaffa and miche, making this the lounge I’d earmark for a boozy (and budgeted) Saturday night.
Where: 91 Brick Ln, London E1 6QL
Website: www.cafe1001.co.uk
Lardo
If your ideal Sunday involves pasta, Negronis and records rather than preparing yourself for Monday morning, start at Lardo. Its adjacent space Bastardo has been given a permanent Campari-red makeover, becoming one of the six Negroni Lounges, and throughout September, there’s a fairly packed calendar to go with it.
Soft Landing Sundays will bring in DJs from Next Door Records, while Aperitivo Quizzes come with Negronis and Perelló snacks. Appetite is getting involved with hands-on pasta masterclasses, and there’s also an exclusive Perelló collaboration supper club planned for the month. One for a full afternoon rather than just a stop in for a cocktail, although surely a Dirty Negroni with a side of pasta is a fairly convincing reason to visit on its own.
Where: Unit 3, 201 Richmond Rd, London E8 3NJ
Website: www.lardo.co.uk
Not in London for Negroni Week? Click here to make the Dirty Negroni at home!
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