A Bar with Shapes for a Name

"Lovers of modernism and admirers of obsessively chilled martinis will appreciate A Bar With Shapes For A Name. The Bauhaus-themed bar in Dalston is somewhere between a novelty experience and a rejected Zoolander idea, but it still manages to be a fine place to go for a good drink. Especially if you’re looking for somewhere after 2am. Ignore the pre-bottled cocktails and opt for something fresh from the shaker and, if possible, sit upstairs near the bar or downstairs on the big shared table. This is where you’ll find the shapes of people having a good time." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, daisy meager

"There are plenty of bars that know how to make a good drink, but what separates the crème de la crème from the rest is knowing how a drink should be drunk. That’s what we thought when we were at A Bar With Shapes For A Name and they wordlessly replaced our half-drunk vesper martini into a fresh and frosty glass straight from the freezer. The Bauhaus-themed Dalston bar has no lack of fans but it’s this kind of martini drinker's knowledge that won us over." - jake missing, daisy meager

"There’s plenty to say about London’s so-so nightlife and it’s hard to argue when Dalston is a ghost town on a Thursday night. However, there are a few spots open until the early hours on Kingsland Road, and A Bar With Shapes For A Name is one of them. This Bauhaus-themed two-floor space is like a CSM student’s take on a novelty bar experience, complete with pre-bottled cocktails and servers gliding around in pastel-coloured overalls. This sounds a little silly but there are some fine drinks being made here too. Trendy Dalstonites settle in post-fashion show parties, local chefs come for a guaranteed good drink, and googly-eyed dates stumble in for a 3am nightcap. Just avoid the liminal-feeling middle room and order a freshly made drink. Like any bar worth its salt, ice-cold martini glasses wordlessly appear to refresh your nectar halfway through." - Jake Missing

"All the drinks at this newish Dalston bar are exceptional, so it’s understandable that it makes a damn good martini. But the reason A Bar with Shapes for a Name gets a particular mention is because it has a dedicated single spot at the bar, with a seat ready to be swung out for the solo martini drinker. If carrying a book, someone will bring over a little light. There is no better way to drink a martini than at a bar, with a good book; this is what a martini was invented for. A perfect 6:30 p.m. Friday pause, before dinner." - Anna Sulan Masing

"When Remy Savage was head bartender at Artesian, one of the best cocktail bars in the city, the menu was a double helix so playful it was practically a toy, and its cocktails were only allowed two ingredients. His new venture with Paul Lougrat and Maria Kontorravdis takes some of this playfulness — it’s a bar called Yellow Triangle, Red Square, Blue Circle, after all — and some of that constraint — 20 bottles turned into 15 - 16 cocktails, all of whose recipes will be put to Instagram for judgement — and alights in Dalston with one of the most compelling offers the city has seen in a very long time." - Emma Hughes, Anna Sulan Masing, Richard Godwin