The Spy Bar is Raffles London's subterranean cocktail room in the former Old War Office. Its two intimate vault rooms once held intelligence papers; today the bar pairs espionage-inspired drinks with a no-photography policy.
Description source · Checked 2026-09-27
Plan Your Visit
Raffles London at The OWO, Whitehall, London SW1A 2BX, UKWhitehall
- Style
- Subterranean hotel cocktail barChecked 2026-09-27 · Source
- Hours
- Tuesday–Saturday, 5pm–1am.Checked 2026-09-27 · Source
- Booking
- Contact undercover.london@raffles.com for reservations and the Spy Bar tasting experience.Checked 2026-09-27 · Source
- Prices
- Spy Bar Tasting Experience: £150 per person for three cocktails and three canapés; standard cocktail prices were not published here.Checked 2026-09-27 · Source
- Menu
- Raffles describes an espionage-themed cocktail list and a three-cocktail tasting with canapés; a full current itemized bar menu was not published.Checked 2026-09-26 · Source
Hours and menus can change. Check the venue’s latest details before visiting.
The score & its evidence
Seven signals. One score.
46.2 / 100
The composite combines the seven weighted signals and the published adjustments. The chart shows each signal before weighting.
Read the full calculation- Guest ratings
- 58.0
- World's 50 Best
- —None found · Checked; no qualifying signal found; contributes zero
- Top 500 Bars
- 74.3
- Spirited Awards
- —None found · Checked; no qualifying signal found; contributes zero
- Regional Recognition
- 83.5
- Serious press
- 13.3
- Social Vibes
- 60.2
Weights: Guest ratings 23% · World's 50 Best 12% · Top 500 Bars 10% · Spirited 12% · Regional Recognition 18% · Press 10% · Social Vibes 15%
Missing evidence, confirmed none and evidence outside a scoring window each contribute zero. We do not redistribute their fixed weight to other signals.
Social Vibes
Score read updated:
Sentiment score
86/ 100
Historical 86/100 and high confidence retained. This source check qualifies attribution without recalculating the proprietary score or establishing a representative current customer sample.
Score context
Leonie Cooper’s July 2025 review praises the Spy Bar’s cocktails and service, while noting the hard-to-find entrance. Kirk Miller’s March 2025 feature recounts his own visit and quotes the bar manager. These are critic and operator perspectives on the OWO basement bar.
Guest sources checked:
Guest score details
What the cited sources say
- Critics praise cocktails and the historic setting
Cautions and context
- Cooper finds the entrance difficult to locate
Source excerpt
“simply a very good place to drink a cocktail”
Leonie Cooper’s critic review, 16 July 2025.
Source: timeout.com (linked below)
This read cites editorial or award context. Those links are distinct from guest accounts; only the reviewed links in Reviews & press count toward Press.
Editorial citations in this read
- timeout.comTime Out — Leonie Cooper, critic · 16 July 2025
Exact OWO basement room; drinks and service praised, finding entrance difficult. Authentic short excerpt retained.
- insidehook.comInsideHook — Kirk Miller; quoted speaker Sotiris Konomi, critic / operator interview · 24 March 2025 13:28 EDT
The writer recounts an August visit without specifying the year; the menu quotation comes from the bar manager, rather than a customer.
Crowd signal
Google 4.5★ across 87 reviews.
View on Google · Checked . Ratings and review counts can change.
Awards
Results from the three global systems scored separately in our formula.
Top 500 Bars
Regional Recognition
Regional and national lists, local awards and bartender peer picks considered for this room's Regional Recognition score. The strongest result from each program and year scores; assessed guides use the latest accepted dated status once.
Pinnacle Guide
UK Top 50 Cocktail Bars
The Bartender's Edit
Peer recommendations from working bartenders. All editions are shown for context; only the strongest placement after recency decay contributes to the score.