Set on the site of a former champagne bar, The Mercer has shown itself to be an equally civilized City addition, offering a wide selection of wine, cocktails and, yes, bubbly in an elegant, clean-lined setting complete with tall windows and white-and-black furnishings; it’s a relaxing spot for flush bankers to have that post–closing bell snifter, and the libations can be paired with a bite from a Modern British bar menu (34 Threadneedle St., EC2; 020-7628 0001).
Part of a Leeds-based chain, the rowdy new Prohibition near the Tower of London (and its slightly older Bishopsgate sibling) has no trouble attracting a fun-loving crowd, filling up its booths with young City-dwellers sipping cheap, cheerful cocktails – the menu’s offer to ‘pimp your drink’ says it all; it’s a good thing, then, that the grill-style food is of the standard, stomach-lining variety (Tower Bridge Hse., E1; 084-4800 4153).