Hugos Bar Pizza

Head to this bar early in the week and early in the evening, and you’ll completely bypass the weekend's sunglasses at night. You'll also find a relatively quiet bar where you can have a conversation with your bartender. And the team here are never less than amazing. Okay, so the music is that non-descript brand of deepfunkyhouse but don’t discount the really stellar drinks making. There’s the tropical-leaning menu that features the likes of a banana rum Swizzle (banana, rum, banana liqueur, spiced sugar and almond syrup, lime and orange juices) and a Pina Colada (for being caught in the rain) – perfect summer tipples for drinking out on the deck looking over busy Bayswater Road. They also do a really good Corpse Reviver #2 (gin, Lillet Blanc, Cointreau, lemon juice, absinthe wash) and will refresh the hell out of you with a clean and lean Hemingway Daiquiri (white rum, grapefruit juice, lime juice, maraschino liqueur). All this is served with a hefty amount of snappy chat. You don’t have to hit the cocktails, either. It’s easy as pie to order a round of beers and a (yes, really) ham’n’pineapple pizza. While we wouldn’t recommend frequenting the bar any later in the week than early evening on a Thursday unless you’re big fan of massive queues that are heavy on the douche (hey – it’s Kings Cross on a weekend – you really should know better), Hugos is a brilliant spot for a mid week tipple.