Nipperkin
Angelos Bafas builds the list out of British seasonal produce and Japanese spirits, most of the flavor arriving through distillates and cordials made in house.
Why go
The menu is split into four named seasons, Prep, Lean, Plethora and Dry, and each one pulls from what the kitchen upstairs is working with. That kitchen is NIJU, the Japanese grill and sushi bar that took over the 20 Berkeley site in February 2024, so the snacks come down the stairs and the sake and shochu sit behind the bar as base spirits rather than as a novelty. The room is a basement styled after 1950s Japanese listening bars, with an island station in the middle and vinyl playing. Drinks have run Aged Kelp, Shiso and Padron, Fig Leaf, and a Wild Apple built on sweet woodruff.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Pickled Cucumbers and Wasabi, which is Time Out's pick off the list.1
- Avoid: Friday and Saturday if you came for the records. Time Out says go midweek so the vinyl gets a hearing.
What locals & experts say
- CLASS (Tyler Zielinski), 9/10: the drinks are
equally technical and approachable, appealing to both Mayfair's wealthiest bargoers and bartenders alike,
built onseasonal British produce, delivered in a minimalist fashion.
2 - Time Out London (Olivia Simpson, 10 Feb 2025):
Niju's chic in-house Japanese-style listening bar.
1 - The Pinnacle Guide (Q1 2024 assessment): PIN status, with the assessor noting that
the bar staff expertly balanced the level of detail they shared about cocktails and ingredients based on guests' interest.
4
Good to know
- Timing: the venue posts Thursday to Saturday, 5pm to midnight. Time Out's February 2025 listing had it open from Wednesday, so check before traveling.
- Booking: reserve through SevenRooms or reservations@nijulondon.com. The room is small and Mayfair-priced, so walk-ins on a Saturday are optimistic.
- Dietary: no allergen or dietary statement is published. Low and no-alcohol drinks are on the list.
- Location: 20 Berkeley Street W1J 8EE, downstairs, a minute off Berkeley Square and about five from Green Park station.
Craft signals (cocktails: a four-season structure and house distillates)
Two signals, both drink-side. The menu is structured across four named seasons, so the rewrite is built into the format rather than announced, and the flavors driving it are bespoke distillates and cordials made on site against kelp, shiso, padron and sweet woodruff. The peer read is the second: a PIN from The Pinnacle Guide's Q1 2024 assessment plus a UK Top 50 Cocktail Bars listing, and CLASS at 9 out of 10 calling the drinks technical and approachable at once.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "New awesome cocktail bar." REAL.
Verdict
should-visit — A basement bar under a Mayfair Japanese grill where Angelos Bafas builds drinks out of British seasonal produce and Japanese spirits, distilling and cordialing most of the flavor in house across a four-part seasonal menu. CLASS gave it 9 out of 10 and called the drinks technical and approachable at once, which is the harder trick. Go midweek, when the records are audible, and treat it as a drinks destination rather than a stop.