Callooh Callay Speakeasy Bar: Shoreditch Cocktails to 3am

Callooh Callay is a Shoreditch cocktail bar at 65 Rivington Street, London, open Monday to Wednesday from 6pm to 1am and Thursday to Sunday from 6pm to 3am. It is not a locked-door, password-only speakeasy, but it carries the hidden-room spirit of one, with a concealed JubJub Bar and a menu that changes concept every year. A 90-minute cocktail masterclass costs £45 per person.

The bar opened in Shoreditch in 2008 and takes its name from Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky. Its own site says it has appeared in the World's 50 Best Bars and is ranked today among the Top 500 globally. For anyone searching for a speakeasy bar in London that rewards curiosity rather than a dress code, it is one of the safest bets east of the City.

The address is 65 Rivington Street, in the Shoreditch streets that run between Old Street and Great Eastern Street. You can book a table through the booking page on the bar's website, and the same page points private-hire enquiries to hello@calloohcallaybar.com, so there is no password to guess and no secret phone call to make before you arrive.

What does feel like a speakeasy is the layout. The bar describes hidden experiences in its JubJub Bar and refers to secret rooms inspired by Jabberwocky, so expect to be led somewhere rather than simply handed a stool.

The official hours are Monday to Wednesday 6pm to 1am and Thursday to Sunday 6pm to 3am. That means the bar is open seven nights a week, which is unusual for a London cocktail bar of this reputation. Early in the week the room is quieter and conversation is easy. From Thursday it runs three hours later and the volume climbs accordingly.

The practical advice that follows from those hours is simple. If you want to talk to the bartenders about the menu, arrive at 6pm on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. If you want a late finish, Thursday to Sunday gives you until 3am, which is useful after a theatre show or a dinner in Hackney or the City. The bar also hosts guest-bartender takeovers, such as an Italian takeover with bars from Rome and Naples, so check the What's On page before you pick a night.

Callooh Callay has made a name for menus that are objects in their own right. Its own site says past menus have taken the form of cassette tapes and comic books. The current concept is a nod to The Flavour Thesaurus by Niki Segnit, built around cocktail families such as the Martini, the Sour and the Spritz, and the twist is that each drink is named after a flavour pairing rather than a list of ingredients.

In practice that means you order by flavour, with pairings such as Peach and Basil or Coriander and Mint, and discover which family it belongs to as it arrives. The site calls the result a flavour-first adventure and a boozy reference guide. If you like deciding by the ingredients in your glass, ask the bartender to explain the family behind a name before you commit.

The bar has a food menu available as a download on its Food and Drink page. A sensible plan is to read both menus before you go, choose two flavour pairings from different families and compare them, then ask the bartender which of their regular drinks sits closest to your favourite classic. That is more fun than ordering the same Negroni you always order.

If you want to understand how the drinks are made, the bar runs private cocktail masterclasses. The package lasts 90 minutes, includes a welcome cocktail each and two cocktails made behind the bar per person, and costs £45 per person. It is suitable for groups of 2 to 8, and the bar says it can go up to groups of 16. Afternoon sessions are possible if you mention a preferred time in your request.

The page adds that cocktail menus can be tailored with advance notice and that there is a 25% discount on any food or bar snacks you pre-order, by enquiry. The tone is relaxed and the sessions are offered for birthdays, work socials and hen parties. If you simply want to learn two cocktails and drink three, it is a straightforward way to spend an evening in Shoreditch.

Callooh Callay has several spaces available for private hire, and the booking page says you can email hello@calloohcallaybar.com for a full venue or one of the private rooms. There is an events brochure linked from the page. For a small party, ask about the rooms by name so you are sure to be placed in the part of the bar you want, rather than the front bar by default.

Rivington Street is a short walk from Shoreditch High Street Overground station and from Old Street. Before your booking, walk toward Great Eastern Street and the streets around it, which are among the busiest in Shoreditch for restaurants, bars and street art. After a late finish, remember that last Tube and Overground trains run earlier than the bar closes on Thursday to Sunday, so plan a taxi or night bus for 3am.

If Callooh Callay is full, the sensible fallback is to try a different night rather than a different neighbourhood, because the weekday hours leave plenty of room. Monday to Wednesday opens at the same 6pm as the weekend and closes at 1am, and the bar's guest takeovers often land on the quieter nights.

Callooh Callay, 65 Rivington Street, Shoreditch, London. Email hello@calloohcallaybar.com. Open Monday to Wednesday 6pm to 1am and Thursday to Sunday 6pm to 3am. Book a table through the bar's booking page, and download the cocktail and food menus from the Food and Drink page. Cocktail masterclass £45 per person for 90 minutes.

To plan a hidden-bar night in London, ask Karpo in the Karpo APP which speakeasy-style bars are open on your chosen evening. It can suggest a dinner stop nearby so Callooh Callay is the last stop of the night instead of the first one.