Come to Soho’s Bar Termini – voted Best Place to Drink by OFM readers – for the perfect £1 espressos, stay for the brilliant house negronis
Italians often come into Bar Termini, on the eastern fringes of London’s Soho, and say that it reminds them of home. It’s a compliment, of course, but sometimes the owners – Tony Conigliaro and Marco Arrigo – have to bite their tongues. “I feel like saying, ‘Where in Italy? Show me!’” laughs Arrigo. “Termini is more Italian than an Italian could come up with. We’re the only place in the world doing it this way.”
It’s true: OFM’s Best Place to Drink for 2016 might look and feel like that timeless Italian bar you remember from your Roman holiday, but everything about the experience is considered and perfected. When you squeeze into the tiny room with just 25 seats, a white-suited bar person will offer you a menu. There are three coffees (espresso, bianco and latte) and a pair of hot chocolates; no skimmed milk, no takeaways, no decaf. On a short cocktail list, it’s hard to look beyond the four house negronis. Arrigo, who oversees the coffee side, and Conigliaro, the cocktail alchemist, admit that Bar Termini is “anti-choice”.
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