Spelzini

"Named after founder Jim Fisher’s Italian great grandfather, café meets co-working space Spelzini (which takes the family’s Italian surname) now becomes Luigi’s Bar at night. Long oak tables are taken over by laptop-wielding freelancers 9 to 5, but become sharing tables for meetings that have rolled into drinks as evening draws in. Globe lights are dimmed, and the exposed brick bar becomes the focus. The best seats in the house are the handful of low-slung leather sofas in the window, which feel like the biggest departure from any lingering workspace atmosphere. THE DRINK If you’re going to do aperitivo hour, do it properly. Bar staff are happy to knock up any of the classic Italian cocktails or talk you through their signature menu. Negroni lovers should order the Luigi – made with gin and Campari, it's given a fruity, tart twist with cherry shrub (similar to a syrup) and fresh cherries. The sweet Nonna’s Tipple, made with amaretto and scotch with a brûlée top, is saved from being too sickly with a hit of lemon juice, and This One’s For Peter is savoury and intriguing: a truffle and olive gin martini (though one is enough). If you’re after beers, there are a few options to choose from, and the wine list is split into a number of categories. Affordable options (tactfully titled Thrifty), range from £24 to £29 and most can also be ordered by the glass, while unusual choices are grouped under the subhead Adventurous. THE FOOD Load up on spuntini – northern Italian-inspired bar snacks – and you could feasibly go without a proper supper at all. The menu is varied: a selection of three salumi is a must-order: we like the silky mortadella and meaty coppa. Burrata with chilli oil isn’t groundbreaking, but no one ever regrets ordering burrata. Farinata Genovese (a Ligurian flatbread) comes as a dense slice, made with whipped chickpea flour that’s left to set and then fried – it’s light and crispy and comforting. If you order one thing, make it one of the tramezzini, little sandwiches that come bursting with fillings such as grilled antipasti with garlic butterbean and fennel salami with gherkin. VERDICT A delicious spot for chilled-out after-work drinks in a neighbourhood of rowdy alternatives. By Sarah James"