A Bow Lane basement with more gin on its shelves than any commercial bar in Europe.
Merchant House opened in 2014 in a Well Court basement off Bow Lane, with founders Daniel Pirciu and Lasse Petersen building the bar around what Class Magazine verified in 2019 as the largest commercial gin collection in Europe — over 600 labels. The bar has separate rum and Caribbean rooms downstairs; the gin programme was Petersen's project and is still the bar's structural calling card.
The right visitor wants a serious spirits-led bar where the bartenders can talk through 600 gins without losing patience. The wrong visitor wants a buzzy weekend cocktail bar or a date room — the City location means weekday after-work is the bar's strongest shift, and weekends can feel emptier than central. The Infatuation London calls it "the bar to know about if you take gin seriously."
Two rooms: the ground floor is a narrow, dark, woody bar with the gin selection arrayed on glass shelves behind the counter, and downstairs are the rum and Caribbean rooms in brighter, more colourful decor. Difford's Guide describes the basement as "feeling like three different bars stitched together," which is accurate — the rum room is the warmest of the three.
Order the gin flight (three pours, £22) — the structured way into the 600-bottle collection, and the order most reviewers recommend over picking blind. The Merchant House Martini (£15) is the house signature; the rum room's Daiquiri programme has been on every Class Magazine UK Top 50 list since 2018. The cocktail menus rotate by room: gin upstairs, rum downstairs, Caribbean punches in the third room.
Skip ordering wine or beer — the bar is structured around spirits and the lists in those categories are perfunctory. The City location means kitchen support is minimal; eat before you arrive.
Tuesday through Thursday after work is the bar's strongest window — City professionals, lawyers, gin enthusiasts. City AM's after-work bar guide places Merchant House in its top three for the Square Mile. Saturday nights are notably quieter, which several r/londonbars regulars flag as the move for an unhurried tasting session.