Mr Fogg's Society of Exploration

Mr Fogg's Society of Exploration is a Victorian-themed speakeasy cocktail bar on Bedford Street, a stone's throw from Charing Cross station, the starting point of Phileas J. Fogg's fictional voyage around the world. Bookcases of antiques, weather-beaten maps and mounted portraits of past explorers set the scene in a low-lit subterranean room.

The bar belongs to the Mr Fogg's collection run by Inception Group, whose other London venues include the Residence in Mayfair, the Tavern and Gin Parlour across the road in Covent Garden and the Pawnbrokers in Soho. Behind the wood-panelled bar sits the Mechanical Mixologist, billed as the world's first automated Negroni-making machine and presented as a fruit of the Industrial Revolution. The multi-sensory cocktail menu takes drinkers through nine regions of the Earth with elixirs sourced from the farthest corners of the globe, including smoking serves and unusual vessels.

Themed speakeasy cocktail bar near Charing Cross

Beyond the main room, a Victorian train carriage hosts Murder on the Fogg's Express, a 90-minute tabletop murder mystery with a welcome cocktail and nibbles, available seven days a week at £40 a head. Spiffing Sundays bring live entertainment from 8pm to 11.30pm, and the whole Society can be hired for private parties.

What to expect on a visit

Doors open at 5pm from Monday to Thursday, 3pm on Friday and Sunday and 1pm on Saturday, closing at midnight from Monday to Wednesday and on Sunday and at 2am from Thursday to Saturday, when the bar runs its Late-Night Society. Booking is advisable, especially around the events. For a neon-lit contrast a few doors away, see Blame Gloria, or browse our guide to cocktail bars in Covent Garden.