Rake’s Café Bar

Sip through a story

Rake’s Café Bar, nestled within the Andaz London Liverpool Street hotel, is no ordinary bar; it’s a living tribute to excess, madness, and art, rooted in one of England’s most infamous cautionary tales. Inspired by “A Rake’s Progress”, the 1733 series of paintings by English artist William Hogarth, Rake’s draws its name, identity, and spirit from the tragic arc of Tom Rakewell, a man who inherits wealth, indulges every vice London has to offer, and ultimately descends into ruin and madness.

Ironically, the final painting in Hogarth’s series, “The Mad House”, takes place in Bethlem Hospital, or ‘Bedlam,’ now occupied by Rake’s Café Bar.

The Front Room, with greenery and a gazebo, is ideal for brunch or a casual meeting by day. The Parlour room is a moodier, more theatrical space that suits an evening cocktail or late-night rendezvous. And the not-so-secret secret room known as Orgy, a tongue-in-cheek reference to Tom Rakewell’s hedonistic spiral. 

The bar is a playful collision of eras with its high ceilings, ornate mouldings, and plush seating, which contrast strikingly with irreverent, street-art-style defacements of portraits with scratched-out eyes and faces scrawled over, blurring lines between classical opulence and contemporary rebellion. The logo, carved with sharp, scratch-like lines, could be a nod to Bedlam’s unsettling legacy and Hogarth’s later engravings.

What truly elevates Rake’s is its cocktail list, cleverly themed around the eight scenes of “A Rake’s Progress”. Each drink corresponds to a chapter in Tom’s life, from the moment he inherits his fortune to his eventual descent into madness. Whether you’re sipping “The Heir” or “The Arrest” (as we did), the drink draws you into the story.