The selected restaurants have been divided into five categories: Gourmet, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal Recommendations. The restaurants are listed alphabetically within these different categories, which serve as guidelines rather than absolute definitions of the establishments. All restaurant bills are subject to VAT (Value Added Tax) of 17.5%, which is usually included in the prices given.

A service charge (usually 12.5%) might be included in the prices stated on the menu but it is more likely to be added to the bill at the end. This is technically an optional charge but it would be very unusual to ask for it to be removed. Where ‘Service is not included’, a tip of at least 10% is expected, although 12-15% is becoming more common. Diners should check the bill thoroughly, as tipping is not required on top of a service charge.

The prices quoted below are for an average three-course meal for one person and for a bottle of house wine or cheapest equivalent; they include VAT but not service charge or tip.

Gourmet

Le Gavroche

Since its opening in 1967 by brothers Albert and Michel Roux, the smart, formal, dark and classically French Le Gavroche, with two Michelin stars, has been setting the culinary benchmark for the British restaurant scene. Currently run by Michel Roux Junior, with the assistance of award-winning maitre d’, Silvano Giraldin, diners can expect the highest standards of food, wine and service - at prices to match. Highly praised dishes include the artichoke hearts with foie gras, truffles and chicken mousse, the grilled sea bream with pea and wild mushroom sauce and the baked sea bass with tiger prawns. Reservations essential. No lunch Saturday. Closed Sunday.

Lindsay House

Irish-born chef Richard Corrigan has made this Soho townhouse his home and gained a Michelin star in the process, by creating impeccable dishes in a grand but comfortable environment. Arriving at the discreet front door, diners must ring the bell to gain admittance, which heralds the beginning of an evening where the attentive staff treats them like the houseguests of a rich, absent host. The 1740s building quietly exudes charm, while guests pad up carpeted stairs to a small, elegant but simple dining room, with white walls, oil paintings, a grand fireplace and comfortable chairs.

It is impossible not to feel at home, although there are two private dining rooms for those who really wish to be cocooned, as well as one other public dining room on the ground floor. The menu changes daily (Richard Corrigan tries to source all his ingredients from small suppliers) but, from the tiny wafer-thin cheesy biscuits served with a champagne cocktail, every dish is perfectly balanced, well presented and beautifully cooked. With an accessible and distinguished wine list, amuse bouche between every course and petits four to round the whole thing off, nothing is forgotten in this most memorable establishment. Reservations essential. No lunch Saturday. Closed Sunday.

Locanda Locatelli

The excellent Michelin-starred Locanda Locatelli, the brainchild of celebrity chef Giorgio Locatelli, serves up delectable Italian dishes in sleek surroundings with a glamorous 1970s feel. Four courses are recommended, so diners are able to enjoy an antipasto (such as the lightest salad of borlotti beans, red onions and tuna) but not miss out on a pasta dish, such as the rave-worthy veal shank ravioli. Mains include a decent number of fish and meat dishes, served simply with one or two other ingredients, such as John Dory with potatoes and peas (vegetarians might be forced to indulge in a second pasta dish!), while desserts should not be missed. The restaurant is now open on Sunday. Reservations well in advance are essential.

Nobu

This devastatingly fashionable restaurant, located on the first floor of the Metropolitan Hotel, provides award-winning Japanese cuisine melded with South American influences in a relaxed yet classy environment. Smiling, uniformed members of staff guide the diner through an extensive menu with head chef Mark Edwards at the helm. The presentation is impeccable and the food itself unique. Signature dishes include black cod marinated in miso, chocolate cake with tea-tree ice cream or sake with gold leaf. The place is also one of the best spots in town for sushi. There is plenty of opportunity for celebrity spotting. Reservations essential. No lunch weekends.

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

The only London restaurant with three Michelin stars, this remains the best place to experience Gordon Ramsay at work. In a comfortable but fairly neutral room, the focus is entirely on the food. All dishes are superb and might include the starter of a mosaique of foie gras served three ways (pressed, confit and smoked) with marinated figs and pickled girolles, followed by fillet of Aberdeen Angus beef with caramelized pig’s trotters, quail’s eggs, sauteed baby artichokes and truffle sauce. A seven-course set dinner is available for £90 for those who wish to experience the full gastronomic experience. Reservations essential. Closed Saturday and Sunday.

Business

Incognico

Nico Ladenis’ unfussy West End restaurant provides the best-value set menu in London. For a meagre £12.50, at lunchtime or early evening, diners can enjoy a well-composed three-course meal, with a choice of two dishes per course, from a menu that changes weekly. Dishes might include a brandade of salt cod in crispy pastry, followed by pork belly with fresh sauerkraut and Madeira sauce, and key lime tart. A decent mainly French a la carte menu is also available, including many fish dishes but few entirely vegetarian ones. The interior is cosy and uncluttered but the service can be patchy. A decent wine list has a helpful (or pretentious) adjective describing each wine. Closed Sunday.

The Ivy

The restaurant of choice of many a celebrity, The Ivy is notoriously difficult to get into without a famous name or advance booking of at least six weeks. Telephoning to reserve involves an intimidating call-back system. Once inside, however, the comfortable decor suggests a gentleman’s club with dark wooden panelling and diamond-patterned stained-glass windows. The food is simple but of high quality and includes traditional British favorites, such as bangers and mash, potted shrimps or braised beef in stout, along with more European recipes, such as pork tenderloin on lemon polenta. The cosy environment, pleasing food and guaranteed celebrity spotting makes The Ivy a laid-back yet impressive venue for a business meal.

Jaan

Don’t be put off by the dull exterior of the Swissotel in Temple Place. Tucked away at the back of the building, Jaan, the hotel’s elegant restaurant, is a peaceful haven looking out to a lush rear terraced garden, and an ideal place to do lunch al fresco in the summer.

The food, French cooking enhanced by delicate southeast Asian influences, is good modern fusion cuisine, and there are some interesting offerings on the menu, from starters like the pan-fried foie gras with caramelized banana, pineapple and coconut sorbet or the green miso soup (both excellent) to main courses such as duck a l’orange (served with a spring roll) or trio of beef (ribeye, braised short rib and Kobe beef served with wasabi, tempura and watercress) to green tea flavored crème brulee with passion fruit and hibiscus or black sesame panacotta with lychee granite and cherry syrup for desserts. And the entremets (a soft ginger and lime granite for example, or a rhubarb oats muesli with a light vanilla cream), were little masterpieces in their own right. The wine pairing option, where each dish comes with a recommended wine by the glass to accompany it, is an added bonus.

Oxo Tower Restaurant, Bar and Brasserie

For panoramic views of London, there is no better place to eat than the restaurant at the top of the Thameside Oxo Tower. In good weather, diners can eat on the terrace, otherwise they take a seat in the stylish minimalist interior. At lunchtime, the place is a favorite venue for business meetings, with light, well-prepared food and a set menu available (£29.50 for three courses). In the evenings, the place takes on a more festive mood, with its busy bar set against the stunning London nightscape. The cuisine is modern European, with dishes such monkfish with oxtail, sprouting broccoli and parsnips or spiced tenderloin of lamb, peas, mint and coriander, however, too often the dishes sound promising but fail to shine. The service can also be poor, but with those views the Oxo Tower remains perennially popular.

Matsuri High Holborn

So you thought Japanese food was about sushi and noodles and nothing else? Well, think again. Matsuri High Holborn does feature the obligatory sushi bar, yes, but the real action takes place downstairs in the Teppan-Yaki room, where expert chefs prepare flavorsome dishes on a hot plate right in front of customers. The entertainment factor is huge (order the fireball ice cream and you’ll see why), the set-up makes for convivial eating, and the prices are more reasonable than one might expect. Given the length and breadth of the menu, it’s hard to single out individual dishes for praise, but various set menus are a good choice for those wishing to sample a variety of Japanese specialties, including sushi, sashimi, tempura and teriyaki. Ideal for a business lunch or dinner with a difference! There is a private room for hire.

Trendy

Cigala

Jake Hodges, one of the original founders of Moro, is the owner-chef of this wonderful Spanish restaurant, with big windows, light wood and simple cream decor. Cigala can get busy and noisy and the tables are a little close together but it always remains relaxed, friendly and sophisticated, rather like the food. From the starters, the salads are always fresh and delicious combinations, such as the asparagus, broad beans, pea and mint salad. Recommended mains include the fish dishes, such as the skate with garlic, guindilla peppers and balsamic vinegar with braised spinach. There is a charming, small tapas bar in the basement, where it is possible for diners to eat as much of the incredible bread alongside excellent tapas (the meatballs and king prawns are highly recommended). Reservations recommended. Closed Sunday.

The Electric Brasserie

Opened in 2002 as part of the refurbishment of Portobello’s famous Electric Cinema, England’s first purpose-built cinema. A major revamp brought in soft leather seating and chic wooden tables - and a suitably trendy following, coming for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just drinks in the bar area. With a huge range of brasserie-style dishes and great seafood available all day long, this comes as no surprise; it is especially popular for Sunday brunch - comfort food like chunky steak sandwiches or hamburgers with red onion marmalade. The a la carte menu gets slightly grander, with the addition of dishes like grilled dover sole or chateaubriand for two. There is also a joint on a trolley, which varies every evening but all Sunday is Aberdeen Angus beef with Yorkshire pudding. Open daily, although reservations recommended Thursday to Saturday.

Hakkasan

This chic restaurant is situated down an alley in central London, which deters passing trade and helps heighten Hakkasan’s sense of exclusivity. Once down the smart slate steps and past reception, the blue glass doors open on to a stunning, dimly lit, room, where a beautiful latticework screen encases the dining area. Unfortunately, the effect is best seen from the lounge-bar area outside, because once within this inner sanctum, with tables too close together and an ill-advised music policy, the magical effect is lost somewhat.

Neverthless, the food makes up for everything - this is one of only five Chinese restaurants with a Michelin star. The lunchtime dim sum is so excellent that it is difficult to single out any one dish. Nevertheless, unmissable mains include the roasted silver cod with champagne and Chinese honey. However, just soaking up the atmosphere with the other trendy people is a viable alternative, given the exquisite, exotic concoctions on the famous cocktail list (all £8). Reservations highly recommended.

Mash

Brainchild of entrepreneur Oliver Peyton, who also owns the Atlantic Bar and Grill, Mash is a novel combination of restaurant, bar, micro-brewery and deli, housed in a bright, open space just off Oxford Street. The bar and micro-brewery downstairs is open until 0200, serving a trendy post-work crowd stylish cocktails, heady own beers and Modern European dishes ranging from the snacky to the more substantial. Enormous beer vats encased in glass line the back wall, while chairs are space-age pods; there is also a sunken cushioned seating area. Upstairs, the quieter restaurant is more exclusive and the food slightly classier, such as roast rack of lamb with ratatouille of courgettes and peppers with green olive tapenade or baked halibut with sauteed potato, artichoke and Swiss chard with anchovy salsa. Trendy places come and go but this remains a reliably stylish West End choice. Closed Sunday.

Sketch

French chef Pierre Gagnaire’s first venture in London, this enormous 18th-century house has been divided into four different culinary experiences, all extravagantly designed by Mourad Mazouz. The Parlour on the ground floor is a frou-frou tea room, with pastries displayed in a jewelry case. The West Bar, almost space age with red lighting and pod bar stools, is the place to drink at the moment and also serves a ‘quick but refined lunch’.

The Gallery is entirely white and filled with white furniture but has colored light emanating from the ceiling and a huge frieze of video art; it serves lunch and dinner. However, the piece de resistance is The Lecture Room, with its dramatic design featuring luxurious padded walls studded with gold and its dramatic prices (main courses go for £75). The menu is divided into sections, with a dish or two underneath, so the starters consist of Red Mullet, Vegetables, Charcuterie, Langoustines and Crab. Mains are famed for unusual pairings, the sections include Poultry and White Truffles, Beef and Caviar, John Dory and Scallops. Reservations essential. Closed Sunday; The Lecture Room closed Monday as well.

Budget

Cafe Emm

This brasserie serves the best-value good food in Soho, so its no-booking policy means that a queue is inevitable unless it is very early evening. As well as various starters and snacks, there is a selection of main courses at £5.95, including Cajun-style chicken with potato skins, or home made salmon fish cakes. For £7.95, diners can choose from classier dishes, such as fresh poached salmon or lamb moussaka. The dark-wood interior is packed with candle-lit tables and the service is brisk but not rushed.

Golden Dragon

One of Chinatown’s best restaurants, the Golden Dragon is bedecked in red and gold and has a noisy, bustling atmosphere. In the daytime (1200-1700), the dim sum selection, brought to the table in a never-ending parade of bamboo steamers, is of exemplary quality. Main dishes, available both night and day, are excellent value and come in generously sized portions. As well as all the standard dishes and more, some unusual dishes are on offer, such as eel or jelly fish, roast pigeon or even a whole suckling pig (available on order for £115).

Mildred’s

Mildred’s is a tasty and popular Soho establishment that happens to be vegetarian. Although it recently moved a few streets, thankfully, the warm decor, relaxed atmosphere and low prices remain. One improvement is the size, with more space to accommodate the steady stream of regulars and savvy tourists. The healthy menu changes, however, the homemade veggie burger of the day and the pasta of the day are reliable favorites. Vegans are always catered for, as are those with wheat or dairy intolerance. A selection of organic wines and juices is on offer. The staff is young, trendy and helpful. Closed Sunday. Debit cards accepted but no credit cards.

Rock and Sole Plaice

It is difficult to beat sitting upstairs at the Rock and Sole Plaice, near the fryers, watching the cooking and the takeaway punters and munching on a good plate of fresh fish with crispy batter, chunky chips and mushy peas (optional), while downing a good cuppa. Although, sitting on one of the picnic tables outside on a summer’s evening, with a nice bottle of crisp white wine, might pip it. Fish and chips are a British institution and there are few places better to indulge than this, London’s oldest surviving chippie. It serves up all the basic fishes (cod, rock, haddock, plaice, skate and scampi) and more specialties (halibut, lemon sole, dover sole, trout, salmon, sardines and mackerel), depending on market availability, as well as other chip-shop standards like pasties and pies.

Tosa

Admittedly not the most central of locations, but if you happen to be staying in West London, this brand new Japanese restaurant near Ravenscourt Park is well worth seeking out. The highlight here is the traditional charcoal grill (sumiyaki) something you won’t see in many Japanese restaurants in the capital, and it is a shame, as there is no denying it is the most popular feature here. The menu offers a good selection of small dishes, in a format reminiscent of Spanish tapas or Turkish meze: lots of small portions, so you won’t feel bloated by the end of your meal, but you will have tried several wonderful new dishes. Try an assortment of little skewers from the grill: we tried the duck breast with spring onion and the pork loin and shiso leaf, both exquisitely tender and flavorsome. Or the perennially popular yakitori or the asparagus with pork belly. Sushi, sashimi, soups and noodles are also available, together with a good selection of small cold plates, ranging from edamame beans to gyutataki (seared beef with red onion and ponzu sauce), all fresh and tasty and well presented. Add a bright, light interior, a few tables outside for sunny days, friendly service and reasonable prices, and you can see why this small family-run restaurant is packed most nights.

Personal Recommendations

One-O-One

Located on the ground floor of the Sheraton Park Tower in Knightsbridge, steps away from the trendy Harvey Nichols store, One-O-One is a restaurant no self-respecting fish enthusiast can afford to ignore. Pascal Proyart’s little gem was voted ‘Best Fish Restaurant’ in Harden’s London Restaurant Guide two years running (2003 and 2004), and it’s plain to see why. The menu features mouth-watering offerings, the dishes are all expertly executed, and the service, friendly yet unobtrusive, is smooth as silk. Royal king crab legs from the Barents Sea with Aioli sauce were an exceptional (as well as sizeable) starter, and the pan-roasted sea scallops and duck foie gras was a heavenly combination of flavors and textures. Dover sole with roasted langoustine and chives Mousseline sauce was cooked to perfection, while the roasted wild seabass (one of Pascal’s specialties) with soft tapenade crust and parsley Barigoule sauce, melted on the tongue. Divine! Just make sure you leave enough room for dessert: a raviole of pinapple and nougat glace with coconut sorbet and exotic fuit coulis maybe?

Duke of York

A quirky little gastropub in a quiet Bloomsbury street, the Duke of York is a relaxed yet vibrant place to spend an evening. Unlike most gastropubs, it is not overly trendy, overly crowded or overly priced. Diners can mingle with pub punters and eat in the brighter red-toned bar area, decorated with contemporary art, or instead sit in private, little booths in the back dining room. The usually tasty dishes range from British classics like Cumberland sausage and mash to more unusual daily specials, such as sea bream tempura with stir-fried noodles, although they can sometimes disappoint. Reservations recommended for dining area.

La Trompette

La Trompette sneaked into the top ten of Harden’s London Favorites in 2002 and, despite being situated in a quiet street in Chiswick, it looks set to retain its success. Owner Nigel Platts-Martin and head chef Ollie Couillaud have worked miracles in creating a genuinely world-class menu at out-of-town prices. The menu changes daily but highlights include the starter of tarte fine of wood pigeon, onion and mushrooms or the main of rump of lamb with ratatouille, olives, fondant potato and new season’s garlic, while the steak tartar can make a decent claim to be the finest in London. The chic modern interior has a buzz but never becomes too noisy, while most conversations seem to be dominated by discussions about the quality of the food at this fantastic-value restaurant.

Pearl Restaurant

Named after the former Pearl Insurance Building on High Holborn, whose premises the restaurant occupies, Pearl is a thrilling new addition to the London dining scene, and no doubt one that will become a firm favorite with foodies in the capital. The recipe? Start with glamorous decor (think high ceilings and grey marble ionic columns, crisp white tablecloths, clever lighting, and thousands of pearls strung together to the most striking effect), add excellent modern French cuisine (expertly concocted by head chef Jun Tanaka) and an award-winning wine list with over 50 wines by the glass, and finish with live piano music and attentive yet not overzealous service. The result? You are onto a winner.

An evening at Pearl is a truly memorable one, and for once in a city that has more than its fair share of mediocre, overpriced venues, this time you will remember your meal for all the right reasons: the food is the real star here, with a mouth-watering menu that features the likes of warm salad of rabbit with prunes or pigeon and foie gras terrine for starters (both succulent), and mains as varied as red mullet in orange and rosemary sauce or a quartet of pork offering four different cuts on one plate (again, both delicious and cooked to perfection). Nothing’s left to chance, not even the appetizers (ours included a melt-in-the-mouth rabbit rillettes) or the cheese board (which featured an exceptional selection). Well worth splashing out for.

St John

This restaurant, an old smokehouse, is notorious for being pig heaven, where no bit of the animal is left off the menu. But it also happens to be home to one of the loveliest dining rooms in London. Up some stairs from the courtyard bar, this wonderful, light room is all wooden boards, white paint and chrome hanging lampshades. With tables a decent distance from each other, a friendly staff and an unpretentious mixed bag of diners creating a general hubbub, it is difficult not to recommend this place, even to vegetarians.

Although (unless they eat fish), they will be confined to eating the one basic vegetarian dish on offer, such as leeks and red wine. Ultimately, however, this restaurant serves up old-fashioned British classics with absolute panache - boiled ham and parsley sauce, rabbit saddle, roast beef with a stunning horseradish sauce, eccles cakes with Lancashire cheese for dessert. Although one or two unusual cuts of meat - bone marrow, neck of kid, ox heart, pig’s ears, tails, trotters, cheeks - are guaranteed. Whole roast suckling pigs can be pre-ordered for 14 diners, at least seven days in advance, costing £280.

Yauatcha

Where can you find a seriously stylish, fun restaurant that also serves exceptionally good food? Look no further than Yauatcha, the Soho new-comer everybody is talking about. Chinese is not my favorite, and being unable to book a table before 2200 was not a good start (the price to pay for the restaurant’s popularity, I suppose: even at that time the place was still packed!), but then these complaints faded away the minute our order arrived. Opt, as we did, for the dim sum, which is to kill for. The menu is extensive, and you will be spoilt for choice: from fried prawn and date parcels to steamed duck and shiitake mushroom rolls to roast venison puffs (to mention but a few), our selection was exquisite, moist and flavorsome, well presented, and, what’s more, served with a smile.

And the desserts (lemon and ginger souffle and green tea crème brulee and raspberry sorbet) were excellent too. The main dining room downstairs (think candles on the walls, twinkling stars in the ceiling, and a very long fish tank running the length of the bar counter) is much more atmospheric than the one on the ground floor upstairs, so do remember that when you book… Not often do you see such expert cuisine served in such beautiful surroundings at such reasonable prices in London: do believe the hype for once and go check it out for yourself.

Nightlife:

London’s nightlife is currently buzzing with everything, from some of Europe’s liveliest nightclubs right through to stylish design bars and traditional old London pubs. Night-time hotspots can be found across the capital, although there is a particular concentration in the West End, where Soho is still the coolest place to drink, although it remains seedy along the edges. Soho is also the best place for gay bars and clubs.

Two particularly hip areas in which to drink are the perennially cool Notting Hill/Ladbroke Grove area in the west and the now very up-and-come Old Street/Shoreditch area in the east (where the fashionable art and media crowd has popularized ‘Hoxton cool’). Many local areas, such as Camden and Angel in the north, Brixton and Clapham in the south, have great local pubs and bars and remain the areas where the best of the well-established gastropubs can be found.

The legal drinking age is 18 years and almost all of the clubs exact an admission price (often increasing after 2300 or 2400), which can be pricey, particularly in the West End. Dress codes vary depending on the calibre of the club but it may be wise to leave the trainers at home. Although there have been plans for change for a while now, England’s licensing laws still mean that pubs and bars traditionally close at 2300 Monday to Saturday and at 2230 on Sunday. However, some places have special licenses that allow them to stay open later.

Clubs usually open at 2200, fill up by 2400, and stay open until 0200/0300 during the week and usually around 0500 at weekends, although often later. Drink prices are exorbitant in London and can vary from pub to pub and club to club. A pint will cost anything from £2.50 upwards and will be much more like £3 in the West End. Few venues can be defined by their music, featuring different styles on different nights, with regular sets by guest DJs. The best way to keep abreast of goings-on is to check out the listings in the weekly Time Out magazine .

Bars: If a traditional English pub is what you are after, try the 17th-century George Inn, 77 Borough High Street, SE1 - the only surviving example of a galleried coaching inn in London. Nearby, a popular watering hole for patrons of the Globe Theater, tourists and locals is The Anchor, Bankside, SE1. This 17th-century haunt is quaint and quirky, while its Thames-side terrace is a delight on sunny days. Alternatively, the Nell Gwynne, 1-2 Bull Inn Court, just off the Strand, WC2, is one of the smallest and most endearing of the central, old-fashioned pubs, while the hugely popular 17th-century Lamb and Flag, 33 Rose Street, WC2, offers two floors connected by a rickety staircase and an outdoor area in summer.

For ornate Victorian interiors, The Salisbury, 90 St Martins Lane, WC2, with its gin palace atmosphere, is unbeatable. No less popular is the Lamb, 94 Lamb’s Conduit Street, WC1. As for bars, many of the best in Soho are members only but Yo!Below, in the basement of Yo!Sushi, 52 Poland Street, W1, is far more egalitarian, featuring Japanese cartoons, Karaoke-singing staff, self-service beer dispensers and masseuses. For a chilled scruffy kind of Soho cool, try Two Floors, Kingly Street, W1; it doesn’t have the name above the door but you can tell it by the sofas in the window and the green walls.

For stylish, hugely busy, trendy bars that stay open past 2300 and do not require a membership card, Amber, 6 Poland Street, W1, is one of the nicest, while Akbar, 77 Dean Street, has a touch of exotic decor. The beautiful people go to The West Bar at Sketch, 9 Conduit Street, W1 (see Restaurants). Voted ‘Bar of the Year’ in 2002, by both the Evening Standard and Time Out, Rockwell, on the ground floor of the Trafalgar Hotel, Trafalgar Square, WC2, currently is one of the city’s coolest meeting places, with its sumptuous cocktails and chic decor. Point 101, 101 New Oxford Street, WC1, is a late-night West End bar that defies the archaic drinking laws with DJs and an up-for-it clientele.

For gay men in Soho, there is only one street in which to pose. Almost all of the Old Compton Street pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants are gay or very gay-friendly. A new and popular one is G.A.Y. Bar, 30 Old Compton Street, W1, run by the unstoppable club night, G.A.Y. (see Clubs below). Off Old Compton Street, two well-established male favorites are The Edge, 11 Soho Square, W1, and The Yard, 57 Rupert Street, W1. For women, the choice is much more limited; the best by far is The Candy Bar, 4 Carlisle Street, W1.

Further west, in Notting Hill, one of the newest and best bars in the area is Under the Westway Bar and Restaurant, Westbourne Studios, 242 Acklam Road, W10. This bar is set out on the vast open ground floor of a studio/office warehouse - you have to buzz security/reception to be let in, explaining you want to go to the bar. The ceiling of the bar area is actually the concrete flyover known as the Westway. Two pubs about as different from each other as chalk and cheese are the old and unpretentious favorite Portobello Gold, 95-97 Portobello Road, W11, and one of the trendiest pubs in the area The Westbourne, 101 Westbourne Park Villas, W2.

Heading east, Vertigo, Level 42, Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, EC2, at 180m (590ft) above the ground, is one of the UK’s highest bars and boasts stunning views across the city from the floor-to-ceiling windows, although it is only open on weeknights, as it is in the business-orientated City of London. For pubs in the Old Street area, The Bricklayers, 63 Charlotte Road, EC2, is as reliable as ever for a pint and a possible glimpse of a famous artist, while for kitsch cool, the George and Dragon, 2 Hackney Road, E1, is your best bet. Table football is the focus of the Brazilian-style Kick Bar, 127 Shoreditch High Street, E1. If you are after more of a designer bar, the place to go for DJs is the Medicine Bar, 89 Great Eastern Street, EC2, or for food is Grand Central, 91-93 Great Eastern Street, EC2, possibly the most beautiful bar-restaurant in London.

Casinos: There are over 20 casinos in London. For contact details and other information, refer to the British Casino Association, 38 Grosvenor Gardens, SW1 . By law, only members and their guests over the age of 18 years can enter a British casino; membership usually takes 24 hours.

Clubs: UK garage (becoming ever closer musically to its RandB cousin across the Atlantic) is still the ‘in’ sound of London and many clubs across the globe, however, a variety of musical styles pervades clubs throughout the capital. The world-famous super-club Ministry of Sound, 103 Gaunt Street, SE1 , is still going strong a decade on, with its stunning sound system pumping out popular house and garage. Its big rivals today are the more underground Fabric, 77A Charterhouse Street, EC1 (website: www.fabriclondon.com), Pacha, Terminus Place, Victoria, SW1 , which has brought a touch of Balearic glamour to Victoria, and The End, an ultra-stylish club at 18A West Central Street, WC1.

However, despite some big players, the club scene today is probably swinging more towards smaller clubs and DJ-bars. One area that is gaining in popularity for good small-scale clubs is Shoreditch/Old Street, springing up around the now well-established grand-dame of the scene, 333, at 333 Old Street, EC1 (website: www.333mother.com). Clubs like the Bridge and Tunnel, 4 Calvert Avenue, E2 (with popular electro nights and rocksteady nights), Cargo, 83 Rivington Street, EC2 (mostly soulful house), Herbal, 12-14 Kingsland Road, E2 (house, breakbeats, hip hop and drum’n'bass), and slightly further away, 93 Feet East, 150 Brick Lane, E1 (hip hop, deep house and Latin nights). DJ-bars playing various different tunes on most nights of the week include the hugely popular Market Place, 11 Market Place, W1, and the relaxed arty vibe of the Vibe Bar, 91-95 Brick Lane, E1.

Although the east is running away with things at the moment, the west’s Notting Hill Arts Club, 21 Notting Hill Gate, W11, is always worth checking out, for its eclectic nights (famous for Latin nights but more recently a rocking punk night). South of the river, Brixton’s reputation for nightlife remains unscathed with The Fridge, Town Hall Parade, SW2, a long-time favorite, and Substation South, 9 Brighton Terrace, SW9, the original and still the best cruisey gay nightclub. The most popular gay night, however, is back in Soho, G.A.Y. at The Astoria, 157 Charing Cross Road, WC2.

Comedy: The Comedy Store, Haymarket House, 1A Oxendon Street, SW1 , still offers the best comedy in town. Jongleurs comedy and cabaret clubs are based in Battersea, Camden and Bow .

Live Music: International acts play at Earl’s Court Exhibition Center, Warwick Road, Earl’s Court, SW5 , and Wembley Arena, Lakeside Way, Wembley, HA9 Next door, Wembley Stadium was once a vast auditorium for massive stars but it is currently being rebuilt. For a more unique atmosphere, try The Astoria (LA1), 157 Charing Cross Road, WC2 , or the Brixton Academy, 211 Stockwell Road, SW9 . The Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Shepherds Bush Green, W12 , and the Forum, 9-17 Highgate Road, NW5 , draw medium-sized acts.

New and exciting indie acts usually play the Barfly Camden, 49 Chalk Farm Road, NW1 , on their way up, while pubs with regular, often unsigned live music include the Hope and Anchor, 207 Upper Street, N1 , Camden’s famous Dublin Castle, 94 Parkway, NW1, and the Swan, 215 Clapham Road, SW9 . For jazz, head to the Jazz Cafe , 5 Parkway, NW1, or to Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, 47 Frith Street, W1 , a legendary venue in the heart of Soho. Tickets for most gigs and concerts are available from Ticketmaster, or contact the venues direct.