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Situated just off Haymarket, Mint Leaf serves seriously good Indian food. It'd definitely in the same category as some of the more celebrated options like Veeraswamy and Tamarind. Get a mix of main courses to share to make the most of the experience – a combination of chicken curry, lamb stew, pulao rice, bread basket, yellow lentils and aloo will certainly not disappoint.
J Sheekey has long been part of London’s eating scene - it dates back as far as 1896. However, it's only since its relaunch by the people behind the Ivy that it's really been worth a visit. The freshness and availability of all Sheekey’s ingredients mean they have no restaurant set menu; instead, a wonderful selection of dishes of the day served by some of the friendliest, most knowledgeable staff you could wish for. It's definitely worth booking as far in advance as you possibly can.
Great site with information on the most fabulous bars in London
Geisha Bar is a new cocktail bar in Soho. It has an excellent cocktail menu, good DJs and sound system, and a stylish interior. Its clientele is mostly gay, though I don't think a straight customer would feel uncomfortable.
75 Charing Cross Road,
London
WC2H 0NE
www.geisha-bar.co.uk
A very nice jet-black Fullers pub with a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The food was simple and filling, and the beer cool and refreshing. One of the best pubs for away fans visiting Stamford Bridge.
The Blackbird, 209 Earls Court Road, London, SW5 9AN
020 7835 1855
www.hotels-london-hotel.com/pubs/earls-court/the-blackbird/
This is a really good bar in Southwark, great for an after work drink and not too expensive for where it is! (good chips too)
Great pub near Spitalfields: traditional with a spice of trendiness and east London charm. If you fancy a good Sunday roast, take a break after your shopping tour on Spitalfields market and Brick Lane.
9 Folgate Street
Spitalfields
E1 6BX
London
So over the cheesy West End clubs? Try Maya. We had such an amazing time, it was heaving until the early hours. What time does this venue shut?! It was great for celeb spotting and dancing if you like obscure 80s tracks and Euro dance favourites. Definitely an asset to central London!
No1 Dean Street
London, W1
mayalondon.com
02072879608
Tottenham Court Road
This is a wonderfully atmospheric pub that constantly looks shut from the outside so is never too busy. Upstairs is a room that could be your lounge. Every Wednesday they put on live music and they never fail to impress me. The old chesterfield chairs allow you to go beyond relaxation and let you take in the acoustic sounds played out to you.
Number 2 Queens Crescent, Chalk Farm
There's a magical Arctic experience hidden away behind the busy shopping hell of Regent Street. The build up to going inside is part of the fun.
First, you raise your body temperature by a few valuable degrees in the normal, heated Below Zero bar downstairs, which serves creative fresh fruity cocktails such as a scrummy apple and blackberry crumble concoction.
Everyone is allocated a 40 minute time slot so when your time comes they give you space-age silver cloaks, thick gloves and snow boots and you go into the Ice Bar. Inside it's minus five degrees and everything inside is made from clear crystal ice from Sweden – the walls, the bar, the tables and the chunky glasses, which you slurp simple but super-strong vodka cocktails from. Drinking doesn't get more refreshing than this.
This pub, halfway between Leicester Square and Tottenham Court Road tube stations, is brilliant. As well as a good range of drinks and a yummy menu, it offers loads of live music events all week (from open mic nights to unsigned indie bands and old-time jazz).
Thanks to a new refurbishment the Spice now looks like a slightly garish, eccentric Highland mansion, and it's extra-cosy for sinking winter pints. And best of all the pub's attractions? Three words: Sticky. Toffee. Pudding.
6 Moor St (by the intersection of Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Ave - just next to the big theatre)
One of the things I like in London is the variety of restaurants with so many different kinds of cuisine and flavours. London has everything for everyone's taste. From fish and chips to the most sophisticated dishes. Exotic and ethnic cuisines are to be found in most areas of London. But also traditional English food in many pubs and restaurants like Maggie Jones's in 6 Old Court Place near Kensington High Street .
www.hotelara.com/travel/uk/england/london-restaurants-eating-out.html
Pretty basic restaurant with the most fabulous authentic curries and biryanies. When I am homesick for my mum's cooking this is where I go and where loads of other Indians and Pakistanis go. Much better than any restaurant in Southall, cheaper and the staff are lovely.
Lahore Spice, 272 Kingsbury Road, Kingsbury, London NW9 0BT, 020 8204 2040 (Jubilee line)
A real gem of a bar, with a worn in, non-pretentious atmosphere, a wide range of continental beers and a great gastro restaurant attached.
Better still, they have a lovely little beer garden (more yard than garden) at the back. A great little place a little further afield from where the hordes hang out in Islington.
The Alma, 59 Newington Green Road, London, N1 4QU Tel: 02077047601 URL: www.welovelocal.com/en/london/islington/canonbury/pubs/the-alma-n14qu.html
Nearest Station: Highbury and Islington
This is a very cheap solution for a pub lunch at the Opera bar on the first floor.
29 St Martins Lane WC2N 4ER
A pub overlooking Peckham Rye. It's an old-style bar which has been given a bit of a makeover. However, they've got it just right in not changing too much. It's spacious enough with solid wooden tables at dining hight and a fire in winter.
The main bar is now non-smoking but there's a space out back for the chokers and in summer they open a huge beer garden.
Best of all is the food. Great varied menu featuring mezes, Thai/Chinese food, burgers, salads and roasts.
There's also a decent range of wines.
It's not that cheap but it's worth it for a treat or just to get a seat.
Rye Lane, Peckham, South London.
Five Minutes walk up from Peckham Rye Train station.
This Cuban bar & restaurant promises the best Mojito in London - my boyfriend says they're ALMOST as good as his own, which is a great recommendation!
The food is satisfying and good value - great tapas including smoky patatas bravas and gorgeous melting sweetcorn fritters. Perfect to share. Mains such as steak won't break the bank, and are delivered to the table quickly even on a Friday night.
The cocktails are no more expensive than other bars but the atmosphere is much more laid-back.
This is not a "see and be seen" bar, more a place you can relax and have fun with friends, lose some inhibitions and cackle wholeheartedly while the attentive staff look after you.
Kensington Court, off High Street Kensington
W8 5DA
020 7938 4147
www.bdelmlondon.com
Nearest Tube : High Street Kensignton
It's a tiny space - decked out in retro burlesque style, entered by a dramatic (if small) glass entrance just in front of the Lyceum. A former men's loo it is now rammed with high-tech stuff (sms jukebox, automatically opaque loo doors) and ambitiously holds shows (can't imagine how) every night at 10.
We went in for an early evening cocktail - all drinks 1/3rd off before 8pm. Cocktails strong but chemical, though the wine list looked okay. To be honest it's just feels like a pleasantly odd place to be drinking - huddled beneath the pavement sitting on leather seats which are shaped like buttocks. Maybe I wouldn't go back, but if you are in the area it's worth a visit.
Zero Aldwych
London WC2r 0HT
www.cellardoor.biz
Slate-top tabled, concrete-walled, shabby-chic gem of a bar, always filled with Londoners after a day's slog at work. Hard to find (probably why there's never any tourists), it's underground below a sailing shop on Shaftsbury avenue just past Neil St. Great for a post-shopping bevvie, or just to people-watch and soak up the chilled but funky atmosphere. A London must.
Nearest tube- Covent Garden, walk to the top of Neil St then turn right onto Shaftsbury Ave. It's downstairs about 5 doors down.
Beautiful historic Dutch bar in Soho. The interior is amazing and the atmosphere is buzzing. Good selection of Dutch and Belgian beers, and a superb food menu with lots of yummy Dutch snacks. The bar has a long history which adds to the vibe inside.
11 Macclesfield Street, Soho.
Piccadilly/Leicester Square tube
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