Put these Central London nightspots in your address book and grab a black cab

Start your night at… The Moose

(31 Duke Street). Despite the carefully coordinated Shaun Clarkson-designed décor, the Moose prides itself on being a little more casual than your average West End bar.

Eat Matador pie (free-range British beef, sherry, shallots, chorizo and olives) with mashed potato and minted mushy peas.

Drink A berry caipiroska – raspberries, lime and brown sugar muddled with Chambord and vodka.

Do Wear a deerstalker – you’ll fit right in with the bar’s hunting-lodge chic.

Don’t Take it all too seriously – any place sporting cowhide upholstery obviously has its tongue planted firmly in its cheek.

Move onto… Carbon

(Old Quebec Street). ‘Industrial’ and ‘glamour’ are words not often spoken in the same breath, but all that’s set to change with the advent of Carbon. Here, bottles of vintage Tattinger share wall space with blueprints, and the VIP area is cordoned off with fixed steel chains. Makes a change from a velvet rope, at any rate.

Eat Japanese crumbled prawns with warmed flatbread and parsley butter.

Drink The ‘Cullinan’ – a blend of sugar, orange bitters, gin and pear cognac, topped off with the ubiquitous Tattinger.

Do Make an effort – ripped jeans, caps and scruffy trainers will be given very short shrift. Ditto workmen’s overalls.

Don’t Start throwing beatdowns on the dancefloor – hip-hop and R&B are conspicuously absent in here.

Finish up at… No.5 Cavendish

Square (Cavendish Square). This sumptuously appointed members club evidently takes its drinking seriously – you can take your pick from the VIP Bar, the Cigar Bar, and the Ground Floor Bar.

Eat Roasted rack of lamb with braised aubergines, polenta and black truffle.

Drink A strawberry deluxe – fresh strawberries blended with Absolut Blue, fraise liqueur and champagne.

Do Keep your eyes peeled for celebrities. Kylie Minogue and Billy Zane have both been spotted here.

Don’t Come here the day before pay day – quaffing champagne with the stars comes at a price.

Cocktail ingredient.

Chambord With contemporary concerns about food miles reaching fever pitch among the chattering classes, it makes sense to reach for smugly seasonal liqueur. Made with black raspberries, Chambord hits the right note in late summer. Added to which, it’s a hugely versatile cocktail ingredient.

Try it in a Raspberry and Mint Daiquiri Muddle five fresh mint leaves with half a shot of Chambord, two shots of light rum, half a shot of sugar syrup and some freshly squeezed lime juice. Shake with ice and strain into a Martini glass. Garnish with more mint.

 

Latest posts from: incoming