London Nightlife

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One evening before dinner we needed somewhere to have a drink and we came across Mash. Located close to Oxford Circus, this is a large modern bar with its own Microbrewery. There is also a restaurant upstairs.

When we stopped by it was around 7pm on a Friday night and the bar was packed full with the after-work crowd letting off steam at the end of the week. The noise inside the main part of the bar was deafening! How anyone could have a conversation in there I don't know.

After buying two (expensive) drinks we managed to score a small table in the front section, by the main door, where we could at least have a chat. Ideally we would have sat at one of the tables out the front on the footpath, but these were in high demand.

I liked the look of Mash, and it is conveniently located to Oxford Street, though a bit too noisy for me to bother returning.

Dress Code: Work attire is fine

The Lamb & Flag is a small wooden-fronted pub hidden away in Covent Garden. At over 300 years old, it is the oldest pub in the area. It was once known as the 'Bucket of Blood' due to the bare-knuckle fights that used to be held there.

This is a very traditional British pub, with its wooden panelling, low beams and bare wooden floors. At the rear of the pub is an inviting fireplace surrounded by wooden settles.

Serving up a decent selection of real ale for the beer lovers out there, the Lamb & Flag can get pretty crammed at times. You may have more luck heading up the creaky old stairs to the upstairs bar and restaurant area to enjoy your drink.

In the summer, the courtyard outside the pub is roped-off creating a large paved area for the after-work crowd to congregate with a cold pint or two.

I must admit to being guilty of stopping by post-shop for a half-pint or two ; )

Dress Code: Come as you are - a good mix of business attire and comfy sightseeing outfits are always to be seen, so you'll fit right in.

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One Friday night I headed into town after work for a special event....a VT Meeting! The meeting, organised by JulesH (Julia) was being held in honour of Hayward68 (Laura) coming to London.

The venue was a small bar called 22 Below, located close to Oxford Circus in central London. 22 Below is called a 'bar, lounge, kitchen'…I guess cause there is a bar, some lounge chairs (plus other chairs, tables and stools), and they also serve food. They don't mention that it is also a music venue - there was a DJ that was playing 80's music…much to the delight of us older VT'ers who could actually sing along with what the DJ was playing for a change!

Drinks wise, there were some interesting cocktails to choose from (like a Porn Star) and a few wines by the glass, along with the other usual drinks. Drinks were a little on the pricy side, and no early evening happy hour : (

The bar was small, with a relaxed vibe. Entrance is off the street, and then straight down stairs. It got pretty noisy later in the evening when the DJ turned up the music, making it hard to have a conversation unless standing right by the person and speaking loudly.

There were 11 VT'ers all up, and the bar kindly reserved a table for us so we could sit comfortably for the first few drinks and have a bite to eat. With the food, we opted for a Mezze platter and another sharing platter which had an assortment of tasty treats. We also shared a big bowl of chips.

I liked 22 Below and would pop by again for drinks, perhaps earlier in the evening when it isn't to noisy.

Dress Code: The afterwork crowd looked smart, so dress accordingly

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One night we headed to Notting Hill for a fancy dinner. Before our meal we wanted to relax over a drink or two, so headed to the Lonsdale.

The Lonsdale is a stylish bar with that 'wow factor' when you first walk in. At the front there is a cocktail bar and to the rear is a restaurant. The restaurant area is very cool looking, with pink glowing lights shining around the walls. The staff were friendly and welcoming and the bar was thankfully not too smoky when we visited.

I had a classic Vodka Martini and Alex got a little adventurous with an Elderflower Martini. Mine was not the best martini I had ever had, but it did the job. Alex's was pretty tasty though and I may have helped him drink it.

If you are looking for somewhere a little funky to meet friends or to take that special someone, you could do a lot worse than the Lonsdale.

Dress Code: Keep it stylish and you'll fit right in

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The Phoenix is a cosy pub located one block back from Oxford Street, at Oxford Circus.

It is a great place to pop into for a drink after a busy day shopping on Oxford Street. And, as it turns out, it is also the ideal venue for a group of VT ladies to get together for a drink and a gossip!

The pub was pretty busy on the Saturday afternoon/evening we were there, and had a great atmosphere with loads of large candles flickering around the room.

They do serve food, which we did not try, but from what I could see it looked pretty good.

Dress Code: No dress code - but of course all us VT ladies were looking good ; ))

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Hamptons Wine Bar is located a little off the main drag, close to Leicester square.

It was the meeting place of a recent London Ladies TV Meeting.

The bar very kindly reserved a corner table for us, so we were comfortable to commence gossiping!!

Hamptons is quite spacious and bright, and happily was not too smoky when we were there.

There were lots of wines on offer, by the glass or bottle, but to Jessica-b's dismay, only 1 type of beer! They also serve some food here, but only Jessica ordered a small snack, as she was unable to join us later for dinner.

Service was efficient and very friendly - we tortured our friendly Aussie waitress by asking her to take photos of us girls with 6 different cameras!!

In summary - Hampton was a great place to meet friends when you don't want to have to shout to be heard and want a little bit of room to yourself.

The perfect venue for when VT girls get together!!

Dress Code: VT Chic

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La Casa del Habano is a fabulous and classy cigar & cocktail bar located in the heart of Soho, in central London.

One night I met up with 3 VT girls for some pre-dinner cocktails - Londonbabe, Jessica-b & AussieMadCow.

I was immediately impressed by this place - very stylish looking - and although a cigar bar, not overly smoky.

We all took a seat at the bar and perused the extensive cocktail menu - all choosing vastly different drinks, which were all proclaimed to be absolutely delicious (not to mention pretty potent!!).

The bar staff were professional, talented....and kind of cute ; ))

It really was a great experience, and I will certainly be going back there again soon.....loads more cocktails to try!!

Dress Code: After a few cocktails it won't matter....

Momo is a Middle Eastern Bar, Tea Room & Restaurant, located just off Regent Street in a quite little lane.

We recently met up with friends for some pre-dinner drinks in the 'Tea Room' section of this establishment.

The Tea Room is a colourful and happening bar. It has low chairs and tables, all packed in close together.

It was filled with people drinking alcohol (and tea) and smoking those big Turkish/Egyptian style pipes - this, coupled with the numerous cigarette smokers, and the cramped surroundings, did make for a pretty smoky bar : ((

On top of this it was very noisy too....not the greatest place to catch up with friends that we hadn't seen for 3 years...so, we didn't stay all night...

Momo is a happening place - it was full at 6pm on a Thursday evening. The drinks were expensive though, the service a bit indifferent and it was way too smoky for my liking.....but then, I am getting old and boring...

From all I have read though, the food in the restaurant is supposed to be excellent.

Dress Code: Well, it is a 'happening' place.....but they still let me in!