London - Flights of fancy
For every spot on the tourist’s tick-list, there’s a trad experience with a twist – dress up, stay out late and explore the capital’s secret, saucy side. Once you’ve arrived in the Captial city after you flights to London you can begin to discover the sexy hot spots.
Join dishevelled east Londoners (they won’t have been to bed yet) for brunch at Bistrotheque (020 8983 7900, www.bistrotheque.com; brunch dishes from £4). Between 11am and 4pm, this night-time cabaret serves pear Bellinis and toasted sourdough with berries and mascarpone to a soundtrack of Girls Aloud and Supertramp, reworked by Xavior on the baby grand.
Stay east and pop into ‘boudoir-boutique’ Bordello (55 Great Eastern St; www.bordello-london.co.uk): lacy lingerie, waist-cinching corsets and feather hair accessories will help you take dressing-up to a classier level.
Cream tea in a chintzy hotel? Why bother when every Saturday, at Volupté (020 7831 1622, www.volupte-lounge.com; £35; 2.30-5pm) in Chancery Lane, you can savour champagne, warm scones and dainty finger sandwiches while burlesque dancers wiggle their suspender-clad hips between the tables.
Upstairs, Roka is a respectable Japanese restaurant. In the basement, Shochu Lounge (020 7580 6464, www.shochulounge.com;) is a sultry den with blood-red sofa-seats. Roka’s menu is available down here, so you can match slivers of sashimi with jasmine-infused shochu – said to stimulate feelings of euphoria.
Strip off in the candlelit surrounds of the underground May Fair Spa (020 7915 2826, www.radissonedwardian.com). Smother each other in cocoa butter and melted chocolate In your private steam chamber (45-minute treatment, £99 for two) – the smell alone will get you going.
Order goat’s cheese tart, sticky-toffee pud and Mohitos, and snuggle on one of the sofas in the new Screen on The Green cinema in Islington (0870 066 4777, www.everymancinema.com; sofa-seats £16pp). Its sister picture-house in Hampstead even offers table service.
Book the four-poster room at The Covent Garden Hotel www.firmdale.com and make time for pre-dinner fizz in the wood-panelled drawing room. Screen-siren Scarlett Johansson’s a fan. The Hoxton Hotel www.hoxtonhotels.com has a brilliant bar and smart, sleek rooms in the heart of trendy Shoreditch.
