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Player
Player was one of London's top cocktail bars during the 1990s, when Dick Bradsell, the Lenin of London's cocktail revolution, started mixing his substantial and stylish drinks behind the basement bar. He has since moved on, and although the bar still serves great drinks, the clientele is a lot less suave. A cooler Soho crowd heads down after , when you too should descend and sample the cocktail list. Only members are admitted after .
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Polski Bar
Formerly known as Na Zdorowie ('cheers' in Polish), Polski Bar changed its name probably as a result of no one being able to pronounce it before or after many-a-flavoured vodka shot, but the spirit (no pun intended) has remained: around 60 different types of vodka, from coffee to fruity to wheat flavoured, there's even kosher vodka, or simple old Polish slivowica . There's great Polish food here, too.
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Prince Alfred
Pubs don't really come much better than this charming place. Originally designed in Victorian times to separate the classes and sexes, the semicircular bar is divided into five gorgeous booths, each with its own little door. Thankfully, nowadays everyone's allowed to sit where they please, and the pub is always busy with adoring locals. The Formosa Dining Room is an excellent place to eat, and the chef has an unbeatable reputation.
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Prince Charles
You'd be right to think that ticket prices at Leicester Sq cinemas are daylight robbery, so wait until the first-runs have finished and moved to central London's cheapest cinema (tickets generally cost from around £1 to around £4 , with the best deals on Monday Madness night). There are also mini-festivals and Q&As with film directors. Famously, the cinema also transformed The Sound of Music into a phenomenal - and very camp - sing-a-long hit.
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Prince Of Teck
This Earl's Court mainstay is nearly always packed with travellers and is festooned with Australiana (well, stuffed kangaroos, anyway). It's large and comfortable, and has big screens on both floors. This is the default pub for young Aussies and Kiwis in the neighbourhood.
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Prince Of Wales
While pubs that hang eclectic kitsch from their ceilings in a bid to seem quirky can be tedious, the Prince of Wales is still a very pleasant Clapham hang-out, and its décor, unlike that of most pubs of the genre, is genuinely collected rather than supplied en masse. Real ales appear regularly.
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Princess Louise
We might have used the word gem before, but we take all of the other instances back. This late-19th-century Victorian pub is spectacularly decorated with a riot of fine tiles, etched mirrors, plasterwork and a stunning central horseshoe bar.
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Prospect of Whitby
Once known as the Devil's Tavern, the Whitby in Wapping dates from 1520 and is one of London's oldest surviving drinking houses. It's firmly on the tourist trail now, but there's a terrace to the front and the side overlooking the Thames, a decent restaurant upstairs and open fires in winter. Check out the pewter bar - Samuel Pepys once sidled up to it.
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Queen's
While the ghost of actress, royal 'friend' and former next-door neighbour Lillie Langtry is said to reside in the cellar of this spirited joint, the pub proper is haunted by contemporary beauties such as Jude Law and the other fashionistas of Primrose Hill. The food and drinks won't disappoint, and there's plenty to look at among the clientele.
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Queen's Larder
In a lovely square southeast of Russell Sq, this pub is so called because Queen Charlotte, wife of 'Mad' King George III, rented part of the pub's cellar to store special foods for him while he was being treated nearby. There are benches outside for fair-weather fans and a good dining room upstairs.
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Renoir
This art-house cinema, affiliated with Curzon cinemas, has a new lease of life owing to the renovated and shiny Brunswick Centre. Not that the Renoir was ever short of loyal devotees, thanks to its share of international film, from French drama to slow-paced Iranian stories and Taiwanese love tales. There's also a range of art-house DVDs on sale in the lower foyer, plus coffee and cake.
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Rhythm Factory
Perennially hip and popular, the Rhythm Factory is a relaxed and friendly coffee shop with a Thai lunch and dinner menu during the day, but come the evening it opens up the large back room, and tonnes of bands and DJs of all genres keep the up-for-it crowd happy until late.
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Rio Cinema
The Rio is Dalston's neighbourhood art-house, classic and new-release cinema, and the venue for off-beat festivals, such as the Kurdish Film Festival and the Turkish Film Festival (in autumn and December respectively), the East End Film Festival (April), the Spanish Film Festival and the Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (for which some screenings are held in April and March respectively).
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Ritzy
Despite fears that making the Ritzy a multiplex would kill its cool style and community feeling (four new screens were added to this 1911 building in the late '90s, making it London's biggest independent cinema), this is still one of London's favourites, screening a good mix of mainstream and indie films. The funky bar and café upstairs is a gathering spot for arty locals.
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Riverside Studios
Once a film and TV studio itself, where classics such as Dr Who and Hancock's Half-Hour were shot, the cinema at the Riverside now shows classic art-house flicks and those you might have missed a few months back.
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Ronnie Scott's
In the 1960s, this was the only place the British public could listen to modern jazz - luminaries like Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, plus Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Sarah Vaughan. Even rock bands like The Who played here. The atmosphere is excellent, but talking during music is a big no-no. Door staff can be terribly rude and the service slow, but that's how they've always been. Gigs usually last until daily.
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Roundhouse
This former railway engine shed and then 1960s counterculture magnet is back - not for the first time, but this time hopefully for good. As the name suggests, the auditorium is round, making it just as good for circus/dance performers like Fuerzabruta as it is, after rearrangement, for eyes-forward musical concerts.
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Royal Albert Hall
This splendid Victorian concert hall hosts many classical-music, rock and other performances, but it is most famous as the venue for the (BBC) Proms - one of the world's biggest classical music festivals. Booking is possible, but from mid-July to mid-September Proms punters also queue for around £4 standing (or 'promenading') tickets that go on sale one hour before curtain up.
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Royal Ballet
Although the Royal Ballet's programme has been fluffed up by modern influences, classical ballet is still its bread and butter. This is where to head if you want to see traditional performances such as Giselle or Romeo & Juliet , performed by stars such as Sylvie Guillem, Irek Mukhamedov and Tamara Rojo. There are same-day tickets, one per customer, and half-price stand-by tickets.
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Royal Court
Forever associated with John Osborne's Look Back In Anger and similar revolutionary postwar pieces, the Royal Court continues to concentrate exclusively on fresh, surprising new writing. The company's own theatre, the Jerwood, was refurbished during the latter half of the 1990s and now has two comfy modern auditoria, upstairs and downstairs.
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Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is one of the best places for catching world music artists. Some of its most popular programmes are the so-called 'Meltdowns' - basically a list of favourite music and musicians compiled by the likes of David Bowie and Jarvis Cocker. Reopened in Summer 2007, the two-year, around £91 million renovations used the existing 1950s materials - concrete, leather and wood - to excellent effects.
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Royal Inn On The Park
Only a fool would divulge the name of their much loved local and - whoops! - we think we just have. On the western edge of Victoria Park this excellent place, once a poster pub for Transport for London, has a half-dozen real ales and Czech lagers on tap and outside seating to the front and in an enclosed terrace in back. It's always lively and attracts a mixed boho/louche Hackney crowd.
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Royal Oak
This authentic Victorian place owned by a small independent brewery in Sussex is tucked away down a side street and is a mecca for serious beer lovers. The literati might find their way here too; it's just a hop, skip and a handful of rice from the Church of St George the Martyr where Little Dorrit (aka Amy) got married in Dickens' eponymous novel.
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Royal Oak
This traditional boozer gone trendy gastropub has a good selection of bitter and a better-than-average wine list. It gets into its stride on Sunday when the Columbia Road Flower Market is on just outside the door.
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Royal Opera House
Acccused of being stuffy and exclusive a few years back, the Royal Opera House is now attracting a younger, wealthy audience. Its around £210 million redevelopment in 2000 has given the classic a fantastic setting, and coming here for a night is a sumptuous prospect. The renovated Floral Hall is now open to the public during the day, with free lunchtime concerts at on Monday, exhibitions and daily tours.
