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Ruby Lounge
King's Cross is being groomed slowly, so what was once an area frequented only by hardened clubbers (or prostitutes and junkies) is now turning into a three-Starbucks-per-square-metre neighbourhood. But Ruby Lounge was around when the going was tough and it's here to stay. It's a great place, with a warm interior, excellent DJs and an up-for-it pre-clubbing crowd.
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Sadler's Wells
The theatre site dates from 1683 and is one of the most eclectic and modern dance venues in town. It stages Rambert's excellent productions, Pina Bausch is a regular on the programme, there are experimental dance shows, hip hop conventions, and an annual flamenco festival . Sylvie Guillem and Akram Khan were made associate artists to the theatre in 2006 and staged the acclaimed Sacred Monsters . The Lilian Baylis Theatre puts on smaller shows.
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Salisbury
Facing off the super-chic St Martin's Lane Hotel, the Salisbury offers everything its opposite number doesn't: warmth, centuries of history, and a glorious, traditionally British pub interior. The Salisbury is packed in the evenings by pre- and post-theatre drinkers, and while it can be a little touristy, it's still a true London gem.
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Salmon & Compass
It's all about music here, be it in DJ or live set form, with young and trendy Islingtonites crowding in over the weekend. There are large sofas for sitting, but it's mainly standing, drinking and dancing that take place, illuminated by fairy lights and a couple of sky lights during the day, when the bar serves Thai food. Monthly comedy nights are held here, too.
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Salt Whisky Bar
Two hundred whiskies and bourbons, lots of salt, and a sleek, dark wood interior make this friendly bar and comfortable lounge a fab place for drinking. Staff are knowledgeable and keen to share their tips with customers.
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Scala
On Fridays, this multilevel former cinema hosts Popstarz, a laid-back gay/mixed potpourri of indie, alternative and kitsch. On Saturday it's UK garage night Cookies and Cream. The venue is expansive but excellent, with a glass bar at its centre overlooking the stage but insulated from the noise.
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Screen on the Green
At a bustling junction of Islington's busy nightlife, this film house has a single auditorium with one large screen, attracting an upmarket crowd with a taste for independent cinema (and good ice cream). Pity about the seats, though - bring a cushion and don't be over 6ft.
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Seven Stars
Even though it's packed with lawyers in the after-office booze rush hour, the tiny Seven Stars is still a relative secret to many Londoners. Sitting behind the Royal Courts of Justice and originally a sailors' hang-out, this is a place overflowing with character, great food, beer and wine. The eccentric landlady and chef, Roxy Beaujolais, a former TV chef and raconteur, lets her cat, Tom Paine, roam around the pub and snooze on the window sills; the bar staff are friendly and the game dishes ravishing.
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Shadow Lounge
This home away from home for the Soho glitterati is a stylish basement club with plenty of comfortable coves to hang out in as well as a dance floor complete with poll. The door policy is a little erratic: at quiet times you're usually fine although there's generally an around £5 to around £10 entry charge; other times you'll need to be with a member or a Soho 'face' to make it past the gorillas on the door.
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Shakespeare's Globe
The Globe is a near-perfect replica of the building on this site where Shakespeare himself worked in from 1598 to 1611. Even if the particular production you attend comes across a bit 'theme-park Shakespeare' - and they occasionally do - you'll never forget being in this up-close-and-personal open-roofed theatre in the round.
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Shepherd's Bush Empire
Excellent musicians such as Björk, Coco Rosie or Antony and the Johnsons perform in this lovely mid-sized venue, and there's always something interesting going on. The floor doesn't slope, so if you're under 6ft tall, it's a little difficult to see from up the back in the stalls - it's worth paying for the balcony.
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Ship
Though the Ship is right by the Thames, the views aren't really spectacular along this stretch of the river - unless you're partial to retail parks and workaday bridges (which the owners freely admit). Still, the outside area is large, the barbecues in fine weather a real treat and the conservatory bar fun in any weather.
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Slaughtered Lamb
A great Clerkenwell local which, although it opened in 2004, already feels like an old favourite. Its one room is spacious, with flea market furniture, large windows, wooden floors and loud wallpaper, and the bar is lit by granny-style lamps. The beer on offer is good and the food is old England (fish and chips, fish fingers, sausage and mash etc). The black wall-papered downstairs room hosts regular live music and open mic nights.
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SO.UK
SO.UK is a stylish, light and airy Moroccan-themed bar serving unusual cocktails (Twisted Mojito, anyone?) and shooters. It's extremely popular, with the chance to spot a few well-known faces among the Clapham professionals on the pull.
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Soho Theatre
The Soho Theatre Company dedicates itself solely to the noble task of finding new writing talent, having put on hundreds of new plays since it started operating from its smart Dean St premises in 2000. It has innovative programmes to support and develop new writing, and also showcases comedy and gets kids penning drama. This is the place to see where London drama is heading.
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Southbank Centre
The Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room are regular venues for the Dance Umbrella citywide festival, as well as hosting independent dance productions year-round.
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Spaniard's Inn
This marvellous tavern dates from 1585 and has more character than a West End musical. Famously, it was highwayman Dick Turpin's hang-out between his robbing escapades, but it has also served as a watering hole for more savoury characters, such as Dickens, Shelley, Keats and Byron. Perhaps we owe English language's greatest works of literature and poetry to this pub's ale? There's a big, blissful garden, and the food ain't half bad.
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Spice Island
What this enormous place lacks in history it surely makes up for with views. Just opposite the flagship YHA hostel in Rotherhithe, it has a large bar on the ground floor, a restaurant above and a large heated terrace overlooking the river.
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Star Tavern
This cheery place is best known for West End glamour and East End skulduggery; it's where Christine Keeler and John Profumo rendezvoused for the scandalous Profumo affair and where the Great Train Robbers are said to have planned their audacious crime. These days it's just a lovely boozer with reliable Fuller's beers.
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Sun And 13 Cantons
Certainly Soho's oddest-named pub, the Sun is a music-industry mainstay and a great place for young hopefuls to network. Everyone from the Chemical Brothers (first London gig) to Underworld (global smash hit written here) has links to this place, and there are still regular DJ nights downstairs. A far better reason to visit is the historic décor and relaxed drinking vibe upstairs.
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T Bar
A recent closure was a slap-on-the-wrist for wild and loose T Bar, which tends to host all-day club events on Sundays and raucous weekend nights. Now, with some bouncers brooding at the front door, it's still the same fun, with excellent DJs on Fridays and Saturdays. It's housed on the ground floor of the Tea Building, a creative hub for various hip companies cashing in on Shoreditch's aching coolness.
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The Borderline
Through the Tex-Mex entrance off Orange Yard and down into the basement, you'll find a packed, 275-capacity venue that really punches above its weight. Read the writing on the walls (literally, there's a gig list): Crowded House, REM, Blur, Counting Crows, PJ Harvey, Lenny Kravitz, Debbie Harry, plus many anonymous indie outfits, have all played here. The crowd's equally diverse but full of music journos and talent-spotting record-company A&Rs.
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Tim Bobbin
This charming boozer a short walk from Clapham Common is worth seeking out if you're trying to avoid Cla'am boys and girls on the piss. It's decorated with copies of its namesake caricaturist's rather rude 18th-century sketches, there are some decent ales on tap and a garden and brick conservatory with open kitchen in back.
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Trafalgar Tavern
This cavernous pub with views of the Thames and the O2 (the erstwhile Millennium Dome) is steeped in history, some of which is illustrated in the plethora of prints on the walls. Dickens apparently knocked back a few here - the Trafalgar is mentioned in Our Mutual Friend - and prime ministers Gladstone and Disraeli used to dine on the pub's celebrated whitebait.
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Trash Palace
This cool two-floor space, from the people who revolutionised London's gay scene with indie club Popstarz in the 1990s, has great staff and an alternative yet unpretentious feel. The lines outside can be big at the weekends, so get here early - as with most cool places in London, demand way outstrips supply. There's a small dance floor downstairs with a more relaxed lounge upstairs.
