La Bodega Negra- Soho, London

9 Old Compton Street, London, W1D 5NH
http://labodeganegra.com/#Home

It’s hard to believe that a neon-lit ‘Peep Show’ entrance off Old Compton Street leads to a buzzing underground world with top notch Mexican food, fantastic music and killer margaritas. The dishes are small and ideal for sharing- make guacamole a must to start and save enough room for the chocolate fondant to finish. The candle-lit, cellar-like interior is atmospheric and full of character.

Owner Serge Becker is the brains behind La Bodega Negra, also renowned for his NYC creation, La Esquina. La Esquina involves a similar concept where the basement restaurant is reached through an unsuspicious door within a retro SoHo diner.

La Bodega Negra’s ground level café and bar off Moor Street is ideal for a relaxed drink or bite to eat but head to the restaurant for a more frivolous evening. Book now-reservations get snatched up quickly.

The Bloomsbury Street Bar and Restaurant- Holborn, London

9-13 Bloomsbury Street, London, WC1B 3QD

Website

White and beige striped awning wrap the exterior of Bloomsbury Street Bar and Restaurant... an intimate, stylish and refined venue for lunch, dinner or drinks. The dark colour palette, red touches and chandelier lighting add to its elegance.  Relax in one of the large black leather chairs and begin the difficult decision of which options from the 3 course set- menu to go for. The standard and quantity of food make the £25 price tag for this menu completely reasonable. To start I opted for the duck liver parfait with fig chutney and toasted brioche, followed by the organic salmon fillet with crushed potatoes and mango and tomato salsa. Painfully, I only managed half of my delicious pear and chocolate tart for dessert. All were delicious. The staff made an extra effort to ensure we were always looked after and the complimentary appertiser in between courses was a nice touch.