Lucky Pig

Lucky indeed are those who manage to find this underground drinking den. It's hidden away in the basement of an unassuming Fitzrovia backstreet, and the only apparent indicator is a set of fairy lights. Strung around the building's bannister, they lead drinkers down into the underbelly of a speakeasy-themed cocktail bar.

Lucky Pig taps into the current London fad of Prohibition-style hideaways. The decor is typical of such good-time establishments: worn and torn-looking walls, old-school posters, art deco lampshades and vintage mix-and-match furniture. Drinkers can hide away in intimate arched alcoves, and veil their secret consumption behind red velvet curtains.

It's really all about the cocktails - mixed by braces-clad barmen. The menu covers the typical spectrum of evergreen classics, but there's also a page dedicated to 'experimental' cocktails. A Mango Cooler surprised with its translucent colour - the lack of orange tint due to the use of Finlandia mango vodka mixed with white wine and elderflower cordial - a refreshing drink, but not really what we'd call experimental. A Lucky Blazer turned out to be a shot of warm Drambuie whisky, spiked with citrus peels and blackberries. Prohibition drinkers would have sneered at the austerity portion, which seemed a bit lost at the bottom of the big cognac glass it was served in. Four wines by the glass, a selection of Champagne and bubbly and two bottled beers (Heineken and Dos Equis, a very uninspired duo) leave little choice for those less inclined to sip on mixed drinks.

Lucky Pig is aiming at a sort of Fitzgeraldian flair, but don't expect Champagne served in shoes. On our visit, a social networking meet-up group invaded the space - filling the bar with polite chit-chat instead of roaring 1920s decadence.