Freud

Back in the late 1980s, this was the place to be. A hidden cellar with a faintly industrial feel, it carried with it a certain easy-going democracy, a welcome change from style-trial nightclubs and members-only enterprises such as the Groucho. After what seems a lifetime, it hasn’t changed a bit.

The 40-odd affordable cocktails (£5.50-£7.25), stencilled above the busy bar counter, are strong and served with ceremony: a Holy Freud Lemonade contains vodka, lychee, lemonade and elderberry, while mojitos come in several varieties. Some 15 types of bottled beer include Meantime, Budvar and Zywiec, while wine starts at a bargain £3.35 a glass.

Rotating art exhibitions dot the aged-concrete walls; it does, after all, say ‘Café Bar Gallery’ in red neon outside. Who’d have thought it would survive so long?