A night out in London and there’s a smorgasbord on offer; from olde English pubs to oh so hip bars, from ale to absinthe, wine to the perfect dry vodka martini and what the hell, Zinfandel.

The new-look Market Porter (Stoney Street), Royal Oak (Tabard Street), the historic Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (Fleet Street) and The Crown (Monmouth Street), a fave with thespians, visited recently by Gwyneth Paltrow, are top picks for the real-deal pub experience. For a more cutting-edge experience, try Twentyfour (Old Broad Street) in the Tower 42 skyscraper, Alphabet (Beak Street) and Lab (Old Compton Street) in Soho. Sucker for a theme? There’s lots to pick from.

Momo, Heddon Street: Moroccan luxury with great cocktails and beautiful people. Trader Vic’s, Hilton Hotel, Park Lane: Outlandish, dedicated to colonial Polynesia, the best Mai Tai in town. Opium, Dean Street: Recalls French/Vietnamese opium dens. Dark, moody and exotic, with an air of sophisticated debauchery. Nordic, Newman Street: London’s only Scandinavian bar in a spacious basement. Rockwell, The Trafalgar, Trafalgar Square: A fine cocktail bar; the house special is bourbon. Navajo Joe, King Street: A celebration of Tex-Mex. The Porterhouse, Maiden Lane: Irish themed bar with a fab beer selection. Elbow Room, Westbourne Grove: A snooker club, but refreshingly cool. Bar Kick, Shoreditch High Street: London’s premier table football venue. Cynthia’s, Tooley Street: The ultimate geek destination, cyber heaven, with a robot bartender.

Cocktail of the season: the Bindi Bombshell, created by Andrea Casasola, to put you in a classic Bollywood spin. Equal parts of raspberry vodka and coconut and orange liqueur, Absolut citron, topped with fragrant rose petals, served at Hakkasan (Hanway Place). Brilliant.

Prefer drinking wine? Viva Vino! Auberge (Sandell Street), Vinopolis Wine Wharf (Stoney Street), Cork & Bottle (Cranbourn Street), Jamaica Wine House (St. Michael’s Alley)