The Experimental Cocktail Club
13A Gerrard Street; 020 7434 3559
Youd be forgiven for thinking you had the wrong address when you turn up at a shabby looking scratched black door in Chinatown. However, the man at the door with the your names not down youre not coming in stare gives it away as one of Londons finest secret drinking dens. The grungy exterior opens up into some impressively lavish interiors and hushed jazz music, while the intimate, sultry atmosphere and oceans of good, hard liqueur make it a real modern-day 1920s speakeasy.
The Delaunay
55 Aldwych; 020 7499 8558
If Chris Corbin and Jeremy Kings grand café is rather more restaurant than bar, like its sister joint The Wolseley its primarily a glamorous meeting space the food and drink are, frankly, almost incidental. If its hard to imagine the fash pack sitting down to a signature dish of wieners, the much raved-about granola is all set to be a fashion week breakfast meeting favourite. Either way, its definitely one of the places to slip your heels off, sink into a chair, sip a cocktail and do a spot of people-watching. And if its full? You might just have to make do with a table at The Wolseley round the corner.
Danger of Death
Brick Lane; 020 7065 6806
The fickle finger of fashion and its transient trends means nothing stays cool for very long. In the heart of the oh-so trendy East End, while it may have been around since for a little while now, Danger of Death still remains one of the places to be seen. Part of the Rushmore group of bars (which includes other ELLEuk faves, Giant Robot, Red Hook and Milk & Honey), its a tiny speakeasy-style cellar bar thats perfect for letting your hair down after an East End show. The only slight hitch? Its members-only, so if your names not down, you might have to pull out some pretty nice lines out to get in.
The Box
11 Walkers Court; 020 7434 4374
The sordidly seductive Box nightclub was such a hit in downtown Manhattan that its British-born proprietor has brought it across the Atlantic to Soho, where in a few short weeks it drew rave reviews and an enviable string of celebrities on the guest list (and more than a few blushes). Once you get past the exclusive wooden door (its probably best to know someone, or know someone that knows someone) its a cavern of theatrical decor, scarlet walls, flickering candles and quirky antiques. Expect erotic cabarets and dancing till dawn in a place where decadence is definitely the done thing.
The Lobby Bar at One Aldwych
1 Aldwych; 020 7300 1000
The immediate vicinity of Somerset House is not exactly chock-full with great watering holes. Youre certainly likely to spot a familiar fashion face or two at The Savoy (as we can testify from our time at the Maria Grachvogel show in the Ballroom), while the bar at Nobu Berkeley Square is always a good bet for celeb-spotting. Even closer than both, though, is One Aldwychs Lobby Bar (being practically across the street), and for sleek, very grown-up interiors and a convenient post-show drink, its pretty hard to beat.
Exhausted after all the partying? Check out our pick of the best London Fashion Week hotels. Or see our fashion-focused London guide.
To keep on top of what's happening at every fashion week show - from the latest reviews to the front row scenes - check out ELLEuk's catwalk section.
