London

Looks like a bar as you walk in, which tells you what it values. The hotel itself is pretty good, but the social space and the location are the real draw.

Stylish interior, and beneath the hotel there's Blue Marlin Ibiza London - a genuinely cool space. Went down there for a work event and it held its own.

Over-the-top room, over-the-top portions, big Italian energy. Book ahead and bring people who like sharing.

New York-style walk-in pizzeria doing enormous 18-inch pies. No reservations, no fuss - grab a slice at the counter or commit to a whole one with friends.

Pretty authentic Napoli-style pizza. Sat in and had a whole one - no regrets.

Thai barbecue - loud, smoky, and better for it. Order more food than seems reasonable.

Hi-fi bar on Brick Lane. Sat outside on the long benches with drinks - prime people watching territory.

Speakeasy cocktails with live jazz. Book a table - walk-ins are a gamble you'll usually lose.

Fun arcade bar that makes a good stop on a night out - Outrun 2 is my go-to.

Big-capacity bar with a great outdoor space and reasonable prices. Built for large groups - easy to meet people and just socialise without fighting for a corner.

A proper local pub I keep coming back to - beautifully old, but run by staff that are Shoreditch-savvy. The garden terrace round the back is lovely and always busy.

Post-work crowd and easy to drift in and out of, with good access back to Bank and transit.

Good day-pass gym. A little tight on space, but there's usually a live DJ, which covers a multitude of sins.

Worth a walk end to end - markets, bagels and a lot of character per metre.

An excellent hotel with a great rooftop bar - The Aviary - overlooking Finsbury Square. Hard to fault as a City base.

The private kerbside entrance drops you straight into the thick of it, which is the selling point. Rooms are smaller than you'd think - fine for a night, not a sprawl.

A finance-bro favourite, and for good reason - a nice pub feel with hearty Indian food. Less curry, more lamb chops and bread baskets.

A café inside the old church of St Mary Aldermary - great for work, study, or just sitting with a coffee under the vaulted ceiling.

Great for drinks - pints under the Victorian arcade with the after-work City crowd spilling across the cobbles.

The art-nouveau interior is worth the detour on its own. Have a pint under the friars.

Do this as a pub first - it's excellent and worth a visit in its own right. Stayed in the rooms upstairs too: very classical old-English, narrow spaces and homely.

Watched the World Cup here - a very intimate room for it, in the best way. Right by Liverpool Street, with plenty of other options nearby if it's packed.

Went on a Thursday night and it was absolutely slammed in the best way - scrappy, great bar snacks, and a whole street of post-work drinkers with St Paul's in the background. Thursday is the night.

A good post-work drinks spot - especially on a Thursday when the weather's good and half the City has the same idea.

A great lunch spot I regularly come back to - just make sure you order more buns than you think you'll want, because you'll want them.

Udon done properly. Sit at the bar, keep the order simple, leave happy.

Non-fussy Australian restaurant - diverse flavours in a casual, bright setting. A great spot for lunch or dinner, with some outdoor seating.

Classic Soho dining - a nice, classy environment with something for everyone. The Asian-style oysters were the standout.

Jerusalem-inflected cooking with real theatre if you sit at the kitchen bar. Worth the squeeze.

Does exactly what it says: everything has garlic in it, including the shots. Chaotic and brilliant.

The pub of the moment and somehow still worth it. Look for the iconic green exterior - it can be tight outside, but there's plenty of room inside.

Good for a drink after a meal - nice outside seating near the eateries and a mostly post-work crowd. Good space, but not at the expense of The Devonshire.

Good gym, a little out of the way and down a large ramp underground - trust the ramp and keep going.

Açaí bowls and Brazilian coffee on Trafalgar Road - the right stop after a walk through the park.

Did an Anjunadeep Open Air here - melodic house between the colonnades, with the baroque riverside architecture as the backdrop. A fairly surreal place to spend a festival day, and all the better for it.

Sister pub to the Trafalgar Tavern, right by Greenwich Pier where the old Ship Tavern stood - nautical memorabilia everywhere and river views. A newer spot that feels much older.

A grand old riverside pub hard against the Thames next to the Old Royal Naval College. Get a window seat and watch the river traffic with a pint.

Walked it end to end - climb to the Observatory for the view down over the Queen's House to the river and Canary Wharf. One of London's best free afternoons.

Beautiful, free, and quieter than it deserves to be. The Tulip Stairs alone are worth the visit.

A reliable flat white when you need one near Farringdon.

Went for its proximity to the station, but it's a beautiful pub inside. No real outdoor seating, but plenty of space indoors - commuter-heavy.

A lovely little hidden pub down an alley off Hatton Garden - half the fun is finding it.

Right in the heart of Canary Wharf - good for a work visit, with easy connections. Grab something to eat by the river instead of the hotel itself.

Great steak right on the water at Canary Wharf, with outdoor seating for when the weather plays along.

Unique interior with stunning city views from the rooms, and the rooftop bar - The Nest - has panoramic views over London. Hard to forget.

The rare healthy lunch you actually crave. The burrito is insane, the staff are genuinely lovely, and I have never once regretted going.

Street-food hall in the tunnels under Vauxhall station - a great after-work spot with plenty of traders to graze across.

Proper warehouse clubbing in Wapping - big rooms, serious sound, none of the West End gloss. Saw Patrice Bäumel play four hours here and the room held up for every minute of it.

Went for Christmas drinks - classy, with excellent cocktails that earn its prestige. A very loungey experience after dark.

Expensive and classy. Walk through the restaurant, past the main bar, and ask for the cocktail room behind the closed door - a great date spot for a post-dinner drink, with the famous interiors to enjoy while you're at it. Can be quite influencer-heavy, but worth a visit.

A repeat visit every time I'm in town - go hungry and graze. The Brindisa tapas bar is the sit-down pick, and Richard Haward's Oysters is a tradition for me - the largest and freshest oysters I've had in a city.