This intimate old-school Japanese spot (a 15-minute stroll from the Japanese embassy) has been serving sparkling sushi on traditional wooden blocks alongside crisp tempura and filling soba noodles since the 1970s. Consistently good in a neighbourhood where the food scene is hit and miss.

With its Art Deco chequered floor, resident pianist and cucumber finger sandwiches at tea, Claridge’s is about as classic as it gets. Yet it also has an eye on what’s cool: in the gargantuan subterranean spa with its own Josh Wood hair salon, for example. And in the John Pawson-designed ArtSpace Café, with its gallery-like patisserie counter and access to an actual gallery of rotating free-to- enter exhibitions from artists such as Damien Hirst and Mary McCartney. Hard to beat for its all-out excess.

Just off the Oxford Street crowds, this Japanese-style spot sits quietly on a pedestrianised side street. Once the unofficial canteen of the magazine crowd (its original spot was across from Vogue House), this outpost still draws editors and stylists to its pale-wood sushi counter and open kitchen. Sit close to the action or pile around an oak table and dig into the cult horenso salad – spinach, crispy shrimp, and a bright yuzu dressing – followed by pretty perfect sashimi and nigiri, and a cold glass of sake. Kampai. 

With design inspiration borrowed from the classical, ever-so luxurious Parisian apartments, Victoria Vogel and Harif Guzman have kitted this exclusive club in velvet upholstered booths of a rich burgundy, and frescoed ceilings. Drink the night away, nibble on caviar, and dance in one of the most luxurious spots Mayfair can offer.