Noble rot is another name for Botrytis cinerea, the beneficial fungus on grapes which make some dessert wines. It is also an innovative magazine and since late 2015 a restaurant and wine bar owned by the editors. Naturally there’s a great international wine list with comments like Chardonnay/The world’s greatest white wine or Pinot Noir/The Heartbreak Grape. Some of the wines may be extraordinary, but the approach and the wine knowledge of staff is not intimidating. Bottles start at £20 for a Portuguese Vinho Verde and go up to an incredible £1575 for a 1985 1er Cru Gevrey-Chambertin. But there’s plenty of choice for the modest budget and wines by the glass in 75ml or 125ml sizes. Head chef Paul Weaver (ex-St John Bread & Wine) sends out great fish, bread and dishes like Roast Auvergne guinea Fowl, sweetcorn & Scotttish girolles and White peach & Brillat Savarin cheesecake. There is a bar menu including oysters, anchovies, jamon, potted shrimp and cheese for the front half of the cream-coloured, wood-panelled space and a good value set lunch of 2 courses for £16 and 3 courses for £20, with optional additional wine pairings. Little wonder they won Wine List of the Year at Harden’s London Restaurant Awards 2016. Noble Rot – 51 Lamb’s Conduit Street, WC1N 3NB

Only opened in June 2017, this bar is attached to Corrigan’s Restaurant in Mayfair and offers a farm to glass experience! Owner/chef Richard Corrigan ferries organic produce daily from his farm in Ireland for both the restaurant and now the bar. So drinks and house sodas contain signature seasonal ingredients, and sketches depicting the joys of country life dot the menu. A welcome drink and goat’s cheese popcorn are offered to all comers, such as sherry, gin and elderflower. Irish whiskey is prominent behind the bar, which is staffed by engaging professionals. Cocktails have been created by Gregory Buda, mixologist from New York’s famed Dead Rabbit, which won the title of World’s Best Bar at the World’s 50 Best in 2016. A copper cut-out wall separates Dickie’s from the restaurant, there’s a separate entrance and hunting lodge interior with blue and white safari-print banquettes, gleaming brass-topped tables and a set of antlers above the bar. Bar snacks are restaurant-standard: green olives stuffed with goat’s cheese, coated in breadcrumbs and fried; Cornish crab served on dainty brioche. A cocktail may set you back £16, but there’s all the extras – or there’s good wine by the glass. Dickie’s Bar – 28 Upper Grosvenor Street, W1K 7EH

It seems high-rise is all the rage in London, with The Shard, The Gherkin and now the Heron Tower. Accessed by an amazingly fast, external glass lift, SUSHISAMBA, part of an international chain, is spread over the 38th and 39th floor, delivering a blend of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine, culture and music with an astonishing saké list. There are also outdoor dining terraces, the highest in Europe, complete with designer ‘orange tree’ and 360° views of London. The outdoor and indoor bars are filled with beautiful people, and you’ll find a dizzying array of cocktails, including Culinary Cocktails (£14) with ingredients you might normally see on your plate, like Pistachio & Avocado Batida. Bruno Paillard is the house champagne. One floor above is Duck & Waffle, which claims to be the highest 24/7 restaurant in London. SUSHISAMBA – 110 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4AY

This is a bar with a difference. Much as there is invariably music in bars, this venue describes itself as “London’s first listening bar”, because, says founder Paul Noble, “You need great drinks to accompany the music – and vice versa”. So there are both resident and guest DJs of note who play from 8pm-1am, the sound coming from custom-built Living Voice speakers. You can eat there too (or go to nearby Dishoom and try the bacon naan roll) for breakfast, lunch or dinner. There are English beers on tap, a range of local and beyond, cocktails like Let’s Wrestle (Joven Mezcal, Kamm & sons, Ancho Reyes Chile, lime, agave, salt) and a good choice of wines by the glass as well as bottles. Spiritland, 9-10 Stable Street, N1C 4AB

This started out as almost a secret venue, for those in the know, with an unobtrusive, battered door between two restaurants in Chinatown. Now they are part of a global operation and keep half capacity for walk-ins and half for bookings which can only be made by email. Open from 6pm-3am there is a £5cover charge after 11pm. It’s all bare bricks and dimly lit which is the whole point, spread over two floors. There is an imaginative array of drinks and good winelist (the owners are French and founded the first ECC in Paris). Prices are around £12, or you can try rare vintage vermouths and fins. There are cheeseboards and charcuterie available if you get peckish but it’s really all about the cocktails. Experimental Cocktail Club – 13a Gerrard St, London

This is the place to go for a real slice of old London and the full English pub experience. There’s been an Inn on its site since 1423, though it became a Young’s pub in 1888 – and still is today. Steak appeared on the menu with a new owner in 1952 and remains a popular item, along with steak and kidney pies in the bar. Naturally they serve three regular Young’s ales and an ever-changing guest ale. There are also draught beers, Scotch whisky, Irish, Canadian and USA whiskeys and bourbon. Oisin Rogers has been fairly recently been appointed manager, well-known on the London scene and famous for his late night Irish singing. The Guinea Grill – 30 Bruton Place, Mayfair W1J 6NL