A song for my supper

Until last week, supper clubs were something I knew existed but had never tried. To me they conjured up images of the Thirties: glamorous girls in elegant dresses, singing to a hedonistic well-turned-out crowd in a smoky basement. My view of them was so nostalgic that I'd never considered it as a viable London night out. How wrong I was.

Supper clubs were all the rage in the Thirties and Forties, and, like martinis, cigars and other glamorous trappings of nights out, are making a comeback in the capital. My first time was at Volupté, a bijou supper club tucked away on a quiet street behind High Holborn, and now I've experienced it, I can't wait to go back.

For those of you who are in the dark, a supper club is where you dine while watching a live performance - anything from music to comedy and dancing. And considering how much Londoners love to eat and watch shows, it's amazing more of us haven't thought to put the two together.

I visit Volupté on a Thursday night with my husband, Tom, and our friend, Lee. On the night we visit, entry is free but on other nights tickets range from £12 to £25.

We arrive at 8pm and the narrow groundfloor bar is pleasantly full, dark and cosy. The form is to have an aperitif here until you're called to your table downstairs, so I order a Dixie Dragon from the extensive cocktail list (between £6 and £8) and the boys go for beers (£3.50).

After half an hour, a smiley waitress calls us to our table, so we follow her downstairs through some heavy velvet curtains into the club itself. The room is cosy and dimly lit, and our table turns out to be right at the front next to the piano. We joke that there's bound to be trouble.

Tonight's show is "Just Jazz Presents A Night In New Orleans". While the room fills up, we order our food and a bottle of red wine (£16). It's hard to choose from the mouth-watering menu but I plump for the lamb neck, Tom chooses springbok (a South African version of venison) and Lee goes for steak (there are fish and vegetarian options, and prices for main courses range from £7.95 to £19.95).

Soon we're tucking into our starters - we share some scallops, cod cakes and tiger prawns (all £6.95 each) - and as the lights go down a saxophonist appears through the velvet curtain, playing a soulful jazz tune. Next a drummer enters, followed by a pianist, and finally American singer Corliss Randall, who is wearing a sparkly black dress and has fabulous deep-red hair.

They launch into the first song, which I recognise, "When the rhythm starts to play, dance with me, make me sway..." Corliss's voice is deep and sexy, and she moves around the room, weaving in and out of tables. Within a minute she's over to our table and leans in close to me, singing right into my ear. I try not to sneeze from her heavy perfume.

She pulls Lee's head into her ample bosom, then she embraces Tom, ruffles his hair, bites the back of his head playfully and licks his hand. So, this is the kind of night it's going to be!