Best bar & pub in London!

Drink a toast to the capital's top watering holes as Edward Sullivan unveils this year's winners of the Evening Standard's Pub and Bar of the Year Awards!

The Evening Standard 2004 Bar of the Year Is...

Loungelover, 1 Whitby Street, E1 (020 7012 1234).

Antiques collectors and interior designers Hassan Abdullah, Stefan Karlson and Michel Lasserre are collectively known as Les Trois Garcons, and their eponymous restaurant has been serving fine French cuisine in the improbable location of undeveloped Shoreditch for the past four years.

When looking for a warehouse to store their antiques - the primary raison d'etre of les trois - they happened upon this former meatprocessing warehouse, almost on the doorstep of their restaurant. It was too grand a space to be utilised simply for storage; a lounge bar became their vision for the place.

Last March Loungelover opened its doors and it quickly became the place to be seen. Poke your nose through the door of the bar and it's like looking through a portal into another galaxy. Not for this place the parsimony of minimalism; every available inch of space is filled with curious objets d'art, antique mirrors and furnishings, twinkling chandeliers, oriental lanterns and lush red drapes.

Loungelover is unashamedly opulent, elegant, spinechillingly cool and uber-camp. Even though there's no door policy or dress codes, its popularity is such that it is now advisable to phone ahead and book a table - even if you're just having drinks. A reassuringly expensive cocktail list includes old classics alongside some masterful, bespoke creations, and a small army of irritatingly good-looking staff bring drinks to your table

The Evening Standard Pub of the Year Is....

The Earl Spencer, 262 Merton Road, SW18 (020 8870 9244)

Pubs are meant to be at the centre of our communities, reflecting and servicing the needs of its denizens, and adapting to changing demographics. Southfields, I'm guessing, must be in the ascendancy now that one of its pubs has won the coveted Evening Standard Pub of the Year competition.

The Earl Spencer unveiled its new look late last spring after an extensive refurbishment programme that included the installation of a smart new kitchen.

Food is the focus now, and the man in the pinny beavering away in the background is chef Mark Robinson, who previously cooked at Le Pont de la Tour, Ransom's Dock and West Kensington gastropubs The Anglesea Arms and The Havelock Tavern. His fare is robustly British with Mediterranean influences, so expect to find the likes of a slow-roasted pork belly, braised oxtail, whole shoulders of lamb (for sharing), and fish stew of haddock, salmon and squid.

Robinson runs the pub with business partner Jonathan Cox, whom he met when they both worked at The Havelock Tavern. The pair wanted to keep the Earl Spencer true to pub traditions, so there's no booking of tables - you pitch up and take your chances, but the tables turn regularly - and ales such as Fuller's London Pride, Hook Norton Best Bitter and Shepherd Neame's Spitfire are on tap. A reasonably priced, eclectic list of Old and New World wines is also available.