Designer drinking dens

Boozers don't all have to feature pork scratchings, flock wallpaper and footy on the television. Ed Sullivan reveals a higher class of pub including a marble treasure house and the home of a miniature Babylonian garden...

The Blackfriar
174 Queen Victoria Street, EC4
Inside this marble treasure house is an outstanding Art Nouveau frieze depicting Dominican monks having a jolly good gathering. This was the most superior design when it was built in 1875 and it can still hold a candle to the modernism of today. (020 7236 5474)

Beach Blanket Babylon
46 Ledbury Road, W11
This Notting Hill institution was one of the first of the contemporary genre of designer pubs when it opened in 1992, much lauded for its dramatic design, which includes a miniature Babylonian garden, rope bridges, pebbled walls and camp objets d'art. (020 7229 2907)

The Hill
94 Haverstock Hill, NW3
The former Load of Hay in Belsize Park was once a rickety old boozer. Now considerably smartened, it's enjoying a new lease of life as home to the Belsize Park glitterati. It has a comfortable lounge area, good for slouching, and top-class food. (020 7267 0033)

WHERE TO EAT ON LAMB'S CONDUIT ST... by Charles Campion

The Perseverance
63 Lamb's Conduit Street, WC1
The Perseverance is the present incarnation of a famous pub that was formerly called the Sun. Now it is a pretty decent gastropub, offering comfortable dishes at comfortable prices. £20pp ex-drinks. (020 7405 8278)

Cigala
54 Lamb's Conduit Street, WC1
This restaurant is a small bit of Spain that has washed up in Lamb's Conduit Street. There's good tapas as well as more serious authentically Iberian dishes and slick service. £22pp ex-drinks. (020 7405 1717)

Ciao Bella
86-90 Lamb's Conduit Street, WC
A cheerful, large, old-style, Italian restaurant where you can cut back on your bill by limiting yourself to a very decent pizza. Trad Italian dishes backed by trad Italian service. £20pp ex-drinks. (020 7242 4119)