London's best 24-hour restaurants

Despite the hysteria the 24-hour drinking laws caused among the "horrified Tunbridge Wells" posse, London didn't sink into the predicted orgy of never-ending booze-a-thons. However, extended licensing hours mean that more people than ever are foraging for something to eat at strange hours of the day, and the growing market has encouraged the capital's few 24-hour restaurants to up their game.

It's no longer enough to cram in a greasy kebab or soggy burger - we want the kind of food we can eat by day, served up in a fun environment by night. Vingt-Quatre - previously called Up All Night - has even had a facelift and is packed to the rafters with revellers out to satisfy post-party peckishness.

So where do you go if you want to have a full English breakfast with a quarter bottle of champagne, no matter what the time? On which street can you get your fix of salt beef and gherkin even before the postman is awake?

Our guide will tell you all you need to know about the best 24-hour restaurants in the capital.

VINGT-QUATRE
325 Fulham Road, SW10 (020 7376 7224)

Since its facelift, Vingt-Quatre is the ritziest place to go if you want some late-night food.
Why not splash out on the scrambled eggs with sevruga caviar for £55, with a quarter bottle of Laurent Perrier to wash it down (£13.95)? For less decadent dining, you can't go wrong with the beefburger, decked out with the usual accoutrements as well as truffle mayonnaise (£9.75). The eggs Benedict (£7.50) is perfection, the perfect antidote to alcoholic excess - especially when combined with a specially blended tea. Try the "man blend" of lemongrass and ginger (£3). Vingt Quatre gets extremely busy late at night and doesn't take reservations, but it is a top spot to take someone on a date that you don't want to end quite yet.

TINSELTOWN
44-46 St John Street, EC1 (020 7689 2424)

A slice of Americana that is fast becoming a fixture of the nightlife in Clerkenwell.
At the weekend it's crammed with the post-Fabric crowd, as well as drawing people from across town late at night, thanks to its excellent American-style waffles (£5.50) and unusually flavoured milk shakes.
Try the Creme Egg one (£3.99) to be amazed, but the less adventurous are also catered for with a range of classic flavours: a good, thick banana shake is £3. There's plenty of food on offer, including the usual burgers and fries.

1997
19 Wardour Street, W1 (020 7734 2868)

Named after the date of the British handover of Hong Kong, this Chinatown favourite serves up inexpensive Singapore-style Chinese food, and buzzes with a young, lively, post-Soho club crew.
At peak times you might be seated on tables with randoms, but that only adds to the fun. Regulars rhapsodise about the special baby chicken with garlic (£5) and for an experience out of the ordinary, complement your meal with some traditional Pearl Milk Tea, called "bubbled tea" (£2.80).

BAR ITALIA
22 Frith Street, W1 (020 7437 4520)

Bar Italia, known for its proper Italian coffee, has been a fixture in Soho for more than half a century. Frequented by a cosmopolitan crowd of Soho regulars and visiting Europeans, the place is small, but regulars pack the bar throughout the night, or wrap up warm and sip lattes on the pavement outside. The cheesecake is especially good (£3), or try the ever-popular mozzarella and tomato panini (£5) for an authentic Italian experience. If Italy are playing football, head there for a seriously electric atmosphere.

SOMINE
131 Kingsland High Street, E8 (020 7254 7384)

This tiny Turkish Café is always brimming with peckish partygoers, thanks to the lovely family atmosphere and comforting home-cooked meals.
The menu changes every day, but think traditional Turkish food: plenty of lamb, rich tomato sauces, delicious hummus and beans. A main meal hovers around the £5 mark. Turkish black tea is free if you eat and is strong enough to keep even the weariest night owl awake a little longer.

BRICK LANE BEIGEL BAKE
159 Brick Lane, E1 (020 7729 0616)

A part of the history of London, this has been open since the French revolution and has changed hands only three times.
The fashionable Shoreditch crowd find it hard to resist the lure of a proper salt beef beigel: queues build up at 10pm and don't abate until dawn. Prices are low: a plain beigel is 18p; a huge smoked salmon and cream cheese beigel is £1.50 and the signature salt beef and gherkin beigel costs £3.30.