Time for a blow-out!

Cru The name and the towering wine racks dividing the space give a hint of what's in store. Great for unusual choices - wines from places like Greece and Hungary - and wines from smaller producers. Good, modern-Med food. Lovely, helpful staff.
2-4 Rufus Street N1.
Tel: 020 7729 5252. Tube: Old Street

Best for happy hours

If your tolerance of alcohol has increased in opposition to your bank balance over the festive season, our guide to the best bar deals is just what you need.

OnAnon London's most multi-faceted bar enjoys a happy hour every day from 5pm to 7.30pm. Spirits and wine are half price (wines from £6.20 to £12.25). Cocktails are also £3 instead of the usual £5.25.
The London Pavilion, Piccadilly Circus W1. Tel: 020 7287 8008. Tube: Piccadilly Circus

Bar Cuba Two-and-a-half hours, six days of the week (Sun to Fri, 5pm to 7.30pm) in which to take advantage of the specifically Latin American Mohitos and Caipirinhas at half price. But if you don't fancy sampling them, bottles of wine are £5 off, six bottles of beer cost £10, and there's £10 off champagne.
11-13 Kensington High Street W8. Tel: 020 7938 4137.
Tube: High Street Kensington

Salvador & Amanda Every day, from 4pm to 8pm, the highlight here is the £8-a-litre Sangria Diabolo with its blend of red wine, Soberano brandy, raspberry schnapps, raspberries, cranberry and citrus juice, topped with the not-so-secret special ingredients of Salvador's special syrup and Amanda's drunken fruit.
8 Great Newport Street WC2.
Tel: 020 7240 1551. Tube: Covent Garden

Cheers The mother of all happy hours (Mon to Fri, 3pm to 7pm) where a bottle of house wine or a four-glass cocktail pitcher is £7.50, and it's a mere £2 for spirits and mixers, bottled beer and alcopops. If you still want more, on Mondays and Tuesdays the offer runs until 3am - a happy day if you like - where you can add glasses of house wine and cocktails to the £2 list. Phew!
72 Regent Street W1.
Tel: 020 7494 3322. Tube: Piccadilly Circus Ben Sloan

Best for killer cocktails

Get trashed in style with our guide to where to find the coolest cocktails in town.

Trailer H The kitsch, decorative flourishes at this Portobello honey will be familiar to any child who was dragged around Woolworth's in the 1960s. Thankfully, the Tiki-tat theme doesn't upstage TH's raison d'Ãtre - lethal cocktails such as Mai Tais, Killer Zombies and Fire and Ice in flaming 'volcano' bowls. Hawaii Five 0!
177 Portobello Road W11.
Tel: 020 7292 9932. Tube: Ladbroke Grove

Loungelover Les Trois Garcons crew skilfully plunder every stylistic movement known to man, turning a former meat-packing warehouse into bonkers high camp magpie's nest - where Op Art, Gothic, Dickensian, Provencal, Deco and junk shop chic blend to surreal and brilliant effect. Cocktails are equally eclectic.
Loungelover, 1 Whitby Street E1.
Tel: 020 7012 1234. Tube: Old Street

Dick's Bar The refurbished Art Deco speakeasy at Oliver Peyton's spectacular Atlantic is a serious contender for most civilised nightcap opportunity. Sip Sidecars, Gibsons and Old Fashioneds till 3am, while fancying yourself as debonair Hollywood heart-throb or wise-cracking burlesque broad.
Atlantic Bar & Grill, 20 Glasshouse Street W1.
Tel: 020 7734 4888. Tube: Piccadilly Circus

The Blue Bar At The Berkeley David Collins' modern take on bijou is beloved of rock stars and helmethaired doyennes. Sink into deep leather armchairs, savour the perfect Tom Collins in the company of Phil, Jackie or Joan Collins. Expect smooth service and sexy nibbles. Blue Velvet!
The Berkeley Hotel, Wilton Place SW1.
Tel 020 7235 6000. Tube: Knightsbridge