Watering Hole: Soho House

This stylish club actually looks rather unprepossessing as you stand in front of the entrance, a plain green door at the bottom of Greek Street. But a surprising experience awaits the newcomer who hits the buzzer and gains entrance to the exclusive spot - instead of the reception or bar you might expect to stroll into, you're confronted by a shadowy staircase lined with antiquarian prints.

Climb the stairs, though, and make it past the receptionists to one of the uniform green doors a few floors up and a treat awaits you. As you tentatively open the plain door, the impression that you're in someone's house continues with the sight of a sitting room full of armchairs that looks straight from a Jane Austen novel.

Take a seat at one of the windows overlooking The Three Greyhounds, and you really feel you're chilling in Jane's parlour.

This impression is ruined only by the conversation drifting over from the brainstorming sessions and corporate catch-ups taking place at nearby tables. The following quotes were gleaned by this eavesdropper from one group of mascara'd media matrons: "Cat's covering the awards. It'd be great if we could get a piece in OK!"

And: "Do you do yoga?" "No, t'ai chi darling."