Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings, EC1

Originally the Red Lion by the late 18th century and rebuilt in the 1930s, this place is named for whatever reason, after the former grand Art Deco department store at the north-west corner of Oxford Street and Berners Street which closed in 1983 - why this place has adopted the name is anyone's guess. Converted to the current format in 2014, the current Bourne's identity is one of upmarket restaurant/cocktail bar for the very fashionable, which rather rules me out. The interior is best described by viewing it on the bar's website where the Bourne's supremacy is described thus: "Throughout the space, whitewashed floorboards, classic cornicing and light walls rendered with muslin are juxtaposed with bespoke ironwork, warm wood and antique armchairs and sofas reupholstered with thick patterned fabrics like Kilim and hessian." and "Leaving the bar, the interiors take on a new style - one that is lightly overgrown, and captures the idea of an abandoned country house, where the gardens and the state rooms have slowly grown into one another. The café area features bentwood mahogany and wicker booths, while the restaurant and greenhouse mix soft furnishings and armchairs with cane garden furniture and wrought iron benches. The whole space will be filled with hanging baskets, full grown trees and trailing creepers, effectively bringing the outside in." Whatever. No real ale of course and just two of what appeared to be fizz taps without any obvious sign of what they were dispensing so, faced with the Bourne's ultimatum of no real ale, we decided to leave.

Very upmarket restaurant and bar (and definitely in that order) in a corner building, now with a matt black exterior. You enter the 'L'-shaped bar that has a lounge-like area along one frontage and the first of many tables laid up for dining on the other (not to mention the main dining rooms elsewhere in the building). There is also a good number of high seats along the counter and certainly no problem just stopping by for a drink. That said, the only draught beer is Curious Brew Lager (£5.50), but that company's IPA is also available in bottled form.

Official site of Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings - www.bandhbuildings.com

Official site of Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings - www.bandhbuildings.com