Underneath the Waterloo Bridge, smack dab halfway between Embankment and Temple tubes is this enormous two story restaurant slash bar slash club slash store. You could make a whole night of it here and many (beautiful) people do. More entertainment (yes, it's a twinge Disney's Pleasure Island) than Michelin destination, if you open your mind (and your wallet) to the Raymond Visan experience, you could have a lot of fun. Part sushi menu (musts are the new style sashimi with scallops and cucumber salad as well as the Buddha Bar roll) and Asian fusion (a scrumptious, flaky miso and yuzu cod is well worth the £22), you also can't miss the more traditional dishes deftly executed such as Vietnamese langoustine and shrimp summer rolls. (Though we'd skip the much- pushed chicken salad) An extremely extensive cocktail menu - try the Raffaela - rounds out the meal. Upstairs, there's a traditional bar as well bottle service and staff wearing earwhigs lurk... everywhere. The only two downsides to Buddha Bar are 1. it's dim, dim, dim. Right around the time our eyes finally adjusted... we headed out. And 2. those crazy and amazing cocktails - have to be made for everyone in the place - make for an absurdly slow bar.
p.s. You could come for the lunchtime set menu which is three courses with a glass of wine and coffee at just £25 but to be honest, you'd be missing the raison d'etre of this nightlife empire.

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