It might have a prohibition-era name but, as with Bootleg, Speakeasy doesn’t feel like an illegal 1920s saloon. Instead, it has the air of a small and cosy wine bar, albeit one with a cow-skin …

It’s appropriate for a bar in the Cross to have an illicit name but when I walk into Bootleg Bar & Italian Food on a Thursday evening it feels more comforting than illegal to me.
Soul …

I’m sitting at the bar counter, 50s music playing in the background, when I notice something out of the corner of my eye – and there, lying near the coffee machine, is a miniature scene …

When others talk about LL Wine and Dine they usually refer to its history of being an adults bookshop and, legend has it, an illegal gambling den – but what makes LL Wine and Dine …