Cocktail hour in London

Zinc Bar
Accessible elegance: the kind of place you can go for an afterwork drink and instantly feel a million dollars. Covent Garden's ornate seventeenth-century piazza, which used to house a fruit and vegetable market, is now home to shops, buskers - and, on the upper level, the Zinc Bar. The conservatory-style building gives stunning views of the Royal Opera House. (If the weather's good, head out to the terrace.) The crowd's a mix of office workers, people waiting to eat at Chez Gerard next door, and those heading for a Big Night Out.
Drink: Beautiful (Kalhua, Malibu, Baileys, pineapple juice and cream, £7.50)
Watch: the street entertainers working the crowds below
Zinc Bar, Chez Gerard, The Piazza, WC2E 8RF. Nearest Tube: Covent Garden. Tel: 020 7379 0666. www.santeonline.co.uk/chezgerard/locations/coventgarden. Open: Mon-Sat 11.30am-11pm, Sun 12pm-10.30pm

Akbar
Meejah, darling! Soho's the centre of the film and T.V. world, and underneath one of the area's best Indian restaurants (the Red Fort), you'll find the industry's movers and shakers in this terrific basement bar. Relax in a leather armchair, admire the exquisite rugs on the natural stone floor, and enjoy the spicy bar snacks (such as Makai Vegetable Tikki - fried sweetcorn patties to you) as you brainstorm your next pitch to Channel Four. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights a D.J. spins.
Drink: Amrit (Woodland Reserve bourbon shaken with fresh lemon juice, homemade palm and vanilla sugar, £6.50)
Watch: media networking at its most intense
Akbar, The Red Fort, 77 Dean Street, W1D 3SH. Nearest Tubes: Tottenham Court Road, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus. Tel: 020 7437 2525, www.redfort.co.uk/akbar. Open: Mon-Sat 5pm-1am (happy hour 5pm-6pm - drinks two-for-one)

MJU Bar at the Millennium Hotel
This is as exclusive as it gets. Wear your gladdest of glad rags and feel like a film star as you mingle with Knightsbridge's glitterati. The perfect place to celebrate your designer purchases on Sloane Street. MJU (pronounced 'mew', derived from the Japanese for 'millennium') has an art-deco-updated-for-the-twenty-first-century feel, and the same philosophy of mixing old with new applies to the drinks: MJU prides itself on its 'twisted classics', such as the Chocolate Martini.
Drink: Spring Punch (42 Below vodka, creme de framboise, creme de cassis, lemon juice and raspberry puree topped off with Prosecco, £7)
Watch: the diamonds sparkling
MJU Bar at the Millennium Hotel, 17 Sloane Street, SW1X 9NU. Nearest Tube: Knightsbridge. Tel: 020 7201 6330, www.millenniumhotels.com. Open:Mon-Sat 3pm-11pm

Cuba Libre
The polar opposite of MJU. Swap your Manolo Blahniks for your dancing shoes, because the salsa never stops at this great Latin American bar. After 15 years Cuba Libre is an Islington institution, and the atmosphere just gets better and better. Hot and steamy - don't even think of going unless you're ready to party.
Drink: Castro Missile (Baileys, Grand Marnier and Kahlua, £5)
Watch: lithe limbs and sensuous steps
Cuba Libre, 72 Upper Street N1 0NY. Nearest Tube: Angel. Tel: 020 7354 9998. Open: Mon-Sat 11am - late (depends on when the dancing stops), Sun 12pm-10.30pm (happy hour 5pm-8pm, 12pm-8pm at weekends - drinks two-for-one)

Milk & Honey
Feel like you're a member of a private club without actually having to join one. Milk and Honey (sister club to an elite New York establishment) allows non-members until 11pm. You'll need to book well ahead, though. You'll also need to behave yourself: discretion is the watchword, celeb-spotters need not attend. The lighting (kept deliberately low to prevent rubber-necking) helps augment the 1920s speakeasy feel: pressed tin walls, leather booths, all set to the coolest jazz. A serious bar for serious cocktail drinkers.
Drink: Old Fashioned (scotch or bourbon, bitters, sugar cube, water, £8)
Watch: your step
Milk & Honey, 61 Poland Street W1F 7NU (but the number's not there - look for the double-fronted black door). Nearest Tubes: Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus. Tel: 07000 MLKHNY, www.mlkhny.com. Open: Mon-Fri 6pm-11pm, Sat 7pm-11pm

Prices and details are correct at time of publication