Annex 3 ~ London

Since opening their restaurant Les Trois Garçons in London's East End in 2000, the trio of Hassan Abdullah, Stefan Karlson and Michel Lasserre have blazed a trail at the most fashionable end of the UK hospitality scene. Their Loungelover bar, just around the corner from Les Trois Garçons, has picked up a clutch of awards for its wildly eclectic interiors and creative cocktail menu, and their latest venture, Annex 3, near Oxford Circus, has become one of the glitziest spots in the capital.

The turn-of-the-century building has previously been a library, a seedy pole-dancing club and a restaurant, but by the time the team bought it, the interior resembled a hideous salmon pink terrazzo bathroom. Out came the tacky tiles, revealing an original mosaic floor, which became a feature of the bar where two red stiletto chairs from a Parisian shoe shop and a tin model of a fairground ride from Sweden take centre stage. An enormous eagle from the Isle-sur-la-Sorgue flea market, surrounded by 1970s Perspex lights, greets guests in the reception area, and a mosaic sculpture of a boxer emerges from a gold wall close by.

Lisa Whatmough, of Squint, has upholstered one corner in her signature patchwork of retro textiles, there's a whole wall dedicated to a violent depiction of a shipwreck, and the bar is an abstract explosion of black and white. To make sure there's a steady stream of glamorous you144ng things filing through the door, Annex 3 is open for lunch, dinner and high tea (although the food is not yet quite as impressive as the décor) but, thanks to its delectable cocktail menu, it's in the early evening that the space really comes alive.

Annex 3, 6 Little Portland Street, London W1, tel: 44.20 7631 0700

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