Czech your drinking - The Luxe, Spitalfields Market

There are big nights and then there are ridiculously big nights. On what was my second visit in as many weeks to The Luxe in Spitalfields we'd gathered together a crew of occasional and frequent imbibers to celebrate all things Friday.

John Torode's - as in Smiths of Smithfields and occasionally MasterChef - latest bar has copped more then its fair share of criticism much of which is hard to understand. For a start its a very beautiful venue with a birdcage type exterior enhanced by high windows and funky, modern furniture. The Luxe's design is very much in keeping with the original Spitalfield's market albeit successfully updated for the noughties.

Second the service, whether at your table or the bar is slick and charming - there's not too much waiting around at this place. And finally it has a buzz reminiscent of when Smiths of Smithfield's first opened. It's not by any means hip, but it successfully strikes the balance for those city workers and wannabe hipsters for whom the other pubs in Commercial Street and Brick Lane are a little too grubby.

The first time I visited the Luxe was on a Monday night on which it had enough of a crowd and ambiance to justify drinking on the earliest school night. By the second visit we were at full-on Friday mode, with birthday parties, party girls and boys, and us - the occasionally motley drinking crew that included such luminaries as the Northerner, Lady Devon, Young Elvis, the Engineer, the Caister Boy, Betty Boo and the Architect and the Senorita to name but a few - meant I was never going to get off lightly.

And that turned out to be the case as, instead of stopping at three to four of the 6% Czech beers, Young Elvis and I powered through what must have been a dozen or so, and behaved accordingly. The Northerner wasn't best pleased. After all, she'd only had five caipirinhas.

Finally I called time, probably not a moment to soon, stumbling off into the night, and leaving the pretty young things to have some fun. Nevertheless I do think the Luxe is a very good addition to the Smithfield's portfolio and a welcome alternative to the awful banker bars of Bishopsgate. Not that you want too many more bankers there. Nor, if you take into account how I felt the next day, do you want to overdo the Czech beers. Don't say you haven't been warned.

Halloween on trend - Home House, Portman Square London

Probably the most American of celebrations after Thanksgiving is Halloween, an event that is now firmly established on the London social calendar. Yet its been something that I've studiously avoided, until last year in New York when I realised how much fun it is dressing very badly and dancing 'in character'. With that in mind the Northerner and I duly accepted the invitation from Betty Boo and the Architect to join them for scary frolics at the rather exclusive members club Home House in Portman Square. If you're going to go to an upmarket club, you might as well look awful. A logic that the Northerner and many of our other friends do not share.

Admittedly Halloween is not a normal night, and as the Northerner quickly pointed out - hardly representative of the club. However, fancy dress aside, you still get a pretty good impression of the place, which I think is worth sharing.

Home House is the former abode of the Countess of Home - hence the posh location - which in good London fashion was restored and turned into a drinking den. It features what I believe house nerds call drawing rooms - four of them in fact - and a mix of antique and modern designer furniture. All of which seem to be unnecessarily low, and a more uncomfortable then you'd imagine. Then again, I was wearing a PVC Michael Jackson outfit.

The clientele are West End / West London upmarket and, on party night glamour personified. In fact the party was one of the best I've been to. Superb outfits, a stonkingly good band, actors in horror character, delicious cocktails, a wonderful DJ set, in a beautifully restored Georgian townhouse complete with an English country garden. When did I get so upmarket.

Betty Boo and the Architect don't frequent the place as much as they used to, given they're also members of Shoreditch House, which, amongst other things, is closer to where they live. However they're very lucky indeed to have two wonderful social options at their disposal. I wouldn't be able to say one is better then the other - rather they're equally superb but still different. In a good way. We're very lucky to have two friends willing to take us to these places. Although I think next time I best lose the 'Thriller' look.

Exceeding expectations - Shoreditch House, London

For an old bar hand like myself most of the hyped places I visit tend to at best fall a little short of expectations. Not so Shoreditch House which the Northerner and I finally checked out recently to see what all the fuss is about. Frankly, the fuss is warranted as the 'Ditch' is beautifully designed, sizzingly atmospheric and topped off with the best view from a bar / club that I have seen in London town. It's no exaggeration that the cityscape panorama on offer matches anything you might see in New York. And in fact, that is the thing about the place. It's very New York albeit in the heart of Shoreditch. What more can you want from a bar?

We were up there to catch up with our 'new friends', the Architect and Betty Boo who we met at a fashion bash a few weeks back. After taking care of a few bottles of champagne to celebrate the Architect winning a battle with a former employer and me losing one with HMRC, we took in some people watching around the pool - the highlight of which were a gang of guys, looking resplendent in shirt, tie and jackets with small tight fitting denim shorts to provide that bit of drama. And lest you found yourself wondering how their 'outfits' worked , it wasn't too long before they had shed them completely and were launching themselves speedo clad of course, into the pool.

We headed down to the 5th floor for some fine Australian Cabernet sauvignon and a mighty fine dinner - which despite me getting pan fried cod with pesto instead of the pork I ordered, was delicious. The Northerner who did get the roast pork said I was unlucky as it was perfectly seasoned and slightly rare - just how I like it.

At our communal table we were sat with a Naomi Campbell lookalike and her tall OTT fashionable American hairdresser friend, while on my side were two of the most obnoxious European investment bankers imaginable who apparently 'know Nick' and were reeling off complaints by the dozen. To their credit the staff managed them back with ease - after all, they weren't famous, simply rich - which made me like the place even more.

I can't actually think of anything to be negative about - a constant criticism of this blog. The atmosphere is great, views - spectacular, and the staff - very charming and efficient. Just like in New York.

I'm not a member, and don't imagine I ever will be, but if I could I would. It's not better then my beloved East Rooms, but has that extra glamour and frisson that you get when style, fashion and celebrity are under, or in fact on top of, the same roof. Nothing wrong with that.