Mistress of Mayfair

Mistress of Mayfair trades below street level at the Piccadilly end of St James's Street. The name points north; the address does not. A red-carpeted staircase drops from the pavement into a checkerboard-floored vestibule, and past that the rooms open out in crimson: embossed damask, swagged pelmets, gilt-framed portraits and low table lamps set close enough to keep the light at eye level. The reference is Paris rather than London, and the venue traces its name to the clandestine tunnels said to have run beneath this stretch of St James's.

One floor, three connected spaces. A lounge of long banquettes and fringed tub chairs runs down one side. The restaurant sits in the middle under chandeliers, cooking modern Mediterranean with a French accent, with a fixed DJ booth at the far end of the floor. Opposite is a marble-topped bar with velvet stools. A private dining room is raised behind a brass rail; a separate VIP room is tucked past the wine display.

It opens Thursday to Sunday from 7pm and is built to change temperature as the night goes on: dinner first, then a resident and guest DJ programme of funk, soul and disco house, then a club room after midnight. For a party that has to begin as a seated dinner and stay in the same room, that sequencing does most of the work. The whole venue takes 110 seated or 220 standing, and sections can be held on their own.