Socialista London

Socialista is Cipriani's Cuban-inspired members' lounge, tucked into Berkeley House on Hay Hill behind a door that announces nothing. The house runs sister rooms in New York, Dubai, Ibiza, Istanbul and Bahrain, and the London one keeps the same conceit: pre-revolution Havana as the affluent habaneros lived it. Doors open at ten and the room runs to three, Wednesday to Saturday.

The interior is the reason to come. Distressed green walls carry gold-framed photographs of Cuban street life and Havana society, hung floor to cornice. Encaustic star-pattern tiles run the length of the floor, chandeliers hang low over velvet banquettes and limed-oak louvred shutters, and artificial bougainvillea spills across the panelling. The lounge divides into two connected rooms that overlook each other, one holding the long marble-topped bar, the other the tables and the music. A mezzanine balcony looks down on the bar from above.

On a normal night the room runs on membership, an invitation or a table booking. For a private event the house lets the whole lounge, which takes 45 seated or 75 standing, and the events team is reached direct rather than through a public booking page. There is an in-house kitchen doing Cuban and Italian plates, canapés and bowl food, with halal and kosher menus on request. The bar's own sound system is in place, the alcohol licence runs to three in the morning, and guests are permitted to bring their own DJ. Live music is part of the standing programme.