Fun for One

Party with mates, go on the pull, or just stay at home with a video. Either way, if you're single you'll have way more fun than all those couples feeling the pressure to spend the evening whispering sweet nothings and spending vast sums of cash.

Bloomsbury Bowling

Underneath Tavistock Hotel, Tavistock Place, WC1H 9EU
This concept bar is an inspired idea: eight lanes of bowling, in a stylish venue, with a classy diner, eccentrically located in an old car park under the Tavistock Hotel. For their Valentine's Day Special 'the lanes' are putting on some top musical entertainment with Sean Rowley of Guilty Pleasures, The Broken Hearts and The Laundrettas replacing the jukebox with live music. Sean will be spinning some classic 'I love this one' tracks while The Broken Hearts - Amber and Nisha - will be dressing up and DJing in their own unique style. Singles looking for love - or someone to bowl you over - should join in the Match and Bowl. Cheap drinks and the pure fun of bowling make this night a cracker, whether you're on the pull, or just hitting the lanes with a few mates.

Current events at Bloomsbury Lanes

Club Kamikaze event Friday 25th May
TIMES Friday 25th May 2012 - 8pm-3am PRICING £5 & £6, adv £4 & £5
Art Brut and Kamikaze DJs play indie, hip hop and electronica, plus live performances from Portasound, The Valentines and Bangstrokeblow.... More about this event

All events at Bloomsbury Lanes

Bodean's BBQ Smoke House

10 Poland Street, W1F 8PZ
If you fancy a meal with mates on Valentine's, and don't feel like being surrounded by a lot of dismal couples, hopelessly attempting to find something to talk about they haven't said a hundred times already in their stale and meaningless relationships, then Bodean's is probably the place to go. There are branches all over the capital, and it's the last place any drippy romantic would choose for a date: there's sport on the TV, tables are in large and comfortable booths, designed for cheery groups, and, above all, the food is authentically American. This means enormous portion of rich, slow-cooked, smoky, carbs-and-meat. It's not sophisticated, it's not attractive and it's certainly not healthy, but it is an unadulterated pleasure, especially on the dullest winter day of all. Details given are for the Soho branch, there are also branches in Clapham, Westbourne Park and Fulham.

More info: Bodean's BBQ Smoke House Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Gaz's Rockin' Blues

St Moritz, 149 Wardour Street, W1F 8WL
Valentine's Day, 14th February 2008, and every Thursday

Gaz Mayall started DJing in the early 1970s, picking up a huge collection of ska and reggae records from stalls and shops in Notting Hill. In 1980, he opened his first regular club... and it's run every Thursday since, making it the longest-running regular night in London. Reggae is still the mainstay, but blues, basement, hip-hop, soul and jungle, as well as live bands and a regular appearance at Notting Hill Carnival, have helped to keep this Soho legend bang up to date. The current venue is not exactly the most sophisticated nightspot in Soho, but the unappealing appearance of St Moritz has helped keep the tourists at bay, and ensured that Gaz's Rockin' Blues remains one of the best music-lovers' nights in the capital.

More info: Gaz's Rockin' Blues Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

The Homecoming

Almeida Theatre, 1a & 1b Almeida Street, London, N1 1TA
31st January 2008 - 22nd March 2008

Harold Pinter knew the score: this is a play that makes Sex, Lies and Videotape look like Disney's Cinderella. Philosophy professor Teddy returns to the gloomy household in London where his father and brother still live, bringing his wife Ruth with him. What follows is a series of mind games, as the family members compete to dominate the household. Full of ambiguity, malice and black comedy, with a particular emphasis on sexual cruelty, The Homecoming is one of the most brutal depictions of the battle of the sexes ever staged, and an ideal antidote to all that sickly Valentine's nonsense.

More info: The Homecoming Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Justice

The Astoria, 157 Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0EN
Valentine's Day, 14th February 2008

Mixing the cool Gallic disco-funk of Daft Punk with twisted distortion and samples taken from the rawest punk and metal sounds has made Justice the dance music act of the year. The live show, played beneath their signature giant glowing cross, is a rare phenomenon in dance music, setting up a genuine moshpit among the fans at the front. Mixing original tunes with some of their most celebrated remixes, they've got more than enough material for a full-length live set, and with their scruffy, leather-jacketed look, they're a world away from the geekiness that many DJs display when dragged onto a stage at a proper rock venue.

More info: Justice Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Palladium + Alphabeat

The Borderline, 16 Manette Street, W1D 4JB
Valentine's Day, 14th February 2008

The last couple of years have seen Palladium tipped for success by everyone from Amy Winehouse to The Guardian, and although single High 5 wasn't quite the breakthrough they expected (it peaked at number 44 in the charts), 2008 is surely their year, and this will be one of the last chances to catch them for under a tenner in a tiny venue full of obsessive fans. If they don't hit the bigtime soon, they seem certain to be overtaken by their support act, mental Danish ABBA/Bowie crossbreeds Alphabeat. Anyway, if you want to snog a skinny hipster this Valentine's, or simply jump up and down to some fantastic tunes, the Borderline will be the place to do it.

More info: Palladium + Alphabeat Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Roller Disco

Renaissance Rooms, off Miles Street, London, SW8 1RZ
Valentine's Day, Thursday 14th February, and every Thu, Fri & Sat

If you do want to pull this Valentine's, and can't be doing with the crushing social awkwardness of a speed dating event, then this is the place to go. Cheery seventies hits, funky house music and some pretty good Hip-Hop and RnB, provide the music, and the standard of the skating is hugely varied, from cheerful drunken fun (with instructors on hand to help untangle the amateur skaters), to some skatetastic body-popping. The constant crashing into each other makes for a thoroughly friendly atmosphere, and the skating gimmick has produced one of the most mixed crowds in London, with students and locals, gay and straight, and all different races happily spinning round, helping each other off the floor and flirting in the bar. Arrive early, or you won't get in.

More info: Roller Disco Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Today is Boring | Video City

It's becoming ridiculously hard to rent a DVD in London, as one-by-one the local stores fold under the combined pressure of rising rents and the pay-per-view digital channels. The places that have survived the cull, however, are really rather good. Shoreditch's Today is Boring offers a madly eclectic selection of 2500 DVDs, mixing the finest arthouse classics with barely-remembered 80s teen comedies, pulp favourites and action blockbusters. West Londoners should check out Video City, whose name betrays their relentlessly low-tech approach - it sometimes takes a while to find the film you're looking for in their vast photocopied catalogue, but ask the staff, and they're almost certain to be able to dig it up from somewhere. Both places offer multi-day rentals, so even if they aren't close to home, you should be able to return your tape without incurring fines.

More info: Today is Boring Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Video City - Information

YOYO - You're Only Young Once

Notting Hill Arts Club, 19 Notting Hill Gate, London, W11 3JQ
Valentine's Day, 14th February 2008, and every Thursday

A fierce party blend of hip-hop, R&B and soul, and a funky young crowd make this a top night out with DJs Seb Chew and Leo Greenslade. Whether you're single, coupled-up, on the pull, or just fancy a boogie, the Notting Hill Arts Club's regular Thursday-nighter can't be faulted as Valentine's entertainment. This is old-fashioned, hard-dancin' stuff and a top way to get warmed up for the weekend, escape the pressures of 14th February, and maybe meet the love of your life. It's become so popular that some nights are guestlist only: check out their myspace (yoyouk) for details of how to get in.

More info: YOYO - You're Only Young Once Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

25th Luton Beer Festival

Hightown Sports and Arts Centre, Luton, London, LU2 0JD
14th - 16th February 2008

We don't normally cover events this far out of London, but we just LOVE the fact that Luton Beer Festival is opening on Valentine's Day. A real ale festival in Luton: what could be a greater symbol of the British spirit of romance? If you fancy giving two fingers to the whole idea of Valentine's Day (or if you just like your real ales) this provides a cheaper and more intimate alternative to the Earl's Court event later in the year, with around 80 real ales from independent breweries, as well as ciders, perry and foreign bottled beers.

More info: 25th Luton Beer Festival Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube