London Cabaret & Burlesque

Just as you used to be in a 1920s speakeasy, at Proud Cabaret you're entertained while you dine. A lively mix of cabaret, jazz and burlesque are performed while you tuck into a very British menu which includes choices like fish and chips and Dover sole. Everything about this late night City destination reminds you of a bygone era when ladies smoked cigarettes on a lengthy holder and wore flapper dresses while gentlemen dressed like members of the mob. Even the staff serve dishes while sporting the regalia of the era. No fear of prohibition here though, instead there's a full and varied wine list as well as sophisticated cocktails called things like 'Ginger Rogers' (tequila, pineapple, ginger) and 'Lady Luck' (gin, pineau des charentes and orange bitters). Depending on which night you go you will be treated to cabaret, jazz and burlesque with live bands and DJ sets continuing the party long into the evening. Proud Cabaret joins Proud Chelsea and Proud Camden, along with another Proud Cabaret venue in Camden, as part of the Alex Proud stable and is available for private hire.

From cream teas to secret organic cocktails, cabaret and comedy, Kuki La-Belle and Delores von Cotier's cheeky club combines the naughty with the nice. This two-floor bar with secret zones, nooks and crannies offers the perfect alternative night's entertainment for the adventurous and curious. Mademoiselle Victoria Etoile, Tallulah Mockingbird, Honey Lulu, Ms Sienna Lately, Trixee Sparkle, Serenity and Liberty Pink are just a few of the perky performers to entertain evening diners in this intimate salon. With an emphasis on the burlesque and Vaudevillian, themed nights take place at Volupte regularly on Friday and Saturday nights, supported by jazz and swing, cabaret singers, flapper dances, comedians and magicians. Choose from a full menu or get your fingers dirty with the sharing snack platters, from intimate, hand-painted booths that offer you the opportunity to adjust your own lights and music. Old movies, dancing lessons and wine-tasting also sporadically appear on the menu. This is light-hearted eye-lash fluttering, fan-dancing fun.  

Café de Paris is one of those places that you have to visit at least once, just to say you have been there, and to enjoy the extraordinary baroque decor. Everyone from Madonna, Vivienne Westwood and the Spice Girls has held a major party here, along with GQ and MTV. It's absolutey vast (with a capacity of 700 people) and has three separate bars in addition to the mezzanine and main dance floor. Despite the glitz, the problem with Café de Paris is that for mere mortals the experience can be less than stellar. Yes, everything is opulent and over the top, and there is live music on Friday nights. But the prices are steep and the bar staff can be snooty. Our advice? Try to get inside when you're invited to a major party.

This was once a sleazy Soho strip club, as the name suggests, and it really shows. Deep reds are the dominant colour, with mirrors, booths and velvet curtains creating an atmosphere of sleazy glamour. This sordid ambience makes it one of Soho's most enjoyable bars, adding a superb frisson to the many excellent early-evening comedy and cabaret nights it hosts. Sundays are reliably ridiculous, with everything from burlesque to belly-dancing on offer. On Friday and Saturday nights, there's good food to accompany the early evening stage shows, then later on DJs step up for their devastatingly fashionable funk, ska and rockabilly nights, which give patrons the chance to flash their finest vintage fashion selections.

The Victorians built their public buildings on a grand scale and they built to last, which is why this former public toilet makes a surprisingly chic and comfortable 60-seat bar. The steps down are in the middle of the street, just opposite the Lyceum Theatre. Things are pretty intimate here, but there's no sense that you're cramped, just the pleasure of being close to the stage, and on friendly terms with neighbouring tables. The cocktails are excellent, and they've found a novel way of getting round the smoking ban by selling snuff behind the bar. The decor is a seductive futuristic take on Weimar Germany, with purple neon a dominant theme. As a tribute to the venue's original purpose, they also have some decidedly... unusual toilets. A progamme of jazz, cabaret and burlesque enlivens the small stage on most evenings and the low-arched roof and chic decor create a speakeasy atmosphere that would be impossible to replicate in a more conventional space.

The Royal Vauxhall Tavern has been a gay venue since the Second World War, surviving both oppression and the great mainstreaming of Gay culture that saw it lose its biggest stars (including Lily Savage) to television. It's the spiritual heart of Vauxhall's gay village, and a busy midweek program packs it out every night for bingo, comedy, music or drag acts. On weekends, queues stretch all the way round the block for Duckie, the drag cabaret collective who've performed their cabaret/comedy/experimental theatre show everywhere from the Barbican to New York. Straights are very welcome, but the more delicate should be aware that there is a lot of audience participation.

This social club hasn't changed much in appearance since the 1970s heatherette and laminate coverings, Formica, garish red carpets and teak paneling still abound, but the entertainment programme has seriously evolved. The upstairs area is now a fun and fabulous entertainment free-for-all. A giant heart made of raunchy red lights frames a stage, lighting up garishly dressed audience members complete with feather boas and corsets. From dance classes, DJs and disco to karaoke and cabaret this club has well and truly embraced its new role as a 'living canvas' for the East End's performance artists and one of the most creative and accessible venues in town. There's even bingo on offer for the seriously ironic, and there's no getting around the fact that this place has become a magnet for the young and trendy looking for a post-modern playground. Remaining honest to its working class roots, local members can still retreat to a private area downstairs, while the income generated from the public outlet allows the original club to function without threat of closure. Refreshing and raunchy.