Spaghetti West End

Surrounded by sushi and sex, Bar Bruno is a beacon of tradition. It's been here for an age, for a start, and is the one place where stressed media types and off-duty hookers can meet and blend into the overwhelming Italianness of the atmosphere. There's a whole crew of amiable silver-streaked Italians; I've never figured out which one is Bruno but it doesn't seem to matter. It's a family affair. You know, a 'Family' affair. The food is heavy and cheap, like £5 for a huge plate of Arabiatta cheap, and the coffee is stronger than the poppers you can get from the sex shop across the road. Coming in the evening brings its own rewards: flooded with flamboyantly dressed clubbers, seedy raincoat types and other night-creatures, the banter reaches fever pitch. Hide in the corner with an escalope sandwich and drink it all in.

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Restaurants • Soho (Central)

Great Cheap Escape

Apparently in harsh economic times, cinema ticket sales go up as people see a trip to the pictures as a mini luxury and a cheap night out that will keep them from spending their hard earned wages at the bar. Personally, I have always seen it as a bit of a luxury what with tickets nudging £10 on a Saturday night and the obligatory popcorn and cola costing a small fortune. Luckily we are blessed with the Prince of Wales Cinema granting us tickets for under a fiver and going as low as a stonking £1.50 for members. Yes, the movies on show have been out for a while but who wants to join the stampede to see the latest blockbuster? And the great thing is that if you really love a film you can pay a pittance to see it again. Even better, the staff put on fantastic double bills of old favourites such as The Goonies and The Lost Boys, and Bugsy Malone and The Blues Brothers. Could it get any better? Yes! They have Sing-a-long shows of classics like Hairspray and Rocky Horror Picture Show.

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Movie Theaters • Soho (Central)

The Vacuum of Time/Gnocchi

There's a feeling inside I.Camisa on Old Compton Street that London evolves outside, but in here, nothing will ever change. This is certainly true for the lack of orderly queueing that goes on inside this Italian deli. It seems if you speak Italian, you get served first, if not, get stuffed. Speaking of stuffed, once you do get to the front, the abundance of items you'll recognise from your last trip to Italy is astounding. Fresh, home-made gnocchi stuffed with Gorgonzola, all kinda of prosciutto-like hams, sauces, cheeses, artichoke hearts, sausages; they pretty much have everything you need to become the next Jamie Oliver if you know how to use it. It's slightly intimidating, and the people working there don't seem too terribly approachable, but all's fair in love and boar sausages.

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Shopping • Soho (Central)

Ultracrepidarians, Skedaddle

If you like coffee, you'll like it here. They take it very seriously and when I once made the mistake of asking for flavoured coffee the guy helping me did a kind of scoff and roll of the eyes. "Alright, alright," I said, "hit me with your best shot... of espresso," and he did and I never did anything so silly as to ask for adulterated coffee again. It's here where you'll find things like coffee beans digested and shat out by cats and tea picked by monkeys, but if you are just looking for normal Joe, they got it too. Just don't ask for anything remotely like a mocha-javva-frappaccino; you might get punched.

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Shopping • Soho (Central)