Green Carnation

The Green Carnation – named after Oscar Wilde’s default buttonhole, a clandestine symbol of his penchant for rare flowers & strange fruits – sets its fedora at the sybaritic sophisticate who values pink passion, lavender martini or a honey trap over the industrial-strength firewater swallowed at less refined establishments. Beer is bottled Tiger, while Champagne (from £42) & cocktails of that ilk – think flirtini, wicked lady & powder puff at £8.50 – beg to be sipped at this lurid, flocked venue aimed at the gay community. The Green Carnation could be a set for Lady Windermere’s Fan or a chi-chi Edwardian bordello: ranged over three ‘swellegant’ floors, it’s also the kind of place where women won’t feel intimidated, & there’s even a pianist to accompany show tune-loving Norma Desmonds.