Where shall we meet?: Carriages

Strangely, Carriages, next to Buckingham Palace, isn't touristy. Instead there are hordes of Michael Heseltine's minions from the DTI. Only the dearth of bars in the area can explain its extreme popularity. The absence of soft furnishings makes the room noisy. The decor is soulless wine-bar-by-the-yard. None the less, an excellent mustering point for a leisurely crawl through the secret pubs of Belgravia.

Wines from pounds 2.30 a glass, beers from pounds 2.30, orange juice pounds 1.80. Mon-Fri noon-11pm/Weekends 7 Aug-2 October 10am-5pm.

Carriages Wine Bar, 43 Buckingham Palace Rd SW1 (071-834 0119).

Tomorrow: The Sherlock Holmes Hotel W1.

Fleet Street EC4 pounds 4.70

(Photograph omitted)