London with 18 year old DD - help!

[Sylvana]

Myself and my sis are bringing my DD to London as a surprise 18th birthday treat for 2 nights. We have booked a show for sat night. Anyone have any suggestions for dinner for Friday night ? She likes Asian/Thai food, we were hoping to find somewhere that might impress her e.g. good music, atmosphere, cocktails etc in the Leicester square/Mayfair area ?

Also - she likes vintage/second hand clothes shops - anyone know the best area for this type of shopping ?

Thanks in advance .... I don't know London at all and I am overwhelmed by Timeout and all the other travel websites.

In days gone by I would have relished answering the trendy bar bit of your question but since the dcs arrived my London bar knowledge has become horribly out of date...

However, eating-wise - Depending on budget I would say ping pong on gt Marlborough st is good or if you have a load of cash to splash hakkasan on hanway st is glam and fab and good for impressing.

Shopping - surely it has to be portobello market! Or possibly brick lane and surrounding area (spiral fields market is great.)

Also, weather permitting, I personally think its quite fun to get a tourist boat from,say, Westminster to Greenwich to see the city from the river. At Greenwich there is the park with great views and there is more shopping of course!

Thanks Furious. Both restaurants sound fab, will check them out. Portebello market sounds exactly what she would like, she is not into mainstream shops - we will head there on Saturday morning. Do you know any options for pre theatre dinner for Sat night ? Again, somewhere a bit trendy ... Doesn't have to be Asian food this time.

Perhaps Detroit www.detroit-bar.com/about-us.htm for cocktails?

It looks nice ... I see they do a happy hour for cocktails too :)

My teen girls love Liberty - great for haberdashery to customise her clothes. I would also consider doing an afternoon tea instead if one big evening meal- lots of the hotels do lovely ones.

I was going to suggest ping pong for Asian food (there are a couple of them) and brick lane or Camden market for vintage shopping. Have fun

Which theatre are you going to?

We are going to Her Majesty's Theatre in Haymarket to see Phantom of the Opera (my DD's favourite) even though she's never seen it before :) It's been a tough few years for her and I can't wait to hand her the tickets.

Oh that will be lovely!

A restaurant I like in that part of town is Balans at 60 Old Compton Street - they o all kinds of food so if you're having Asian on Friday night it woud be a good choice for Saturday. It's only 5-10 minutes walk from Haymarket. FYI Old Compton Street is gay central and the restaurant is mainly gay too, but it's very friendly to all with a great atmosphere and the handsome, camp waiters are lovely

Ooh, and they do LOVELY cocktails - menu should be on the website I linked to above. Enjoy :)

Patara on Greek Street in Soho is good for Thai. The area round Carnaby Street is v funky for teenagers.

Spitalfields area is great for shopping and mooching. There is a big All Saints shop but also lots of little independent shops and Market stalls.

If you have time on Sunday morning check out Columbia Road flower Market. It's beautiful and quirky. As well as the stalls there are some lovely vintage and fashion stores.

W Hotel? Glam cocktail lounge and excellent SE Asian food in the restaurant. Another great restaurant for SE Asian/South American fusion (yes really!) is Asia de Cuba.

Also - I'd avoid Leicester Square. It's really not that great! Covent Garden can be fun if you get the right place. How about the Wahaca chain (Thomasina Mires of masterchef fame)? It's Mexican street food which is v tasty and the cocktails are great. There are a few of them.

Ah, I was going to also say Asia de Cuba, St. MArtins lane

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.