The week started and ended with a celebrity story . . .

After the JSP experience at the beginning of the week, I'm pleased to say that Friday afternoon provided a lovely finish to the end of it.  But you'll have to wait as a lot of eating and drinking occured during the week. This is therefore likely to be a long blog so make sure you're sat comfortably with a large glass in hand before you start.

I had a long meeting on Wednesday and felt in the need of a coffee late afternoon to perk me up and so I went to good old Pret on Frith Street West. My latte (in seemingly one sensible size only) was £1.99.  According to the website it is sesame, GM, gluten, wheat, egg and yeast free which is always good to know and it contained 194 calories.  However, I was quite horrified to see that the calorie content of that innocuous carrot cake in a box that you're tempted by at the till, contains 402 calories. Check out the website for the calorie content of their sandwiches and you'll probably never go again!

In the evening I met my friend Nicola and as she's younger than me (she said I had to say this), I made her try some of the triendier places.  First on our list was cocktails at Thirst on Greek Street West (http://www.thirstbar.com/index2_london.html). Although it was just opening at 5pm we got a friendly welcome.  They have a huge drinks menu and we chose a Cosmopolitan which, as we were in Stupid Hour (from 5pm to 7.30pm), was £4 whilst my Classic Dry Martini was £6: it was only a Happy Hour drink (when prices go up slightly).  Its website claim of being the busiest and best mid-weeker in Soho obviously doesn't apply at 5pm but nevertheless, it had comfy cream leather banquettes and trendy stainless steel tables and if you want an early evening cheap cocktail it's the place to go.  However when the 'funky house, dirty house, elektro and mash up' music starts, it may be a different story.  This description probably makes even Nicola feel old!   

We then moved on to Jazz after Dark across the road on Greek Street East (http://www.jazzafterdark.co.uk/).  Here we sat outside with a glass of rose for £4.50 and so didn't really see inside.  It's probably the sort or place that just gets going, as I'm going to bed.  However, the website does make it sound interesting and as there is food, it's probably worth a return visit at a later time. 

We ate at Rosa's on Dean Street East (http://rosaslondon.com/soho), a lovely small, welcoming Thai restaurant.  We shared Gai Hor Bai Teay which, to the uninitiated, is chicken marinated in garlic and coriander root and pepper wrapped in pandon leaves which was absolutely gorgeous and just right for sharing.  Nicola then went for a safe green chicken curry, but I had to go for the jungle vegetarian curry as the only dish on the menu with the three chilli sign. With a sticky rice and a brown garlic rice and a bottle of Rose, our bill with a tip was a respectable £50.  Both food and service were excellent and Nicola said it was the best Thai she'd ever had.  She also said I had to report that I'd 'trashed my glass' by which she means I dropped it and the base broke.  However, you will be pleased to know that not a drop of wine was spilt.

Well, the week is not yet over, but I'm exhausted and I expect your glass is empty so you'll have to wait a little while longer to hear about the celebrity end.