If, like us, you spent A LOT of your formative years watching ‘Bugsy Malone’ on repeat, this might be just your thing. Time Out Live presents The Blind Tiger Speakeasy, a night filled with 1920’s decadence. Swing Patrol will be getting everyone dancing to ragtime orchestra The Basin Street Brawlers. There will be burlesque performances from Slinky Sparkles as well as entertainment from So and So Circus, crystal ball juggling, DJs and, most importantly, cocktails.  Jude Brosnan

We are giving you the chance to laugh in the face of the £12 tickets and nab a £5 one at timeout.com/deals.

Though the sudden burst of sunshine we received after months of rain was nice for a while, it’s time for a proper heatwave to hit London. To accompany today’s sunny spell, Storyville will be raising the temperature by recreating some of that famous hot-blooded culture which New Orleans is home to tonight Whether you’re after some jazz music, dancers, live performances or a true taste of the Big Easy (known as a Southern Comfort cocktail to you and me), you won’t be disappointed in the fully transformed Factory 7 in Shoreditch. With meticulous set designs, big production values and a steaming pot of Gumbo on the stove, this is one hot party. Carly-Ann Clements

For more info, see barnightjar.com.

Summer is here, and to celebrate our blogger pals LondOnTheInside pick out five hot happenings they are looking forward to this June…

God Save The Clam, Emigre Rooftop, May 31 – June 3
We’re already over the Jubilee which is why we’ll be doing something which doesn’t involved anything to do with her Royal Highness. God Save The Clam is a joint venture between Pitt Que and Rocka Lobster popping up on a rooftop in our hood, the uber cool London Fields with great food, booze, Fat Elvis ice-cream sundaes, celeb DJ’s, beach huts, sun decking and not a corgi in sight! Hooray for that.

The Stone Roses Exhibition, Whiteleys, June 13 – August 12
We’re huge fans of The Stone Roses and whilst we may not have scored tickets for the come back gigs, we’ll be heading down to check out The Stone Roses Exhibition. The exhibition is a collaboration between legendary music photographers, Kevin Cummins, Paul Slattery and Ian Tilton and will offer fans ‘backstage access’ to historic Stone Roses moments. What’s more if you pop down on Tuesday June 26  between 6.30pm and 9pm, Kevin will be giving a talk about the infamous Hacienda, being on the road with the band, stories from parties and all the people they met along the way.

Evans and Peel Detective Agency, South Kensington, from June 8
There’s no doubt Prohibition-style bars are in vogue, and this one has taken our favourite elements from various joints across the capital and is serving them all under one roof. Evans & Peel Detective Agency is a 1920′s style bar and restaurant located behind a secret entrance serving cocktails and food in vintage crockery, beers in brown bags to ‘fool the Prohibition officers’, ribs slow smoked on site in the bars very own smoker and meat sliders. Expect all the usual quirky drinks from maple bacon and tobacco-infused bourbon as well as plenty of fizz and vino. Decor consists of old church pews, theatre seats, tables made from Singer sewing machine and various other weird and wonderful artifacts! Need more convincing? There is 20% until June 22 – we are so there.

Zoo Lates, London Zoo, Regents Park, from June 1
We love nothing more packing up a picnic and heading off on a trip to the local zoo and now there’s another reason to visit – Zoo Lates – and the best bit is no kids are allowed. Zoo Lates sees the zoo turned in to an adult playground every Friday in June and July with a silent disco, street food, live music and twisted cabaret. This year there is even a Transformation Station offering facepainting, animal masks, silly furry hats and animal costumes. Go wild people, you’ll certainly be surrounded by the right crowd.

Seeing The Maccabees, Ally Pally, June 8
2012 is going to be a great year for The Maccabees. In January their third studio LP ‘Given to the Wild’ reached number 4 in the charts and Pelican, which came out in December, is still all over the radio. This month the band are playing Alexander Palace, a absolute corker of a venue! Having watched the South London band emerge over the years, we can’t wait to catch them live and have a little bop to their catchy indie pop. See you down the front.

Read more recommendations from LondOntheInside.

Last week we salivated over Thoroughly Modern Milly’s five secret London food spots, so it seems appropriate that this Friday evening our recommendations are all about where to find a delicious drink. Mr G and Ms S write London blog The Cocktail Lovers, and are a married couple working their way through the capital’s best cocktail bars in order to report their findings. They have chosen five secret London bars and explained exactly what it is that makes them special. Did someone say payday? Ashleigh Arnott

The Fourth Wall

This is about as secret as you’re likely to get: a bar that sets up residence in a different spot every Friday and Saturday. One week it might be on the back of a lorry (yes really, it has happened), the next a disused railway arch in Shoreditch; the venue changes on a weekly basis but the décor, atmosphere and drinks menu remain the same.

Confused? Don’t be. The Fourth Wall is a mini-me, roving version of Bourne & Hollingsworth, a low key, tip-top cocktail bar in Fitzrovia. Think a chicer version of your grandma’s living room with expertly mixed drinks at your beck and call and you’ve got the right idea.

We love the fact that the fun starts days before the event itself – each Wednesday anyone who’s signed up for alerts receives an email with a clue to the chosen venue for that weekend. Most people guess straightaway, but if you don’t, simply call or email for details.

Anyone who’s ever visited the original venue will notice all the B&H trademarks including linen table cloths, cool cocktails and vintage glasses – even the chintzy wallpaper makes an appearance.

Obviously The Fourth Wall will appeal to those looking to add a cherry to the top of their regular visits but the illicit nature of it makes you feel like you’re in a cool secret whether you’ve been to the original venue or not. Join in the fun by registering your details on the website.

 The Black Door, 24 York Way, N1 9AA (entrance in Caledonia Street).

Because it’s exactly that – a bog standard black door on an unassuming side street in King’s Cross. It sounds shady given the location but this particular door is at the side of a justifiably busy gastro pub, which is very much part of the new, upmarket face of a previously dodgy area.

Mind you, there is a slightly clandestine vibe about buzzing the door for entry. Once inside you have to climb up the narrow, rickety stairs, pass through the charming roof terrace (well worth remembering with summer coming up) before reaching the intimate room on the top floor. The mixture of comfy sofas and low tables gives it a cool retro vibe and the crowd takes in everyone from local office workers through to funky fashion students from Central Saint Martin’s down the road.

The wine list is fairly extensive while the cocktails veer to the classic side of things – think Manhattans and the like. At the weekend the good time mood goes up a notch with the addition of DJs playing a mix of Vintage Swing, Northern Soul and Old New York Funk.

Bart’s

You can’t help but do a double take when you arrive outside the address: surely there can’t be a bar inside such a staid looking apartment block in chi-chi Chelsea? Stay with it though; once inside the foyer look for the black door with the lantern outside, knock it and if the owners like what they see from the peep-through window, you’ll be granted access.

It’s worth mentioning that while the location is pretty surreal Bart’s is pretty damned serious in its drinks offering.  As well as a rather good selection of Classic Cocktails (Old Fashioneds, Sours, Martinis – that kind of thing), there’s an extensive selection of House Cocktails ranging from the Saintly Cinnar (vodka, cognac, cinnamon and dark chocolate), to The Jazz Singer (vodka, lime, vanilla and passion fruit). We love the sharing drinks served Prohibition-stylee in dinky teapots; there’s also a few ‘Twosomes’ on the menu, including Putting Pants on Philip, a gin-based cocktail named after  Laurel & Hardy’s first motion picture and dutifully served in a double bust of the duo.

There’s is a deliciously light and playful air about the place, reinforced with the Mickey Mouse wallpaper, a trunk filled with dressing-up costumes and all manner of eBay acquisitions dotted around the place.  We’re also rather fond of the small but perfectly formed garden. If you’re a smoker, it makes a welcome change to having to keep popping out front for a crafty one, or you could go for the healthier option and try one of the tobacco-infused cocktails on the menu instead.

New Evaristo, 57 Greek Street, W1D 3DX

This one will never win prizes in a beauty contest but it sure comes up trumps in the hidden bars stakes. You’ll only know about it if you know about it if you know what we mean; there are absolutely no clues of its existence from the outside. Or from the inside of the building for that matter. In fact, before you actually stumble on the room itself, you wonder if you’re about to experience the seedier side of Soho. You have been warned.

Make your way down the shabby staircase and you’ll come across the New Avariso (aka ‘Trisha’s’). There is a ‘Club’ part tagged on to the end of the title but even when the bouncer is on the door we’ve never been asked to prove we’re members, so we assume that part of the name is only there for effect.

Inside it looks like a room that time forgot – all wipe-clean tablecloths, MDF clad walls and faded photographs of Italian stars. Chic it is not. But there’s something very charming about its refusal to smarten itself up. As for drinks, this is more of a beer, wine and spirits and mixers place rather than out-and-out cocktails. Still, at £3.50 or so for almost everything on offer, it’s impossible to mind. None of the eclectic crowd seem to give it a thought either; this place is much more about the atmosphere, Rat Pack soundtrack and the thrill of finding a true hidden gem.

The Baja Room at El Camion

This one isn’t at all hidden; in fact it’s the most visible of the lot. Where the secret part comes in is the talent behind the bar. Ladies and gentlemen, may we introduce you to Mr Dick Bradsell, one of the most important bartenders in British history. Without him shaking up the London cocktail scene in the 1980s it would have taken us much, much longer to gain our status as one of the top cocktail capitals in the world. Without him we wouldn’t have such iconic drinks as The Treacle, Russian Spring Punch or the fabulous Vodka Espresso (also known as the Espresso Martini).

Not that you’d have any inkling of this once you make your way into the tequila bar he now presides over. The room itself is small, dark, very Mexican in look and feel and the teensiest bit sultry. While the mood upfront is very much a good times bar with a late license to boot (until 3am for members; 11pm non-members), Dick doesn’t give anything away about his credentials from behind it. Until he mixes a drink. Who needs words when a careful dash of this and a deft splash of that can do the talking for you?

While the cocktail list focuses of tequilas and mezcals, if you fancy something off menu, he’ll sort you out without batting an eyelid. Give it a try, The Baja Room is highly recommended for the drinks, atmosphere and for the kudos of having your cocktail made by the original mixing maestro.

Read more from The Cocktail Lovers on their blog, or follow them on Twitter.

Looking for a place to sip on strong cocktails? Fitzrovian cocktail bar Lucky Pig taps into the current London fad of Prohibition-style hideaways. Drinkers can hide away in intimate arched alcoves, and veil their secret consumption behind red velvet curtains. The bar is aiming at a sort of Fitzgeraldian flair, but don’t expect Champagne served in shoes. On our visit, a social networking meet-up group invaded the space – filling the bar with polite chit-chat instead of roaring 1920s decadence.

For info, see the Lucky Pig listing. 

Book now at Future Cinema presents Bugsy Malone listing.

The Candlelight Club returns on January 20/21, just in time for third week of January – officially the most depressing week of the year, apparently. This pop-up 1920s speakeasy will once again takeover an undisclosed London location, wielding bespoke cocktail menus and vintage vinyl. The theme is complete abandon – that is, abandoning all of those boring New Year’s resolutions in favour of jazz, liquor, flappers and pearls. The Resolution Busters party is guaranteed to undo all that new years do gooding you’ve been up to. Trying to quit smoking? Try the NiQuitini, made with Perique tobacco liqueur. Managed to make it down to the gym since the bell tolled for 2012? The Iso-Tonic cocktail will replace all that gin lost through exercise. Dress in your best 1920s attire; feathers, beaded frocks and pin stripes encouraged, nothing too flammable though. Lydia Shellien-Walker

For info, see The Candlelight Club listing.

It’s Christmas season bar hell. You’re on your last legs, and are looking for lovely, quiet bar where you won’t have your space invaded by drunken office parties. So we’ve crawled the capital for the best unexpected drinking dens and mysterious nights out in London’s nooks and crannies, from glam speakeasy-style cocktail bars behind seedy doors to the hush hush Secret Cinema. Some take the ‘underground’ part quite literally, while others are just smartly hidden away from the main drag; two of our favourites are, for example, plonked right in the middle of Leicester Square and Chinatown. Sounds like some of the best hidden destinations can often turn out to be right under our noses.

For info, see hidden bars in London.

Book a table at cointreauprive.co.uk.

For info see patronsocialclub.co.uk.