WHERE TO WINE AND DINE WHILE YOU WATCH
THE AUBIN CINEMA
The Shoreditch House cinema is open to the public: it’s a 45-seat theatre with velvet chairs and a tasty snack bar. The one odd thing about it is that it’s within an Aubin and Wills “concept store” – A&W is the more grown-up arm of Jack Wills. £10 (regular seat); £24 (deluxe two-seater). Discounts for members of Shoreditch House. www.aubincinema.com
FIRMDALE HOTELS
The owners of the Covent Garden, Soho and Charlotte Street Hotels have endowed these three swanky London outposts with plush screening rooms. Their weekend “cinema clubs” are open to the public and show a range of current films. Guests dine beforehand. Three courses and the movie costs £35 per person. www.firmdale.com
THE EVERYMAN
Of the Everyman Cinemas, our favourite is Hampstead: tucked away in what was once the Hampstead Drill Halls and Assembly Rooms in the 1880s. The bar serves a solid range of good wine and snacks, from olives to chocolate cake, for taking through. Some screenings have waiter service. www.everymancinema.com £12-£30 (for a two-seater sofa, called a “club suite”).
THE ELECTRIC
During WWI, this 1910, Grade-II listed building was attacked by mobs that thought that the German-born manager was signalling to Zeppelin raiders from the roof. In the 1990s it was bought by a local developer and relaunched as a bastion of cool; both mainstream and arthouse. Foodwise it’s got the best cinema nibbles in town. £13, www.electriccinema.co.uk