You've got one night in the Big Smoke and you've got to impress - girlie, hunk, boss, you name her/him/it - and all you can think is Garfunkels... Well, help is at hand. These three restaurants are a guarantee of a snog, a kiss and a promotion: THE PEARL : If you ever loved the climatic finale to Close Encounters of The Third Kind, you're gonna love this restaurant, because every one of its giant chandeliers mimics the Mothership from the sci-fi classic.

Its signature cocktail is The Pink Pearl - Remy Martin, elderflower and spiced berry cordials, brown sugar topped with pink Champagne) but their Cosmopolitan isn't bad either (we had three of them BEFORE dinner). Stunning decor, adjacent to the five-star Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel, and just two minutes walk from Holborn tube station, if it's a 'result' you're after, you'll clinch it here.

Think Ocean's 11, 12 and now 13, and you've got some sense of its very 'now' style. Food and service are both first class, and the whole ambience is one of guilt-free pleasure (you'll wanna look good here, and in truth you'll only INVITE someone who boasts either a chiselled chin or legs that stretch the length of Britain).

Dinner-wise, it's all scallops, frogs legs, oysters and quail. Pizza ain't really on the menu. Stunningly presented, if you don't get sex out of this night out, it's your breath.

PEARL RESTAURANT AND BAR: 252 High Holborn, London WC1V 7EN Tel: 020 7829 7000. www.pearl-restaurant.com Price guide: don't expect to get any change out of £150. But DO expect a result. Nearest tube is Holborn.

THE AVENUE: A longgggggg bar that just ooooooozes sex and money, and if you haven't got any, who cares? If you can afford it for one night, you'll do the necessary business.

At least, that's what I WAS going to say. However, having just rung them for some information, and had the phone very rudely put down on me, I think I may need to revise this review. Which means, our evening was great - just bear in mind that we were extraordinarily lucky. Mood swings and manners are clearly issues they need to address.

Swish yet very down-to-earth, it's smack in the heart of London (five minutes' saunter and you're in Piccadilly Circus). Cocktails are good, and the restaurant is white, white and more white, with acres of space.

Think groovy 60s photo gallery and you've got it, baby. Food is imaginative but accessible, and depending on just how desperately you want to impress, yeah, you could get change out of £100 (for two).

Gets very busy towards the end of the week and probably best to arrive apres 8pm in order to drink-up the best of that irresistible triumvirate of wealth, looks and privilege (the Holy Trinity of socialising).

THE AVENUE:7-9 St James Street, London, SW1A 1EE; Tel 020 7321 2111 www.egami.co.uk Price guide: more affordable than you'd guess. £100 will buy you a great night. Perfect for that perky new payroll assistant in Accounts. Nearest tube is Green Park.

NAHM: Get this. Nahm is Europe's ONLY Michelin starred Thai restaurant! How cool is that?

Well, very as it turns out, maybe even a tad too 'uber' cool, if you know what I mean. Great address - snuck in the heart of Belgravia - the restaurant and its staff are precise, polite and impressively knowledgeable.

More a place to toady with your manager than somewhere to woo your next conquest, the food is divine but frankly over far too quickly (which, if you are having to laugh at your boss's jokes, is perfect).

No matter how much you may claim to love Thai, until you've eaten here, all you've really done is indulge in a little gastronomic foreplay. General ambience is comfortable without necessarily being cosy (imagine the sun but without the heat): ideal for tying up that deal or promotion.

And take someone who talks a lot - that way you can just nod while savouring the flavours.

NAHM (at The Halkin): Halkin Street, London SW1X 7DJ Tel: 020 7333 1234 www.halkin.como.bz Price guide: despite its extraordinary pedigree, it's not unreasonable and £150 spent should secure your boss's handshake (and that new expense account).

Nearest tube is Hyde Park Corner