Places: The Warrington Hotel

THE WARRINGTON'S grandeur has remained more or less intact since its Twenties heyday. The art deco fresco above the huge marble bar is still vivid, but upstairs, where once the hotel's courtesans took the guests for a bit of one-on-one pampering, the local Maida Vale punters now carry their drinks to have a Thai meal at Ben's Restaurant. The house speciality, Boh Tak, is a hot and sour seafood soup with lemon grass and costs pounds 5.75, or for pounds 4.75 try the Kaeng Kiew Wan, a wonderful green chicken curry served with rice.

The Warrington Hotel, 93 Warrington Crescent, London W9, 0171 286 2929. Ben's Thai Restaurant, 0171 266 3134