With all the sleek, grand drinking holes opening at the moment (like Crescent and the City's forthcoming all-glass members' club that we'll tell you about soon enough) you'd be forgiven for thinking that bigger is necessarily better - even where our kidneys are concerned.

But does size really matter?

Take Sipsmith: a brand new boutique vodka and gin range made in an unassuming garage just past Shepherd's Bush by three chaps, a beautiful copper still called Prudence and water from one of the Thames' original source springs. And what makes them so unique is the personal touch - hell, they'll even tell you what music they were listening to when they made your batch.

And then there's the diminutive speakeasy that just opened in Islington at the hands of Tony Conigliaro - a sort of more humble cocktail version of Heston Blumenthal. Behind permanently drawn shades and an unimposing brass-buzzered entrance, the bar with no name seats a mere thirty-odd, yet offers a perfect mini-package of flawless film noir design and a brief but perfectly proportioned menu of modern-retro cocktails.