The late route, a West End night out with someone who loves the city after ten

A good night might open in the bar of The Soho Hotel on Richmond Mews, move on to a jazz set in a low lit basement and finish with a late espresso at Bar Italia, where the coffee machine keeps hissing long after most of Frith Street has gone to bed. If a show is on the list, the theatres of the West End let out around half past ten, the perfect moment to stroll up into Soho while its lanes are at their liveliest. Your companion can suggest the route, or happily follow yours.

Not every good night needs a staircase down. The hotel bars of Mayfair keep a hushed kind of glamour going well past midnight, the rooftop terraces around the West End come into their own on a warm summer evening, and a comedy club near Leicester Square can be the best two hours of a whole trip. The wine bars of Marylebone suit a slower, more talkative night, and a walk over Waterloo Bridge gives you the finest river view in London on the way home.

Molly, curvy with big glossy dark brown waves, loves house music and craft cocktails and is delighted to start at ten. Jasmin, petite with long chestnut hair, dances salsa, knows her perfumes and turns any cocktail order into a small event. Stacy, 176 cm with near black hair, loves comedy clubs and never turns down a spontaneous plan.

Angelika knows the jazz rooms and pairs a late set with a quick wit, and Tiffany, with long chocolate brown hair, is a champagne and street photography girl who never misses the best moment of a night. All five are among our early twenties companions.

Tell the desk where the evening is heading. Jazz clubs and hotel bars suit a simple dark dress, whereas a party with a theme or a club with a door policy deserves a word in advance. She paces a night sensibly, and if a queue looks endless she usually knows somewhere just as good around the corner. The night belongs to both of you, so if you would rather settle into one bar with a view and stay there, that counts as a lovely night out too. And if the mood turns quieter than planned, a nightcap in your own hotel bar is always a graceful last stop.

When the evening winds down, she walks back to your hotel with you, or shares a black cab if it is further than a stroll. From Soho the hotels of Covent Garden and Mayfair are a ten minute walk away, and further west, a taxi along an empty Piccadilly at one in the morning is one of London's quiet pleasures. If you would like her company beyond the booked hours, ask before the time runs out; extra time depends on her diary and is agreed in writing.

Message the desk with the companion you like, your hotel, a start time and roughly where you are headed. Same night requests are welcome, and late starters such as Molly and Jasmin are often free at short notice. The desk checks your name, hotel and room number a single time, then the deposit follows by bank transfer. The details are on the booking page.