thelincoln.com

“Give me the luxuries of life, and I will gladly do without the necessities,” said Frank Lloyd Wright. These words aptly sum up the Lincoln, a den of luxury and comfort housed in a former strip club. The neighborhood of King’s Cross, traditionally Sydney’s red light district, has gone upscale, and the Lincoln, which was re-done last year, can take a lion’s share of the credit. The joint is three levels of decadence, from the basement’s NYC-style club — Prince’s former DJ Ricky Albert is a resident — to the deck bar which has the feel of a 1930s ocean liner. Don’t forget the restaurant, manned by ex-Bibendum chef Richard Duff, with its exclusive Krug room. The Art Deco décor works to create a special environ with the octagon-shaped dining room, the black and gold color scheme, the Calcutta marble bar, and the black timber floors. The joint is spacious, inviting, and diverse. True, you can’t get a lap dance anymore, but if you’re lucky you can get much more.

36 Bayswater Road     +02 9331 2311

commecarestaurant.com

It’s hard to understand why, with so many Francophiles running about, there aren’t more French restaurants in Los Angeles. Where are the bistros, those hearty, easy to love spots that seem to be on every corner of Manhattan? David Myer, the brainchild behind Sona, must have asked himself the same question and opened Comme Ça as an answer. Not only is the food, which is on the traditional tip, lip-smacking, but the scene is grand cru people watching. Staples such as soupe à l’oignon share space on the menu with richer partners like roast beef marrow with oxtail jam and arguably the city’s best bouillabaisse. Every dish uses first-class, fresh ingredients that make all the difference. The best spot is the black and white dining room, complete with a small bar, tufted leather banquettes, and a fromager station, but any table will do as long as there’s an order of their addictive fries on it. Sometimes, the place may be a bit loud or crowded, but what kind of brasserie would it be otherwise? Myers has, thankfully, imported a hip, casually French aesthetic to a city that was screaming Allez, s’il vous plait.

8479 Melrose Ave   323 782 1178

badeschiff.at

Okay, the European Cup is over. The streets of Vienna, where the Spanish claimed European victory, have been scrubbed clean and the hooligans (strangely absent without England in the tournament) are back home. But hey, it’s still warm at night and this is still the always-cool capital of Austria. So, grab your swim trunks and your RVCA T-shirt and head to Badeschiff, a converted orange-dipped ship moored on the banks of the Danube. Spend the day in the pool, pop down to the main floor and eat a bratwurst, then run back up to watch the sunset. The heated pool, which is open till well past midnight, is on deck, while the two levels below offer more than a night’s worth of decadent entertainment. At night, the cargo hold is transformed into the main club. Badeschiff’s eclectic nature keeps it packed with the city’s slickest, from club freaks to Viktor and Rolf-clad hipsters. If you’ve never partied on a boat in the summertime with a thousand of your best Austrian friends, this is the place to do it.

Canal between Schwedenplatz and Urania   +4306 99 1513 07 49

bar25.de

Poor landlocked cities. While some hipsters fall from bed to Bondi Beach, others have no white sand to run to during those balmy summer months. But humankind is especially resourceful, and many cities, like Berlin and Paris, have imported all those tiny grains, giving rise to the city beach bar. In Berlin, none of the beach bars can touch Bar 25. It may not be the easiest bar to get into (the bouncers aren’t looking for the prettiest people in the crowd; they’re searching for the right people), but once in, the games begin. The joint has a Wild West feel, with ranch-style décor — and disco balls overhead. Bar 25 is archetypal Berlin: wild, vibrant, unpolished, and real. Join the lawless masses inside: minimalist freaks dancing next to old-time punks next to graffiti artists next to the ultra-chic. Nothing is off-limits, nothing too risqué, and that’s what keeps the Berliners coming back. Stay the whole night at one of the overnight cabins for rent, or leave at dawn and head to another club. This Bacchanalian bar never stops — at least not until winter comes again.

Holzmarktstrasse 25     +49.172.4494058

gusto.it

It’s easy to find good food in Rome, but try finding an eatery with a slick bar and atmosphere, too. Enter Gusto, the two-story emporium in the Piazza Augusto Imperatore, which began as a bar/restaurant but now holds a pizzeria, an enoteca, an osteria, a cheese shop, a wine bar, a cooking store, and a school. Dinner caters to a vibrant, young crowd of Romans and visiting hipsters who know that good food and ambiance are not mutually exclusive. The decor is minimalist, stylish, and distinctly Italian; exposed brickwork, marble-top tables, and industrial light give the joint an elegant, inviting look. And the food isn’t just celestial southern Italian pastas and pizzas; Gusto serves up Asian-influenced dishes as well, like spaghetti stir-fried in a wok with prawns and tempura-battered baby vegetables. The tables outside (facing Richard Meier’s redone Ara Pacis pavilion) are the most sought after for indulging in long meals under the Roman night.

Piazza Augusto Imperatore, 7    +3906323.6363