Princi, Wardour Street, London

Forget the elegant Claudio Silvestrin design, the roughly hewn granite and the busy bakers. Ignore the rippling water along the back wall. Don’t even be seduced by the Armani-clad staff. What’s great about Princi is it has given Soho a new heart.

Fantastic product, unbelievable value and a generous spirit have created a meeting place that puts us
at the very centre of things.

Bustling with good humour and a dash of Latin madness, this is a shop that understands customers want so much more than tasty tea and cakes. London now has the best bakery on the planet.

Game, Liverpool Road, London

What product could be more visually stimulating than the fast-moving world of digital gaming? You don’t need to be a teenager to be amazed at the stunningly realistic gaming environments on offer. And yet how deeply dull our high street gaming store is.

Despite a sprinkling of interactivity the store is cluttered, ugly and staffed by the uninterested. The potential for creating a meeting place, alive with energy, is painfully obvious.

Instead, Game has slat walls and a reward card (it costs £3) that gives its loyal customers a miserly 2.5 per cent discount. To drain such a product of all its life takes some skill.