A Lagos night, in the right order.

Lagos doesn't do early. The night starts at sunset and ends when it ends, and the mistake most visitors make is trying to see all of it in one go. This is the route the team uses when friends come to town: three places, in order, and a driver so nobody has to be sensible.

Sora, Oniru (20 min from Ashfort). Get there for the last hour of light. The bar is fifteen floors up, the Asian menu is better than a rooftop needs to be, and the view does the talking until about nine. Book the terrace, not the inside.

Mako, Ikoyi (25 min). By eleven the polished room on Adeniran Street has filled with people who would rather listen than shout. It starts as the pre-game and often becomes the night. Order the whisky sour; ignore the sparklers.

“Three places. The right order. And a driver, so nobody has to be sensible.”

Pitstop, Ikoyi (5 min from Mako). The terrace keeps going past three and the kitchen goes with it. It's where we send guests who land at midnight and refuse to sleep. Ask for the terrace; the coffee shop next door does breakfast when you finally give up.

Back at the nook, security knows your name and the code opens the door. Nothing to hand in, nobody to wake.