Crisis, what crisis: City banker spent £43,000 (US$ 70,000) on champagne

A City banker ran up a £43,000 bill on champagne at a

The astonishing bar bill included two Methuselah of Dom Perignon champagne at £9,000 each, and four jeroboam of

Crystal champagne costing £4,500 each. A Methuselah is eight times the normal bottle size, and a jeroboam four times.

The unnamed banker arrived at Maya, a nightclub in

London’s

Soho, with four friends. He then ordered a total of 16 bottles of champagne from the drinks menu, which were shared with other guests.

A 15 per cent service charge, which amounted to £5,617.50, all went to the lucky waitress, who was called Anna. The banker’s group, which included men and women, drank until 1.30am before he picked up the tab for his friends on a credit card.Maya was hosting a party after the Brit Awards and is a venue popular with soap stars and Premiership footballers.Other visitors have included actress Sienna Miller and singer Rihanna and the club operates a New York-style door policy where only those who the management deem “connected, fashionable and interesting enough” are allowed in. The club motto is: “If you’re not inside you’re outside.”A club source said: “The guy comes here regularly. He and his guests were clearly not taking any notice of the recession.” What was drunk: 5 x bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal 99 Champagne - £350 each (US$ 576)3 x Magnum of Cristal Rose Champagne - £1,900 each (US$ 3,128)2 x Methusalem of Dom Perignon