Where to stay in London

To be honest the vast majority of the clubs around the covent garden/piccadilly/leicester square area are to be avoided unless you REALLY have no better option. Hugely overcrowded, commercial trap remixes non stop, full of shady looking guys wearing fake Balmain t shirts. Some of the bars are definitely good around the Soho area but I wouldn't go clubbing here if you want to have a good impression of London nightlife.

Your closest options from Canary Wharf would be in Shoreditch which is a much better vibe from my experience. Depending when your dinner finishes you could hit up Queen of Hoxton first and then go somewhere like XOYO or Village Underground, but I would check the listings in advance to see if it'll be techno djs at these places or something different like grime.

Other decent venues around London if it's the music you're after: Oval Space/Pickle Factory, Fabric (Fridays are usually dnb, Saturdays techno), Corsica Studios, Phonox - easiest thing to do is just have a look on Resident Advisor to check out what's going to be on.

If you're after the whole VIP table/bottle sparklers/abundance of Russian gold diggers kind of vibe then Mayfair or Chelsea clubs are what you want - nothing against these it's just not really my expertise.

As for where to stay, somewhere around Tower Hill or Southwark might be good if you're going to both Canary Wharf and out clubbing. If you want the high end hotels they're all bordering Hyde Park on the East and South sides.