Tottenham Court Road Leicester SquareThe French House is like no other pub in London and filled with Soho veterans. Don’t expect music, TVs or mobile phones here, just half pints of beer (they refuse to serve pints) and wine by the glass (or bubbles if you’re feeling extra fabulous!). It’s old school and will get you talking to the locals – and we’re usually propping up the bar with a glass of red!
Tottenham Court RoadGiven the rate at which restaurants open and close in this city, anywhere that survives more than a couple of years can easily become a classic. It opened in 2012 (so not brand new but certainly not old) yet that’s exactly what it feels like at 10 Greek Street. It also massively helps that there’s some fantastic cooking and an effortlessly convivial atmosphere happening inside. The staff have nailed the art of relaxed service and diners are more than happy to talk across tables – it’s a small restaurant but you don’t actually mind being sat close together. The concept here is simple in that there is no concept; just a daily changing menu, broadly European in style, built around what produce is best and chalked up on the blackboard. The wine list at 10 Greek Street is as well curated as the food menu. It’s short but varied and lacking crazy mark-ups – you can get glasses under a fiver, which feels like a steal. Great food, great wine, zero pretension, all delivered without blowing a hole in your wallet.
Piccadilly CircusLocated in the basement of an old brothel in the heart of Soho, Blacklock has been serving up piles of juicy tender meat for several years now. They’ve become pretty famous for their ‘all in’ Sunday Roast for just £20 per person you’ll be presented with a huge platter of beef, lamb and pork, giant Yorkshire puddings, perfectly crispy roast potatoes, heritage carrots and sprouting broccoli. What’s more, at the bottom you’ll find three thick fingers of bread, soaked full of gravy and juices – a genius move. Also on the menu are their ‘cocktails for a fiver’ – what else could you ask for?
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Evelyn’s Table is a 15-seat affair in the basement of Soho pub The Blue Posts. 11 of the 15 seats are at a counter around the kitchen and this is where you ideally want to be, so you can see the chefs in action and chat with them throughout the meal. It’s hard to get a ressie here but it’s well worth the effort because the food, like smoked eel,served with super soft potato blinis and beetroot; brill with celeriac puree and mushrooms; and tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream, is incredible.
Piccadilly Circus Leicester SquareGetting a table at The Palomar might not be easy, but it’s SO worth the effort. The menu brings together the cultures of Southern Spain, North Africa and the Levant and their Stone Bass Machluta and Jeresulam Mix of chicken liver, heart & veal sweetbread al-ha-plancha are must orders.
Piccadilly CircusIt was named the UK’s best restaurant at the 2018 National Restaurant Awards and we can confirm that Kiln defo lives up to the hype. The food is inspired by the Thai borderlands, including Burmese and Yunanese spices and flavours, and there’s lots of cooking over open fire. The jungle curry of brill is a winner (and spicy too) and the claypot baked glass noodles are an absolute must-order too.
Piccadilly Circus Leicester SquareLina Stores is a bit of a Soho veteran. They’ve been making fresh pasta on the site for over 70 years and the Italian Deli is still going strong. They import and sell authentic Italian produce, and continue to make pasta, cakes, hot dishes and sandwiches on site. It’s some of the best pasta around, oh and they do some mighty fine coffee too!
Oxford Circus Tottenham Court RoadIt’s no secret that Yauatcha is one of our fave restaurants in London and we could eat Dim Sum all day long, so we suggest diving straight in to their Taste of Yauatcha set menu. It gives you a good flavour of the place and includes THOSE Baked Venison Puffs – but whatever you do save room for those Macarons!
Leicester SquareTo cut right to the chase, BaoziInn has some of the best dim sum in London. The all-day menu features a range of Cantonese style dim sum but mixed with a few touches from Sichuan and Hunan. Across the board, the dumplings are well made, fresh, and delicious so you can’t really go wrong… but we do have some top tips. From the ‘steamed’ section get the Fragrant Chilli Pork Baozi in Beetroot Juice Dough, and the Ruby Prawn Dumplings in Beetroot Pastry. From the Cheng Fen rice rolls section there’s only two options, but the Dan Dan ‘Chang Fen’ with Minced Pork and Sichuan Preserved Sprout was a winner, and you should definitely get a plate of the classic pork wontons. There’s also a whole other massive menu of noodles and street food dishes too,
Piccadilly CircusWe don’t just like Kricket – we love it! Their Indian small plates take some beating; our faves include Indian Keralan Fried Chicken, Cornish crab meen moilee and Duck leg Kathi roll. Oh and they do some bloody good Indian inspired cocktails too, so make a night of it and eat until you can’t eat anymore…
Leicester SquareBerenjak is a tiny, pretty uncomfortable, Iranian-inspired kebab restaurant smack bang in the middle of Soho. Here you can have kebabs that would happily form the basis of a death row meal, or at the very least eat without much guilt. Best of all is Berenjak’s tribute to the late night kebab shop: thin slices of shawarma on chips covered in garlic and chilli sauce. If your local kebab shop made them like this, you wouldn’t only eat them at 2am after nine pints. Other highlights include the Chenjeh Kabab, tender chunks of lamb rump marinated in chilli, yoghurt, and tarragon, and the starter of coal-cooked aubergine.
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Run by the team behind Bao, Xu is a traditional Taiwanese gem – without a fluffy bun in sight. The stunning dining room is inspired by 1930s Taipei, a beautiful mix of ornate wood panels, rich dark greens, and soft art deco lighting. The tomato and smoked eel ‘Xiao Tsai’, pan fried pork soup dumplings and the taro dumplings stuffed with Taiwanese sausage and Iberico pork collar marinated in char siu are on our order list every time. Xu is also big on tea, with many rare Taiwanese infusions on the menu so finish off with a coal baked 10 year Oolong.
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Jugemu is one of those places that you’d walk right by without noticing if you weren’t looking for it. Inside it’s very authentic: tiny, with just a few stools around the counter and a couple of tables and the day’s sushi menu is scrawled on oblong bits of paper and hung up over one wall. The food is fantastic. Ordering is done via tick box menus and it’s a good idea to order quite a bit as dishes are all on the small side. Our faves are the prawn dumplings, the takiyoki – chunks of octopus fried in balls of batter – the duck teriyaki, and the eel omelette. You’re gonna want to save room for plenty of sushi too.
Tottenham Court Road Leicester SquareBar Italia is a Soho institution and not much has changed since it opened in 1949. Serving up a damn fine cuppa joe, this Italian cafe is an old favourite and open until 5am everyday it will keep you going all night long…
Leicester SquareJapanese ramen specialist Yamagoya is one of our favourite cheap eats in London. It’s smack back in the middle of town, on the border of Soho and Chinatown, and offers what is surely the best value ramen and katsu curry you can find in the capital. There’s always 5 hot ramens on offer and the most expensive is £9.50, way cheapers than the cheapest bowl you’ll find elsewhere. They don’t shirk on quality though; the noodles are freshly made and the broth is rich and flavoursome. Try the Yuzukara Ramen with wood ear mushrooms in a green tonkotsu broth. Yamagoya also does an amazing chicken or pork katsu curry at only £6.50! Take that Wagamama. For a quick bite in town that’s easy on the wallet, Yamagoya is a perfect choice.
Leicester SquareRobata bills itself as an izakaya, serving a Japanese menu of raw fish, junk food snacks, grilled skewers and bigger dishes cooked on the robata. It’s a small joint but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in flavour. Each dish is an assault on the senses – salty, spicy, sour, creamy, zesty – flavours that will kung fu your taste buds, and all that alongside a decent sake selection. It’s naughty, saucy food but if like us you’re a fan of ponzu, yuzu, spicy mayo and chilli then you won’t be disappointed.
Piccadilly Circus Leicester SquareAlex Eagle Studio contains a little bit of everything and is an Instagrammer’s paradise. Inside you can expect to find clothes from Eagle’s own label, alongside designers KÉJI Denim, Le Kilt, Vita Kin and Courrèges. There’s also some cool jewellery, art and furniture- it’s pretty much a one stop shop!
Oxford CircusBao has been one of the biggest success stories of recent years, going from street food to permanent sites with ease and commanding regular huge queues around the block. The original Soho site is still one of the area’s highlights and a great place to pop in for a quick snack of steamed buns, or make up a full lunch or dinner by adding some larger plates too. The pillow-soft bao buns stuffed with the likes of pork belly and fried chicken are just as good as ever, and the signature pig blood cake with the bright yellow egg yolk is another must order. It may have only been going a few years, but Bao already feels like a Soho classic.
Oxford Circus Tottenham Court RoadSoho is filled with loads of amazing record shops, but Phonica is our fave because they do it all, you’ll be able to find everything from rare soul 7″s to library soundtracks to big room house and techno 12″s. And if you don’t believe us Four Tet, Floating Points and Caribou are all regular customers!
Oxford Circus Tottenham Court RoadIt might look like an art gallery, but Axel Arigato is actually a shop. Their minimalist sneakers are displayed on marbled pedestals, stone podiums, and mirrored surfaces, and the store also stocks unusal Japanese magazines, books and objects. Yes, this one is more than a little bit special.
The Prince Charles Cinema might technically be in Leicester Square, but that’s basically Soho and it’s one of the best places in town. Classy it’s not – let’s face it the place started out life as a porn cinema, but today the cinema screens a good mix of blockbusters and arthouse films with lots of all-nighters and double bills. And it’s cheap as CHIPS, like seriously get their £10 yearly membership and catch a £1 film every single week and at least £2.50 off every other ticket!
Leicester Square Piccadilly CircusEvery Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, rain or shine, street food traders take over Rupert Street and there is no better place to grab lunch. When we’re feeling healthy we get a huge box of salad from Radical Roots and when we’re feeling a bit naughtier Duck ‘n’ Roll or Slingin’Po’Boys tick all the boxes. Come hungry!
Tottenham Court Road Oxford CircusTAP Coffee is much more than a place to grab a cuppa joe. As well as carefully sourcing the beans to make sure you get the best cup of coffee, their bright and open space is great place to work from, catch up with friends or just enjoy a pastry with your morning paper – it’s a good all rounder and place you can easily lose a few hours.
Tottenham Court Road Oxford CircusDum Biryani House is located in Soho and it specialise in, you guessed it, biryani. Unlike any other you’ve tried before, this is done properly with all the rice and ingredients baked under a layer of flaky pastry. You can choose from chicken, veg, or lamb shank and each one comes with little pots of spiced okra yoghurt, baby aubergine in a peanut and sesame seed curry and house acharr pickle to mix in. There’s more than biryani on offer too, with plenty of sides and snacks to choose from.
Tottenham Court Road Piccadilly CircusGosh! Comics is a must visit for any comic-book nerd. With a huge range of graphic novels and prints, you could easily spend hours browsing here and we bet you don’t go home empty handed – we never do.
Piccadilly Circus Leicester SquareMachine-A blurs into the background on Brewer Street, but it’s a shop worth visiting. The concept store stocks all the coolest threads including Raf Simons, Gosha Rubchinsky, Aly, Maison Margiela and A-Cold-Wall – oh and they have Ken on the curtains of their dressing rooms, what more do you want?!
Tottenham Court Road Leicester SquareWhether you’re looking for a slap up meal, a relaxing brunch, cocktails or a room to rest your head Dean Street Townhouse does it all. The 4 storey Georgian townhouse is every bit British and a little bit swish, but perfect for those special occasions.
Piccadilly CircusThird Space really does have it all from hypoxic chamber to a swimming pool, 75sqm of climbing wall to a suspended glass floor training area. It’s a swishy gym and a place to burn some serious calories, but memberships don’t come cheap so be prepared to dig deep!
Tottenham Court Road Leicester SquareBar Termini is an all time fave of ours – the tiny cocktail bar come coffee shop brings a little slice of Italy to Soho. They keep the coffees simple and Negronis come out of bottles, but believe us they’re some of the best in town! With a jazz soundtrack and top notch service, this place is pretty bloody spesh.
Oxford CircusDownstairs at Antidote, which is just off Carnaby Street, is more familiar wine bar territory, a casual space where you can enjoy wines by the glass and snacks from a short menu while perched on stools. Upstairs is a more formal, though still relaxed dining room, where an a la carte menu is on offer. You can expect dishes like red mullet and cauliflower in a sweet tomato broth, perfectly-pink Hereford beef, turbot with lovage and sea aster, and caramelised black figs, whipped fresh cheese and damsons. Wine pairings with each course are all perfect, naturally. A four course tasting menu is £40 here, which for the quality of food is an absolute bargain
Piccadilly Circus Oxford CircusMurdock keeps us in ship shape condition pretty much all the time. The barbers has an old school vibe and won’t only sort your beard and barnet out, but also do full on facial treatments with a good old scrub, hot towels, beard oil, moisturiser and cucumber eye cream – and it’s SO worth treating yourself to one.
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Serving the same picture perfect macaroon ice-cream sandwiches, scoops, milkshakes, soft serve and ice-cream cakes, Yokin has opened up a permanent location in Soho. You can still expect those daily changing whacky flavours – minced pie, biscoff, milo and HK French toast – and queues. But now that they’re no longer just a pop-up, they won’t sell out quite so fast.
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The Good Egg is undoubtedly one of our fave spots, especially their second branch in Kingly Court, with a much bigger space and a bigger menu. The flatbreads, fresh and warm out the oven with an incredible array of dips including marinated aubergine and green whipped feta; the ZFC, The Good Egg’s take on fried chicken; and the PBJ ice cream are not to be missed. This place is one good egg!
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Salon64 is the salon and ‘social hub’ of the future. Set over two floors, it has a bar serving up Vagabond coffees and cocktails, a style bar which features jewellery box mirrors for anyone to swing by and refresh their face whilst in Soho, and fire pits which is where hair is cut, coloured and styled. The fire pits come with charging stations – heck yeah! – so you can make sure you’re phone is charged up for all those selfies and social updates.
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Starting by mixing lesser known outdoor labels like the Swedish company Fjallraven with the more familiar Barbour, Oi Polloi became a one stop shop for clothing brands were different in design, unusual, a little more than just functional. They have since turned their sights on more contemporary menswear labels, scouring the globe both East and West introducing us to a plethora of new labels such as Sassafras, Nanamica and Beams.
Piccadilly Circus Oxford CircusDarjeeling Express takes inspiration from founder Asma’s royal Indian ancestry and growing up in the Bengali streets of Calcutta. This results in a menu that infuses authentic street food such as papri chaat with royal recipes like lamb dum biryani, all guaranteed to pack a punch. On Sundays Asma cooks up some of her most famous supper club dishes and childhood faves, whilst the weekday menu regularly changes to deliver only the best seasonal recipes. As an all-women team of housewives run the kitchens get ready to taste home-style food, cooked with passion to nourish your body and soul. YUM.
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Bocca Di Lupo might be an oldie but it’s a goodie. The Soho restaurant serves up a mix of small and large plates with menus changing everyday, and a banging selection of homemade gelati. With a solid wine list and buzzy atmosphere, it’s always a good night at Bocca Di Lupo.
Famous for their exceptionally well poured and tasty Guinness, the Toucan is definitely the place to come for the black stuff. Some say that there is a tunnel under the Toucan that transports Guinness underground right from Dublin itself. Others say that is simply not the case. An Irish bar through and through, the place is small, often rammed and bloody good fun.
The man that showed the world that cholera was carried and spread via water, Dr John Snow wasn’t just a fan of pubs, but science. Outside the John Snow is a replica of the water pump that was actually the source of a huge cholera epidemic in Soho way back when. The pub itself is a beaut, a traditional beast with dark wood panelling and a big focus on ales. The saloon bar also has a partition in the middle under which you must duck, unless you’re vertically challenged, to pass from one side to the other. The upstairs is huge and more lounge than bar. Downstairs is where it’s at though.
On the slightly grimier end of the ‘classic Soho pub’ scale, the rough around the edges vibe of the place is of course all part of the charm. Full of old knick knacks hanging from the ceiling and vintage war posters on the walls, this pub is firmly and resolutely stuck in the past – it doesn’t even have a website, a refreshing two fingers to modernity. In amongst all this though is a bit of a surprise: as well as your Fosters and your Guiness they have a huge range of craft beers from Leyton’s own Bodie’s Brewery (who actually own the place now), so you can enjoy the old school atmosphere with decidedly new-school beer.
The Lyric is a lovely little Victorian pub at the Piccadilly end of Soho. Not far from the theatres of Shaftesbury Avenue, it draws a good crowd of Londoners and in the summer you can even squeeze yourself into the tiny outside area at the top of Ham Yard to watch the world of Soho go by. Inside it’s all classic wood panels, open fires, Victorian prints on the walls and a menu of ales, beers and pub grub.
The Coach and Horses is the second best pub in Soho (after the French House obvs) and sometimes we even prefer it, when we fancy an actual pint for example. The interiors clearly haven’t been touched for a good 40 years and it’s all the better for it with creaky old furniture, frayed carpets and a solid wooden bar. It’s a classic boozer the likes of which you don’t find in central London too much any more – it even has piano singalongs on Wednesdays and Saturdays which are a lot of fun. They also have very comprehensive vegetarian and vegan menus. Here’s hoping The Coach and Horses never changes, as it’s pretty perfect just the way it is.
Covent GardenWith its blue-and-white tiled decor, you could easily be in Italy and not the middle of Soho. It’s all about authentic Italian gelato here made with fresh and natural ingredients. But strictly traditional this ain’t! As well as your classics, Gelupo does avocado sorbets and mango sticky rice gelati.
Oxford Circus Piccadilly CircusA fried chicken restaurant on Beak Street…it doesn’t get better than that. At Coqfighter the chicken comes in the form of tenders, vodka & sesame battered wings with soy glaze, fried chicken bao, a new dish of drumsticks with XO chicken gravy, and the famous Coqfighter burgers. On the burger front, it’s hard to beat the Original, with fried thigh, iceberg, pickled red onion, sambal mayo and Korean hot sauce. There’s a crisp coating on the chicken with tender, juicy meat inside, and it’s all punched up nicely by the spicy condiments. If you can’t handle so much heat, the Honey Ginger Buffalo burger swaps the spice for a sweeter sauce. You’ll still have room for some sides, so don’t sleep on the cheesy corn!