I'll admit I've been putting off writing this particular instalment of my London guide series, because honestly where does one even start? In a lot of ways Soho is the beating heart of the city, home to bustling restaurants packed any day of the week, some of the best bars and nightlife, managing to feel like a local neighbourhood despite being smack bang in the middle of the tourist district.
Traditionally one of London's seedier neighbourhoods, there's little evidence remaining of its previous incarnation as a base for the city's sex industry beyond the odd adult entertainment store. It's now more known as London's gaybourhood, with the majority of LGBTQ+ venues centred around Old Compton Street and nearby streets.
Thanks to increasing gentrification and big-name chains encroaching Soho had lost a lot of its edge, but with the regular new openings and long standing venues that call the district home, it's still the epicentre of London entertainment.
Start your day in Soho
The Good Egg
One of my top brunch recommendations in London is The Good Egg, nestled away off Carnaby in Kingly Court. It serves up Middle Eastern/Israeli inspired breakfast and brunch dishes off a truly unique menu - there's mezzes, bagels, and not an avocado in sight. My favourite dishes are the Shakshuka (it comes with optional halloumi and merguez sausage, unless you're veggie 100% get both!), and the Goat Shawarma Hash (pictured), a loaded skillet of crispy potatoes, peppers and tender goat shawarma topped with a fried egg. It's super filling, so try to refrain from ordering everything off the menu (it's hard though, totally understand if you fail).
The Good Egg
Unit G9 Kingly Court
Kingly St, London
W1B 5PW
Bar Italia
If I had to pick the most iconic neighbourhood in London, I wouldn't hesitate to pick Soho. I suspect I'm not alone in that! And if you were to ask, what's the most iconic cafe in Soho, I reckon most people, myself included, would say Bar Italia. The Soho institution on Frith Street has been serving locals their morning coffee since 1946. It's a cosy, slightly kitsch spot, with plenty of outdoor seating from which to watch the world go by. As well as coffees, they also offer a selection of pastries and savoury bites. It's a bit scruffy round the edges, and the prices are steep. I've also seen reviews about bad service, but personally I've never had any issues. For an authentic London experience (with a dash of Italy thrown in!), it's a must.
Bar Italia
22 Frith St
London
W1D 4RF
Shopping in Soho
Bordered on the East by Regent Street and North by Oxford Street, Soho is pretty well located if you're looking to do a spot of shopping. However it's not just high street - running parallel to Regent Street is the iconic Carnaby Street, the heart of fashion in swinging 60s London. Nowadays it's home to quirky independent stores and cool brands like Kooples and Dr Martens. My favourite is We Built this City, which sells London-themed souvenirs. You won't find any naff Mind the Gap t-shirts and tacky keychains here - the products, designed by local artists and designers, include wall prints, unique homeware, jewellery and plenty more.
Carnaby Street
London W1
Restaurants in Soho
Fatt Pundit
I've waxed lyrical on Chinese-Indian fusion Fatt Pundit in my Great London Indian Restaurants post so I'll try to keep this brief (I'm also very hungry writing this and these pictures are torturing me...). Fusion cuisine can be very hit and miss (lord knows I've tried some strange combinations, Spanish sushi anyone?), but Fatt Pundit hits the mark with every dish. Inspired by a new blend of Indian cuisine which originated in Kolkata from the immigration of Chinese Hakka people from Canton, Fatt Pundit combines Chinese and Indian influences seamlessly to create unique dishes and reinvented classics. Whilst many Indian restaurants dull down the spice to cater to a Western palate, here they don't shy away from full flavour and plenty of chilli.
My go to dishes? The crackling spinach, a take on Indian chaat, is a must order, and you've got to try the momos (steamed dumplings with a variety of fillings). The bombay chilli prawns are juicy and packed with heat, as are the lamb chops, firey but still tender, served charred in a masala rub. Oh, and you've got to save room for the sizzling brownie, an utterly decadent dessert of hot brownie slathered in chocolate sauce and ice cream. Sounds sickly, tastes like heaven. The only drawback is the price - many of the small plates are the price of a main elsewhere and the bill can easily rack up. Save it for special occasions so you can go wild!
Fatt Pundit
77 Berwick St
Soho W1F 8TH
Speedboat Bar
Bangkok is one of my favourite cities in the world. In fact, when it comes to food, it might just edge it as my very favourite. So Speedboat Bar, a kitschy Chinatown spot bringing the late night canteens of Bangkok's Chinatown to the streets of London, is an instant hit for me.
The decor is purposefully a bit, well, tacky. Basic metal tables, garish mint tiles, various nick nacks cluttering up walls and surfaces. Upstairs is the bar, a mustard yellow room featuring a pool table and tv's blaring live sports. But it's all part of the no frills Bangkok eatery aesthetic, artfully recreated down to the smallest details.
The menu is not your usual "packaged for Western tastebuds" Thai and Chinese fare. Don't expect Pad Thai! Instead the mixture of small bites and sharing dishes include a prawn ceviche (that classic Asian dish!), "drunkard's" seafood and beef noodles, and various fiery curries. In fact "fiery" is an ongoing theme, with everything packing serious heat and flavour. If you're not one for bold dishes, it may not be for you, but I tucked heartily into the rich, spicy broths and sauces.
My only qualm would be that the prices are steep for small portions, considering that is not exactly fine dining. The prawn ceviche, in the 'snack' section of the menu, will set you back £13.50, whilst the drunkard's noodles come in at £22. But all in all it's a whole lot of fun, which makes the high price tag slightly more worth it.
Speedboat Bar
30 Rupert St
W1D 6DL
Robata
I don't feel like I need to do much justifying with this one, I mean just look at this absolute feast?! Robata is a Japanese restaurant in Soho which specialises in grilled charcoal cooking, in particular their signature Robata skewers. The concept is small plates (I mean, where isn't these days?), with sushi, raw dishes, bao buns and skewers designed to be shared. In classic Japanese style you can also enjoy a range of sake and sake cocktails if you're looking for a bit of a twist.
We tried a bit of everything - a braised beef bao, coated in a rich, flavoursome sauce, crispy squid which packed a punch with serious crunch, and of course plenty of the Robata skewers. The pork belly was tender with a hint of sweetness, whilst the standout was the Iberico, chargrilled on the outside and mouthwateringly tender on the inside. The dessert, a deconstructed cheesecake, is arguably a tad pretentious on paper, but in reality provided an innovative mix of fresh flavours, with a healthy heaping of slightly sweetened cream cheese paired with cookie crumble, a matcha ice cream and slither of mango sauce.
Robata
56 Old Compton St
Soho W1D 4UE
Kricket
Another restaurant featured in my "Great London Indian Restaurants" guide, so again I'll keep this brief. The Soho outpost of a restaurant that grew to fame from a tiny shipping container in Brixton's Pop venue, this Central London incarnation is more spaciously spread over two floors, complete with a basement bar and tandoor oven. It's hip, industrial, and nothing like your local Indian, with plush pink bar stools and communal wooden dining tables. The food and drinks are equally reinvented, with a concise list of cocktails and small plates that don't resemble any of the dishes you'd expect to see on an Indian menu. They're good though - the Keralan fried chicken is warming and moreish without being greasy, and the scallops (something I have never, ever seen on a menu in India, but hey!) in madras curry butter are perfectly done. It's very Soho, sufficiently Indian-ish (my Indian grandmother probably wouldn't recognise a single dish but she's not exactly the target market!), and overall a very cool little spot to impress friends or a date with.
Kricket
12 Denman St
Soho W1D 7HH
Read More: 5 Great Indian Restaurants in London
Le Bab
I've featured a fair few Kingly Court spots in this guide, because, well, it's great! For a one stop wining and dining Central London option, you can't really ask for more. Le Bab, found on the top floor, is a cosy Middle Eastern restaurant, serving up, yep you guessed it, posh kebabs alongside wine, cocktails and some very tasty grazing dishes. The double fried chicken, coated in a sweet and spicy glaze with garlic mayo, was so good we ended up ordering several helpings, and honestly could probably have polished off a portion each. The fries with fondue sauce doesn't really need further explaining, I mean, molten cheese. What more do you need to know? The kebabs themselves were a flavoursome mix of fresh veg and quality British meat, with none of the regret of a cheeky doner after a big night out.
Le Bab
Top Floor, Kingly Court
Carnaby Street, London
W1B 5PW
Bancone Golden Square
Affordable and London are two things that don't always go together. However Italian restaurant Bancone is bucking the trend. The chic spot offers a concise menu of antipasti and pasta dishes made fresh daily, with the latter starting at £9. They're decent sized portions (I would recommend a pasta dish per person, with one or two antipasti to share), and genuinely delicious, with simple but effective flavour combinations. I love their silk handkerchiefs served up in a decadent walnut butter with a confit egg yolk (pictured), for the princely sum of £11. If you can't make it to Soho, there are two further branches in Covent Garden and London Bridge.
Bancone Golden Square
8-10 Lower James St
London
W1F 9EL
Drinking in Soho
Cahoots
If you're a long-time reader, you'll know how much I love a good themed bar. London is in no short supply, but you arguably can't find anywhere quite so unique, and so quintessentially British, as Cahoots. Travel back to the 1940s at the London Underground themed cocktail bar, restaurant and live music venue. Split between three venues in Kingly Court and Kingly Street, there's the original Cahoots, set in a vintage train carriage, The Ticket Office, an all day space serving up food and drinks, and The Control Room, a speakeasy style disused tube control room with cocktails and live entertainment.
What makes Cahoots so special an experience is the attention to detail - don't expect to find a Cosmo on the menu. The drinks are unique or twists on classics, with era appropriate names and odes to the likes of Winston Churchill and Judy Garland. Order the Knob Twiddler at The Control Room to receive your drink served up in a vintage radio. The bartenders and servers are dressed the part too, and the decor is made up of quirky vintage knick-knacks and memorabilia.
Cahoots
13 Kingly Ct
Kingly St, London
W1B 5PW
Mr Fogg's Pawnbrokers
Is every guide I write going to include a branch of Mr Fogg's? Probably, yes. You guys know how I feel about a good theme! The Soho branch of the quirky bar chain is possibly one of the best yet. Inspired by a pawn shop, there are three main spaces: The Pawnbrokers Counter, The Strong Room and The Textiles Room. Each area has its own distinct concept, featuring exotic trinkets and curiosities. The cocktail menu is divided into continents, with the trademark playful presentation including drinks served in vases and teapots. If that's all a bit much, they also have a selection of classics, and Mr Fogg's signatures which can be found throughout their venues.
Mr Fogg's Pawnbrokers
50 Dean Street
London
W1D 5BQ
Swift Bar
I'm always seeing Swift pop up on "Top Bars in London" lists, but had for some reason gotten it into my head that it would be a swanky, pretentious establishment with ridiculously hipster bartenders and mouthwatering prices. I have no idea why, but there you go. However recently in Soho parched and in search of cocktail-based sustenance I ended up finding myself sat outside, eyeing up their (very reasonably priced) cocktail menu, and even more appealing £6 spritz offer from 3-7pm (SIX POUND COCKTAILS IN CENTRAL LONDON, this is a big deal guys). The bartenders too, were unpretentious, friendly and accommodating, knowledgable about their drinks but with none of the snobbery I was expecting of a "Top" London bar. Oh, and my boyfriend was more than a little pleased to discover their dedicated downstairs whiskey bar with over 300 bottles on offer. And yes, they do a good Old Fashioned, his official barometer of a good bartender. Me? I was busy working my way through the Spritz menu (again, £6!) and every single one was worthy of their top bar title.
Swift Bar
12 Old Compton St
Soho W1D 4TQ
The French House Soho
If there's one thing Soho has in no short supply, it's venues that have rightly earned the title of iconic. The French House in Soho is one such, a legendary pub famous for it's clientele of artists and writers such as Francis Bacon and Dylan Thomas, where the pints are served in halves and tech is frowned upon (no duck face selfies allowed here). It's a place where you while away an afternoon with a bottle of red and intellectual friends (or just friends, if you lack the former...), talking about everything and anything. It's not fancy, but it's a good old fashioned no-frills English pub (despite the name).
The French House
49 Dean St
Soho, London
W1D 5BG
Nightlife in Soho
Ronnie Scott's
Okay full disclosure. I've never actually been to Ronnie Scott's. How I've managed to avoid it all these years, I do not know, but there you have it. Nonetheless I simply could not write a Soho guide without mentioned the famed Jazz bar, whose stage has been graced by many of the world's top jazz musicians including Count Basie and Miles Davis over the years. The intimate space hosts shows every night featuring both established names and up and coming artists, and you'll regularly see queues outside filled with punters eager for tickets. I can't say much for the experience itself unfortunately, but from all I've heard it's an absolute must-do.
Ronnie Scott's
47 Frith St
Soho, London
W1D 4HT
Soho Theatre
A Soho staple, Soho Theatre is (shock) a theatre space showcasing, yes you guessed it, theatre, as well as comedy and cabaret shows. I've been a fair few times for comedy shows, and it's always a good time, from the buzzing ground floor bar for pre-drinks to the several intimate rooms where shows are staged. You might catch an up and coming star before they hit the big time (I'm pretty sure I saw Katherine Ryan there before she got super famous, but honestly it was so long ago I might have made that up), but either way it's a great spot for a night out with friends that doesn't just start and end at the pub!
Soho Theatre
21 Dean St
Soho, London
W1D 3NE
Wow I’ve never really explored soho but I’m desperate to try those restaurants!
Fowzia|Crazy4tiesblog
xoxo