Soho has the densest concentration of good eating and drinking in Britain, packed into about half a square mile, and almost everything there is to do here happens in its pubs, bars and late rooms rather than in a museum. The difficulty is not finding somewhere. It is knowing which doors you can simply walk through, which want a booking, and which have quietly become tourist infrastructure.
Here is how to use it.
The rule that governs a Soho evening
The best pubs in Soho take no bookings at all, and the restaurants worth eating in need one a week ahead. Get this the wrong way round and you will spend the evening walking.
| Venue | Getting in | Street |
|---|---|---|
| The French House | Walk inHalves only, no phones | Dean Street |
| The Coach & Horses | Walk inNo table bookings at all | Greek Street |
| The Blue Posts | Walk inClosed all day Sunday | Rupert Street |
| The Devonshire | Walk inThe pub takes none, the restaurant upstairs books | Denman Street |
| Swift | Walk inKeeps walk in space back | Soho |
| Bar Termini | BookOne hour slots, maximum five | Old Compton Street |
The practical approach is to book dinner and leave the drinking to chance, because the bars that refuse bookings turn over quickly and the restaurants that take them do not. The Soho restaurants guide sorts the dining rooms the same way, by which ones you can actually book.
Where to drink
The full Soho bars guide covers nine of them, sorted by how you get in: which take no bookings at all, and which have rules worth reading first.
The French House
- Address
- 49 Dean Street, Soho
- Nearest
- Leicester Square or Tottenham Court Road
- Standing
- De Gaulle's Free French used the upstairs room during the war
How to get in
The house rules are the institution: no music, no machines, no television, no mobile phones, and beer served only in halves. The halves rule holds all year with one exception at their spring fundraiser. It is not a gimmick and the staff will not make an exception for you.
The Coach and Horses
- Address
- 29 Greek Street, Soho
- Nearest
- Leicester Square or Tottenham Court Road
- Standing
- Grade II listed for a substantially intact 1937 Taylor Walker interior
How to get in
No table bookings at all. Check the street name before you set off: there are three pubs called the Coach and Horses in W1, and one of the others uses coach-and-horses-soho in its web address while standing on Great Marlborough Street. You want Greek Street.
Three bars, tapered counters, spittoon troughs. The Jeffrey Bernard pub, and the one where Private Eye has its lunches.
The Blue Posts
- Address
- 28 Rupert Street, Soho
- Nearest
- Piccadilly Circus
- Hours
- Closed all day Sunday
- Standing
- Grade II listed, the only one of the five London Blue Posts that is
How to get in
No reservations in the pub, first come first seated. Three businesses are stacked in the one building: the pub at street level, the Michelin starred Evelyn's Table in the basement and the Mulwray wine bar on the first floor. The Sunday closure has a reason they publish: the pub floor goes to private hire that day.
Bar Termini
- Address
- 7 Old Compton Street, Soho
- Nearest
- Leicester Square
- Booking
- One hour slots, maximum five people
How to get in
Treat it as an aperitivo rather than a destination and it is close to perfect. The room is tiny and the slot is an hour, so it is the drink before dinner, not the evening.
Negronis and espresso, both done properly.
Cahoots
- Address
- Underground at 13 Kingly Court, Ticket Hall at 5 Kingly Street
- Nearest
- Oxford Circus
- Hours
- Underground 5pm to 1am Monday to Wednesday, 4pm to 2am Thursday and Friday, midday to 2am Saturday, 4pm to midnight Sunday. Ticket Hall midday to midnight Sunday to Wednesday and to 1am Thursday to Saturday
How to get in
Two addresses on the same street and not the same evening: the Ticket Hall is a pub with a terrace open from midday, the Underground the themed bar that opens at five midweek. Loud, busy, frequently in fancy dress, and excellent on those terms. Not the place for a conversation.
A 1940s disused Underground station complete with a replica Bakerloo line carriage. Our guide to London’s hidden bars sorts the serious ones from the theatre, and this is firmly theatre, done well.
Late, and after dinner
Underbelly Boulevard, 6 Walker’s Court, is a theatre seating up to 200 that Underbelly has run since 2023, in a building that began as the Raymond Revuebar’s sister venue, which makes it the most interesting thing to happen to Soho nightlife in years. Programming runs in blocks, so check what is actually on.
The Box, a few doors along at 11 to 12 Walker’s Court, is the opposite: a late club, Wednesday to Saturday, last entry 11.30pm, no guestlist and no entry without a table booking. Deliberately explicit and not a substitute for a cabaret evening.
Both are covered properly in our burlesque guide, along with the two famous Soho-adjacent venues that have closed and are still being sold by ticketing sites. The Crazy Coqs cabaret room is the other one worth knowing, through the same doors as Brasserie Zédel on Sherwood Street.
Where to eat
Soho’s restaurants have a guide of their own, organised by the booking rule rather than by a ranking, because here the rule decides the evening more than the menu does. Two facts are worth carrying in with you.
Barrafina on Dean Street takes no reservations at all, and every other Barrafina in London does. And Brasserie Zédel serves two courses for £16.95 in an Art Deco room below Piccadilly, among the cheapest proper restaurant meals in central London. Kiln, Speedboat, Koya, Mildreds and Randall and Aubin are all here as well, each in the cuisine guide that covers it, and the restaurants guide links to every one.
Practical notes
Sunday is the weak day. Quo Vadis closes, the Blue Posts closes, Zédel stops at 4pm. Plan Sunday elsewhere or plan it early.
Walk. Nothing in Soho is more than eight minutes from anything else, and the streets are the point. Do not plan an evening that involves a cab between two Soho addresses.
The half square mile has a hard edge. Soho is Regent Street to Charing Cross Road and Oxford Street to Shaftesbury Avenue. Plenty of places marketed as Soho are in Fitzrovia or Covent Garden, which are fine, but they are not this. The east end of town has the same problem in a different form, which the Shoreditch guide opens with.
Everything here was checked in September 2026 against each venue’s own published information. Confirm before travelling.
Everything this guide has in Soho
67 places, gathered from every page on this site rather than just this one. Each was checked against the venue's own published information, and the link goes to wherever it is written up in full.
Restaurants
-
Honest Burgers Walk in
Honest Burgers -
Padella Soho Book
Padella London -
Coqfighter
The Best Fried Chicken in London -
Chotto Matte
Peruvian Restaurants in London -
Kolamba Soho
Sri Lankan Restaurants in London -
Paradise Soho Closed
Sri Lankan Restaurants in London -
Kiln
The Devonshire Takes No Bookings. Milk Beach Charges £25 to Cancel. Both Are in Soho. -
Barrafina Dean Street Walk in
The Devonshire Takes No Bookings. Milk Beach Charges £25 to Cancel. Both Are in Soho. -
Milk Beach Soho Book
The Devonshire Takes No Bookings. Milk Beach Charges £25 to Cancel. Both Are in Soho. -
temper Soho Book
The Devonshire Takes No Bookings. Milk Beach Charges £25 to Cancel. Both Are in Soho. -
Quo Vadis Book
The Devonshire Takes No Bookings. Milk Beach Charges £25 to Cancel. Both Are in Soho. -
Bocca di Lupo Walk in
The Devonshire Takes No Bookings. Milk Beach Charges £25 to Cancel. Both Are in Soho. -
Andrew Edmunds
The Devonshire Takes No Bookings. Milk Beach Charges £25 to Cancel. Both Are in Soho. -
Brasserie Zédel
The Devonshire Takes No Bookings. Milk Beach Charges £25 to Cancel. Both Are in Soho. -
Golden Union Book
The Best Fish and Chips in London, and the Rule Only One of Them Publishes -
Randall and Aubin Walk in
The Best Seafood Restaurants in London Keep Two Sets of Hours -
Cây Tre
The Best Vietnamese Restaurants in London Are Mostly on One Road -
Yalla Yalla Book
The Best Lebanese Restaurants in London, and the Two That Have Closed -
Speedboat Bar Walk in
Late Night Restaurants in London -
Plum Valley Book
Late Night Restaurants in London -
Eat Tokyo Soho
Late Night Restaurants in London -
Orient London Walk in
Late Night Restaurants in London -
El Pastor
The Best Mexican Restaurants in London, From a Michelin Star to Heirloom Corn Tortillas -
Albert’s Schloss Book
Bottomless Brunch in London -
The Piano Works Book
Bottomless Brunch in London -
Gauthier Soho Book
The Best Vegan Restaurants in London, Including the One With a Michelin Star -
Mildreds Soho
The Best Vegan Restaurants in London, Including the One With a Michelin Star -
Koya Soho Walk in
The Best Japanese Restaurants in London, and the Booking Rules Nobody Prints -
Four Seasons Chinatown Walk in
The Best Restaurants in Chinatown, London -
Bleecker Burger Walk in
The Best Burger in London -
Yauatcha Soho
The Best Chinese Restaurants in London Are Not in Chinatown -
Tattu London
The Best Chinese Restaurants in London Are Not in Chinatown
Pubs and bars
-
Cahoots Walk in
Cahoots London -
Boom Battle Bar London Oxford Street
Axe Throwing in London -
The Devonshire Walk in
The Devonshire Takes No Bookings. Milk Beach Charges £25 to Cancel. Both Are in Soho. -
Simmons Bar
Karaoke in London -
Lucky Voice Book
Karaoke in London -
The Coach and Horses Walk in
The Best Bars and Pubs in Soho, Sorted by How You Get In -
The French House
The Best Bars and Pubs in Soho, Sorted by How You Get In -
The Blue Posts Walk in
The Best Bars and Pubs in Soho, Sorted by How You Get In -
Swift Soho Walk in
The Best Bars and Pubs in Soho, Sorted by How You Get In -
Bar Termini Walk in
The Best Bars and Pubs in Soho, Sorted by How You Get In -
Bar Américain Walk in
The Best Bars and Pubs in Soho, Sorted by How You Get In -
The Little Scarlet Door Book
The Best Bars and Pubs in Soho, Sorted by How You Get In -
The Vault at Milroy’s
The Best Bars and Pubs in Soho, Sorted by How You Get In -
Experimental Cocktail Club
The Best Bars and Pubs in Soho, Sorted by How You Get In -
The Little Violet Door Book
The Best Cocktail Bars in London
See and do
-
MJ the Musical Closed
MJ the Musical Has Closed in London -
Lyric Theatre
Lyric Theatre London -
The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience Book
Crystal Maze London -
The London Palladium
London Palladium -
Outernet London Walk in
Outernet London -
Kingly Court Walk in
Kingly Court -
ODEON Luxe Leicester Square
Odeon Leicester Square -
Picturehouse Central Book
Picturehouse Central -
Curzon Soho Book
Curzon London -
Prince Charles Cinema
Prince Charles Cinema -
The Book of Mormon at the Prince of Wales Theatre Book
The Book of Mormon London -
Moulin Rouge! The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre Book
Moulin Rouge London -
Les Misérables at the Sondheim Theatre
Les Misérables London -
Carnaby Street
Carnaby Street -
Hamleys Regent Street
Hamleys -
Liberty London Book
Liberty London -
Escape Hunt London Oxford Street
Escape Rooms in London -
Murdock London Book
The Best Barbers in London Sell Minutes, Not Haircuts
Hotels
-
Ham Yard Hotel Book
Ham Yard Hotel
After dark
-
Cirque le Soir Walk in
The Best Clubs in London
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The best bars in Soho covers the drinking in detail, which is the thing this district is most densely supplied with.
The other districts covered here: Mayfair, Shoreditch, Notting Hill, Marylebone, Chelsea and Knightsbridge. Each is written the same way, on what the places themselves publish rather than on atmosphere.
Where to go next
The best restaurants in Soho covers where to eat here and, more usefully, which rooms take a booking and which take none at all.
For the city-wide lists, London’s Michelin starred restaurants covers the top end, the best cocktail bars in London covers the drinks and the best bars covers the rooms.
Poland Street is the one to remember. Golden Union at number 38 has been frying since 2008 and cooks its sausages in a separate pan from the fish, which is covered in the fish and chips guide. Lucky Voice at number 52 will sell you a private room from eight pounds a head an hour until two in the morning, which is in the karaoke guide alongside the three other chains and the reason their prices cannot be compared.
One warning worth carrying into a Soho night. The Metropolitan Police’s own visitor advice has a section headed “Don’t go there”, and this is the district it names: they warn about bars advertising sex shows that charge very high prices for non-alcoholic drinks served by hostesses, with further charges for the hostess’s company and drinks. The safety guide has the rest of what they publish.
For a district that works in reverse, where weekends are quiet and you can walk in, our Canary Wharf guide is the other end of London in every sense. And our main London guide has the rest.
Questions we get asked
Do you need to book in Soho?
For the pubs, no, and mostly you cannot. The French House, The Coach and Horses and The Blue Posts take no bookings, and the pub at The Devonshire takes none either while its restaurant upstairs does. Bar Termini is the exception, in one hour slots for up to five. The restaurants work the other way round, a week ahead for the good ones, and the Soho restaurants guide sets out which ones book and which take nobody at all.
Where is Soho in London?
Between Regent Street and Charing Cross Road, and between Oxford Street and Shaftesbury Avenue: about half a square mile in the middle of the West End, with Tottenham Court Road, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus on its edges. Plenty of places marketed as Soho are in Fitzrovia or Covent Garden, which are fine neighbourhoods but not this one.
What is Soho London known for?
Eating and drinking, at the densest concentration in Britain for half a square mile. Also for theatre along its Shaftesbury Avenue edge, for a long music history, and for Old Compton Street, which has been the centre of gay London for decades. What it is no longer known for is the sex trade that shaped its reputation for most of the twentieth century and is now a small fraction of what it was.
What is there to do in Soho London?
Drink, eat and go to the theatre or the cabaret, in roughly that order. It is not a sightseeing neighbourhood: there is no museum and no monument in it, and the point is the rooms rather than the views. A good Soho evening is usually dinner booked a week ahead with the drinking left to chance, because the best pubs refuse bookings and turn over quickly while the restaurants do not.
What is open late in Soho?
Cahoots Underground in Kingly Court runs to 2am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Box on Walker's Court is a late club from Wednesday to Saturday, where a table booking is the reliable way in. Underbelly Boulevard, a few doors along, is a theatre seating up to 200 in the Revuebar’s old sister venue, programmed in blocks, so check what is on before you go.
Is Soho London safe?
Yes, with the ordinary caution any busy city centre deserves. It is central, well lit and full of people until late, which is protective in itself. The real risks are the ones that come with a drinking district: pickpocketing in crowds, and the small hours when the bars empty onto the same few streets. Keep your phone out of a back pocket and it is as safe as anywhere in the West End.
Is Soho worth it on a Sunday?
It is the weak day. Quo Vadis closes, The Blue Posts closes all day, and Brasserie Zedel stops at 4pm. Plan Sunday elsewhere, or plan it early and treat Zedel's prix fixe as a late lunch rather than a dinner.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 34 in the guide.
Last checked 28 September 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
