28 January 2026
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Soho has always been Mayfair’s cooler, scruffier little sibling – a bohemian neighbourhood on the other side of Regent Street for those that like a drink or two. Its eclectic past is made up of gangsters, sex shows and artists drinking in dive bars – and it proudly remains London’s LGBTQ+ capital. Its pubs are at the heart of its charm, and today they’re filled with both the next generation of restaurateurs and those who’ve been basking in its neon glow for decades – both first thing in the morning and late into the night.
Martin Ashley, owner of drinking pub The Blue Posts on Berwick Street – one of several venues said to be named after the blue posts that once defined Soho Fields, a royal hunting ground in the 1700s – had been a longtime regular before he took it on. “I actually moved over the road for the love of this pub,” says Ashley, who apparently pestered the previous landlord for more than a decade to sell him the pub.
"We’ve got a jukebox, a cigarette machine, there’s a sticky carpet on the floor and plates on the walls – there’s not many of these [types of pubs] left.” Despite Ashley being happily stuck in an old-school iteration of Soho, the pub’s traditional interiors have led to a collaboration with London-born streetwear brand Palace as well as a viral TikTok moment – which suggests that even Soho’s most traditional establishments are finding new ways to thrive while honouring the past.
Rumour has it that at The Devonshire, the social media sensation frequented by the likes of singer Ed Sheeran and Hollywood star Margot Robbie, the team modelled some of its interiors on The Blue Posts. “They’ve kept it exactly as it should be,” says The Devonshire’s landlord, Oisín Rogers, who remembers his first visit to the neighbourhood as a child with his uncle, a Catholic priest. “We walked onto Old Compton Street and all I could hear was him shouting, ‘Don’t look in that window, for God’s sake!’ I’d never seen so much colour, so much neon.”
Several years on and the magic, he believes, is still here. “There’s a great sense of expectation that you’re going to have a good time, and I think that is tangible just walking down the streets.” Rogers designed The Devonshire as a real pub – a place where everyone is welcome. “Whoever you are, once you stand at the bar and you order a pint, there’s a wonderful levelling. That’s the difference between a pub and a restaurant for me,” he explains.
Few people have been witness to Soho’s ever-changing cultural pulse for as long as Antonio Polledri, who has worked at his grandparents’ café, Bar Italia, a neighbourhood institution and social magnet for Italians, since the age of 16. “The biggest transition was back in the ’80s when there were still gangsters standing on street corners – it’s like Soho shifted from black and white into colour,” he reflects. London’s first Gaggia, an Italian coffee machine, was installed in this Frith Street café, and Polledri has since served coffee to customers including David Bowie and film director Francis Ford Coppola.
Just around the corner, pub lovers will find another icon at The French House, which has been presided over by landlady Lesley Lewis since 1989, and she still lives above the restaurant. This is where French general and former President Charles de Gaulle wrote his famous World War II speech À Tous les Français and where Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, along with artists Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud, were once regulars. Downstairs, the artwork- and memorabilia-filled bar is consistently packed with punters; upstairs is a small-scale dining experience.
It’s clear that Soho’s charm lies in its community, in turn thanks to business owners like Lewis and Polledri who care so deeply about the neighbourhood’s heritage. At The French House, beer is strictly served by the half pint, except during Pride and on April Fool’s Day – when full pints are auctioned off to raise funds for the local primary school. “People always talk about how much Soho’s changed,” says Lewis. “But fundamentally it hasn’t. It’s not judgmental and it welcomes people from all walks of life.” In Soho, the pub isn’t just a place to eat and drink – alongside a happy contradiction of fine cooking and spilt beer – it’s where the neighbourhood comes together.
Where to Eat and Drink in Soho
The Devonshire is probably London’s busiest pub. Every day there are people waiting outside at 11 a.m. to get their hands on a pint of Guinness and a £2 sausage on a stick (made with British Iberian pork in the butchery downstairs). Upstairs, though, diners will discover a menu created by Chef Ashley Palmer-Watts, previously heading things up at Heston Blumenthal’s Three-Star restaurant, the legendary The Fat Duck in Bray, between London and Reading.
The chef’s molecular training might seem out of place in a pub setting but he’s just as serious about precision here. The team spent a full year perfecting the menus: “From the stocks and sauces to the butter and caramels – everything you see, we started from scratch,” explains Palmer-Watts. The consistency of the food is integral to this contemporary pub and its affordable set menu – think prawn and langoustine cocktail followed by skirt steak with duck-fat chips, then sticky toffee pudding – which provides a simple showcase of the kitchen’s rigour.
Another pub with a dining room attached is a different Blue Posts, this time on Rupert Street, which hides the MICHELIN-Starred Evelyn’s Table down a creaky set of stairs and through a narrow doorway. The ground-floor pub was inspired by New Orleans: “A bit spooky, a bit romantic, a bit dark,” explains owner Layo Paskin, who also runs Palomar (a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand restaurant) a few doors down with his sister, Zoë Paskin.
The 12-seater open kitchen at Evelyn’s Table takes some inspiration from San Sebastián’s tiny pintxos (Basque tapas) bars. On the pass is Seamus Sam, straight from a stint as head chef at the MICHELIN-Starred Muse by Tom Aikens in Belgravia, an upmarket central London district. “If you’re ambitious it’s always going to be tricky having another chef’s name above the door,” he says. What he’s found at Evelyn’s Table is a brilliant stage for a young chef that hasn’t yet had his name in lights. Plus, “everyone loves that sense that they’re in on a secret,” one MICHELIN Guide Inspector adds. Must-try dishes include British pork with mole sauce made from leftover sourdough bread and English chillis smoked in-house.
At The French House, the little dining room above the legendary bar is one of London’s hardest tables to book. It’s a simple, romantic space with just seven tables, dishing out plates of confit garlic and goat’s curd on sourdough followed by fresh-from-the-oven madeleines. The menu is masterminded by Chef Neil Borthwick, who has worked in a number of MICHELIN-Starred kitchens, including those of Anne-Sophie Pic and his now-wife Angela Hartnett. “To have somebody of his calibre working in a tiny little place like this is quite extraordinary,” says landlady Lesley Lewis.
In terms of places to drink, Bar Italia is perfect for both day and night. Regulars include locals straight in for an espresso at 7 a.m. and revellers stopping by for a coffee and panini before the 4 a.m. closing time. When Italy won the World Cup in 2006, more than 5,000 fans gathered outside. “We didn’t have confetti, so we threw dried pasta from the kitchen,” Polledri remembers, justifiably proud of the community his family has built in the area. Bar Italia may shut for one day a year, but regulars unable to bear the change in their daily ritual have been known to bring their own table and chair to sit outside on Christmas Day.
For those looking for more of an authentic British pub, The Blue Posts (Berwick Street) is perfect for a quick afternoon pint, or if you have the evening free also hosts jazz nights and drag queen karaoke. Over at The Coach & Horses, nicknamed “Norman’s”, you’ll find one of Soho’s stalwart pubs full to bursting with an eclectic mix of drinkers. It’s where Oisín Rogers and Ashley Palmer-Watts come to decompress from a busy day at The Devonshire. Another local favourite is John Snow, named after the doctor who traced the cholera outbreak in 1854. It’s constantly busy with a fun-loving after-work crowd.
Where to Stay in Soho
In Soho, there are several choices, including a pair of Kit and Tim Kemp’s playful Firmdale Hotels. First up, The Soho Hotel is just along the road from Ronnie Scott’s jazz bar but remains wonderfully hidden down a quiet mews. This is where actors and their agents might meet for a post-show debrief. For something a little splashier, head to Ham Yard Hotel, which has redefined the area behind Piccadilly Circus with its own urban hub. Both have brilliantly bright bedrooms and a boutique feel, but on a bigger scale.
Broadwick Soho in the former WEA records office – where Madonna and Frank Sinatra were signed – is a whimsical Martin Brudnizki-designed hotel that knows how to throw a party. There’s an intimate Italian restaurant, Dear Jackie – which draws a cool, creative crowd – and a snug lined in elephant-and-tiger-print wallpaper perfect for after-parties. Kettner’s, meanwhile, is a classic London townhouse reimagined by the Soho House group as a discreet, grown-up base in the heart of the neighbourhood. Downstairs is a lively brasserie with historic literary patrons including Oscar Wilde and Agatha Christie.
What to Do in Soho
Shoppers shouldn’t leave Soho without taking a loop of designer department store Liberty. The striking Tudor-inspired building is a maze of mini shops packed with up-to-the-minute brands and a gorgeous stationery department. When you need a pick-me-up, the 120-year-old Algerian Coffee Stores is a treasure trove of single-origin and rare beans – as well as serving one of the most affordable cups of coffee in London. Maison Bertaux on Greek Street, a patisserie that dates back to 1871, is the spot for cream cakes and jam tarts to take home.
For keen shoppers, Berwick Street Market is the place to browse for vintage clothes and vinyl records. For the culturally curious looking to get a feel of Soho during the day, The Photographers’ Gallery is always worth a pit stop for its roster of rolling exhibitions and a bookshop full of inspiration. Sadie Coles HQ – whose namesake was an early champion of the Young British Artists group – is a bright open-plan space to discover her current list of emerging artists.
At night, the hot ticket is a show at Soho Theatre – responsible for launching some of the biggest names in comedy and with a bar that is always buzzing. The Prince Charles Cinema also plays its part in Soho’s after-hours personality with cult classics and all-night movie marathons. Those staying up later should grab a negroni at Bar Termini or Three Sheets before heading to legendary hotspot Ronnie Scott’s (opposite Bar Italia), which remains a destination for an immersion into both old-school jazz and late-night Soho.
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Hero Image: The Devonshire, the modern incarnation of the traditional pubs in London’s Soho. © Joanna Yee/The MICHELIN Guide
