The best bars in Soho (2024)

Bar Termini does coffee, co*cktails, wine and a couple of teeny small plates to soak it all up. Every one of them is perfection.Its leisurely day-to-night opening hours make it a perfect place to pop in for a morning brew, an Italian aperitivo or a classy nightcap, and it's an always impressive date spot.

This wonderful bar occupies the hallowed ground that began life as Dick’s Bar, when Brasserie Zédel was the Atlantic Bar & Grill and the late, great Dick Bradsell was the manshaking up co*cktails.Zédel has installed a great crew, of both bartenders and front of house staff, though. Andit’s kept the beautiful art deco fittings and the widely spaced tables, which are a major factor in keeping noise levels down. We love the brevity and simplicity of the co*cktail list, which is stacked with tried-and-tested classics.

This smart bar split across two floors is one of the best places to drink in London. That’s thanks to affordable, simple, stand-out aperitivi up top and deliciously dark spirit-based co*cktails in a brooding basem*nt down below. There’s something here for everyone – even Irish coffee. If you’re into co*cktails, Swift has to be on your London bucket list.

These days, the term ‘speakeasy’ is bandied about with reckless abandon by bar owners desperate to adorn their venue with an elusive, exclusive and illicit allure yet few are the genuine McCoy. Trisha's aka the New Evaristo Club is the real deal, with pictures of boxers, mafia types and Italian football teams adorning the worn walls. It’s a members club, so you'll need to go as the guest of an offical member if you want in – but keep your eyes on social media, as there are regular windows to apply and be part of the coolest club in town.

Your eyes are not deceiving you – one of Soho’s most-missed bars has returned as an immersive art installation. The original Colony Room Club opened in 1948 at 41 Dean Street and became a bohemian and LGBTQ+ enclave, attracting the likes of Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Tracey Emin and Damien Hurst before closing for good in 2008. The new take on the basem*nt barfeatures 100s of original and recreated artworks, including a portrait of famed Soho dandy Sebastian Horsley by Maggi Hambling, and of Francis Bacon by Michael Clarke. As with the original club, no phones are allowed, and prices will be set as they were in2008, including a Beefeater gin and tonic for £4.

Someone’s gone to a lot of trouble to make this Chinatown co*cktail bar and dim sum parlour look shabby. The design is Eastern smoking den meets Western hipster hangout, with Chinese vases and burning incense mixed with deep funky beats and retro armchairs straight from granny’s sitting room. Be sure to visit the loo: there are motion-activated lights and the speakers will blast you with Mandarinpoetry.

A sharply turned-out wine lounge on the edge of Chinatown, it’s part of The Blue Posts, a revamped pub from the The Palomar and The Barbary restaurant team, and it’s a gorgeous spot for cosseted drinking. The drinks list is seriously on trend thanks to wine director Honey Spencer and head sommelier Sarah Wright.

A quirky tube-themed co*cktail bar that’s hot with tourists. It’s a little confused about which era it’s portraying, but you’re not really looking for historical accuracy – Cahoots sure isn’t taking itself seriously. You’re allotted two hours of drinking time, so book in advance. Our advice: ask for a seat in the carriage, the best spot in house, and save a trip for when friends visit from out of town.

There is a rather splendid touch in the entrance to this basem*nt bar under Milroy’s whisky specialist – you enter via a hidden door in a fake bookcase. The main co*cktail list is heavy on experimentation, and the bartenders’ evident expertise might make it worthwhile dipping in there. Soho’s not short of co*cktail bars, but Milroy’shasa brightspark in its underground cavern.

A dark basem*nt bar and restaurant that will leave you fending off vampires, as well as any respective partners. If you love garlic, you'll love Garlic & Shots, whose MO is to leave you feeling 'garic marinated'. They also have 101 different flavours of vodka, six of which include garlic.

Technically an upstairs adjunct to Jason Atherton’s celebrated Social Eating House, The Blind Pig is a worthy destination in its own right. It’s not immediately obvious how to find it at street level: look under the vintage ‘Optician’ sign for the blindfolded hog doorknocker and boom, you’re in. The decor is authentically retro but never schmaltzy, and creativity with the names on the co*cktail menu is employed with abandon.

Book a table here for date night and things are sure to smoulder (request a space in one of the plush pink booths for extra blushes). The basem*nt bar has a slightly convoluted co*cktail menu, but stick with classic Martinis to feel classy as hell in what is mostly a pretty glamsetting.

Comb your way through the wash of chainbars scattered across Soho, you’ll find the best co*cktails in London’s buzzy hub lie in more understated spots. Henson’s Bar and Social, on the ground floor of Mimi’s Hotel, is just that. With its oak-panelled lounge, fuzzy red velvet curtains and low ceilings, it has an old boys’ club vibe, but thankfully minus the stuffy men. There’s nothing OTT about Henson’s, but it still maintains a sense of grand, classic bougieness. It’s the sort of place you’d take someone if you wanted to impress them, but also show that you’re both down-to-earth and refined.

This is the saucy little sister of existing venuesThe Little Orange Door in Clapham, The Little Blue Door in Fulham, and The Little Yellow Door in Notting Hill. It features house party style decor, comfy sofas to sink into, and a list of co*cktails inspired by hit films.