Best Bars in Soho

Soho is the beating heart of London which makes it a great place to spend the evening sipping cocktails from happy hour to dawn! 

Home to probably more of the best bars and best restaurants per capita than any other part of London, Soho has been and continues to attract a few of the most famous libertines, e.g. Casanova, Karl Marx and William Blake! Of course, the Porn Star Martini was invented in a bar called LAB, guess where – on Old Compton Street in Soho!

I’ve created this guide to the best places in Soho to find the most creative mixologists in the area.  Most of the bars on my list are award winners and keep popping up on those “World’s Best Bars” lists!  Have fun tasting your way through Soho and always drink responsibly. If you can’t do all of them in one night, you can always take my tour (gratuitous plug!)

Where to find Soho

Soho is the square part of central London located bordered by Oxford Street, Regent Street, Shaftesbury Avenue and Tottenham Court Road. The closest underground stations are Piccadilly Circus. Leicester Square and Tottenham Court Road. If you get off at Tottenham Court Road, head down past Soho Square Most of the bars are located on Greek Street, Frith Street, Dean Street and the aforementioned Old Compton Street.

Covent Garden is right around the corner and there are loads of bars there too, if you wish to step away from Soho as the evening progresses.

Best Bars in Soho

(this list is in alphabetical order)

Bar Termini

My first ever Negroni experience was at Bar Termini. For those who have yet to sample one of the greatest inventions to come out of Florence, including perspective, bathtubs, and Michelangelo, Bar Termini dares you to leave without trying this overly bitter, yet satisfyingly, smooth aperitif. Served in tiny tasting glasses, the Negronis are just small enough that, if you hate them, you haven’t committed to downing an 8 oz serving.

A homage to the main train station in Rome, Bar Termini is decorated with metal luggage racks above the seats for your coats and offers cappuccinos as strong as any you could find in the Eternal City. We raise a glass and give a cin-cin to the mastermind behind the bar program, Tony Conigliaro, the legendary drinks maestro, who knew that Soho needed an open all day bar, where you can be caffeinated or lubricated from dawn to dusk.

• Bar Termini: 7 Old Compton St, Soho, London W1D 5JE

Disrepute

Intrigue, drama, & politics can bring anyone into disrepute. I prefer to be brought into Disrepute by its hidden staircase off of Carnaby Street. In the 60s, Carnaby Street was known to be the centre of everything cool and Disrepute is helping it reclaim that reputation. You have to find it first!

Off a tiny pathway, heading into Kingly Court, you might walk back and forth a few times before finding its staircase. Once you have found it, shimmy into one of their secret banquettes or Art Deco seats. When ordering cocktails, just rest assured, the bar is making headlines by producing some of the best bartenders in London, like Cameron Attfield, the 2019 Diageo World Class UK Winner.

• Disrepute: 4 Kingly Ct, Soho, London W1F 9RR

The Pink Chihuahua at El Camion

I know I would never think of ordering an Espresso Martini or Bramble at a Tequila Bar, unless that bar was El Camion. Few people know that The Pink Chihuahua, the bar hidden below El Camion restaurant, was the last bar helmed by Dick Bradsell. Dick is remembered as the bartender who changed the London cocktail business back in 1980s & 1990s, as well as inventor of the Espresso Martini, The Bramble and many other classic cocktails.

Although their Margaritas are without fault, El Camion is one of the only places you can get all of the cocktails Dick created using his exact specifications. Don’t miss the Pink Chihuahua, one of his only tequila creations, you are, after all, in a Mexican restaurant!

• The Pink Chihuahua at El Camion: 25-27 Brewer Street, Soho, London W1F 0RR

Milroy’s of London

You might miss the Vault at Milroy’s, if you didn’t know it was there. Everyone is too busy tasting whisky to ask them for guidance. Milroy’s is open for whisky all day from 10:00am – 11:30pm, ready to pour you a few drams and chat away about whisky.  You can only find small producers here.

The original Milroy brothers almost single handedly brought Scottish single malt whisky to London and now, its current owner, Simo (and his dog Chester), is making whisky as accessible as he can. Still, no one upstairs is going to show you where to find Vault, the cocktail bar that sits somewhere underneath all the whisky. You have to find that out for yourself.

• Milroy’s of London: 3 Greek St, Soho, London W1D 4NX

Swift

No one should miss Swift.  Put aside the fact that it is on the list of Drinks International’s World’s 50 Best Bars and won the Best New International Cocktail Bar at the Tales of Cocktail Spirited Awards, Swift is run by the dynamic duo Mia Johannsan and Bobby Hiddleston!

The drinks list may be why you come in the first place, but it’s the indescribable spirit that keeps you coming back. Although it is world-renowned in every way, Swift is that local bar where everyone knows your name. I can almost bet that after your first time here, it will be hard for you to go anywhere else.

• Swift: 12 Old Compton St, Soho, London W1D 4TQ

RIP: Milk & Honey

What can you say about Milk & Honey that isn’t already in the annals of cocktail history. Twenty years have passed since the first Milk & Honey in New York opened its doors to the unsuspecting public and it still continues to wow.  The Penicillin and London Calling, two cocktails invented by Milk & Honey baccalaureates, are now considered modern classics.

Everything on the menu, not only pays homage to the past 20 years, but also looks forward to the next 20 years, by dedicating all their efforts to training the next set of mixologist and perfecting the art of cocktail creation.

• Milk & Honey: 61 Poland St, Soho, London W1F 7NU