No 10 backs ‘vertical drinking’ in Soho pubs Hospitality Downing Street has waded into the debate over so-called “vertical drinking” and called on Westminster City Council to “work with” the industry to maintain the culture of pints outside London pubs. “Busy pubs full of people talking to each other is not a public nuisance, it is British life and it is thousands of jobs,” [...]
Soho killjoys are the worst kind of Londoners Opinion The Soho Society has declared a Nimby campaign against all new licensing applications. If they don’t want to live in the party centre of London they should leave, says James Ford What is the collective noun for a bunch of party poopers? A kennel of killjoys? A complaint of curmudgeons, perhaps? Well, if left to [...]
Heatwave ready! 9 best rooftop bars in Soho and Covent Garden Life&Style The London heatwave is here and it’s time to get outside. Following our recent round-up of the best London rooftop bars in the Square Mile, we’ve collected our favourite rooftop bars in Soho and Covent Garden. Here are the very best, with one suited to you – no matter your vibe. If you’re looking for [...]
Khao Bird: Top Thai restaurant takes over Soho’s last dirty cinema February 10, 2026 What could be a greater sign of the times than a hip pop-up restaurant opening on the site of Soho’s last adult cinema? It’s over! Soho’s dead! First they closed the late night drinking dens and then they pushed out the brothels and now there’s nowhere to watch grubby movies. The final remnants of seedy [...]
Farmer J has a rival: meet new London restaurant Honest Greens January 14, 2026 Until very recently one of the top corporate complaints was how impossible it is to get a healthy lunch. Well, how things have changed: now you cannot move through the City without being confronted by a fast-casual outlet touting some sort of swattishly nutritious boxed up lunchstuff. There are now so many options that innovator [...]
Soho home to new three-story sports bar in boost for London October 25, 2025 Soho this week welcomed a new three-story sports bar in a boost to central London’s offering as Box opened its doors to punters. The 33-screen Shaftesbury Avenue opened this week and is expected to form a key pillar of Soho’s sporting nightlife. Split over three floors, Box Piccadilly has 33 screens, karaoke booths, shuffleboard and [...]
Losses widen at owner of scandal-hit The Groucho Club September 26, 2025 Losses have widened at the owner of The Groucho Club in London despite its turnover rising during its latest financial year. The Groucho Club is one of London’s most famous private members’ clubs and has been going since 1985. The Soho venue was founded a a more relaxed alternative to traditional gentlemen’s clubs and has [...]
Is late-night dining dead in London? September 23, 2025 With more and more London restaurants banking on earlier reservations, Carys Sharkey asks whether after hours dining is a relic of London’s past Is late-night dining in London dying at the hands of tee-totalling park runners, or is it having a resurgence driven by their collective hospitality nemesis? The diagnosis is polarised and necessarily hesitant. [...]
Soho isn’t just for residents, so why do they get all the say? August 13, 2025 Soho could be a pedestrianised wonderland, but Nimbyism plus a council structure that disincentivises business is punishing all Londoners.
Roundhead Reeves is effectively banning nightclubs through tax January 15, 2025 There has been an alarming decline in people going to nightclubs and Rachel Reeves growth-killing, fun-banning Budget is partly to blame. Fortunately there are some simple solutions to bringing back the big night out, says James Price The philosopher Ted Mosby, in his magnum opus How I Met Your Mother, once opined that: “Nothing good [...]