Best Restaurants, Bars and Things to Do in Soho, London

About Soho

Few parts of London offer as much per square foot as Soho. Walk down any street between Oxford Circus and Leicester Square and you will pass a dozen restaurants worth trying, a handful of bars worth returning to, and buildings with stories attached to almost every facade. It is the kind of neighbourhood where you can eat your way around the world without covering more than a mile on foot.

What makes Soho particularly valuable as a food destination is the mix. Independent restaurants that have been trading for decades sit alongside new openings that arrive with serious culinary ambition. There is no single dominant cuisine or price point. A weekday lunch might be a bowl of ramen in a tiny basement, a Friday dinner a long Italian meal in a room that has barely changed since the 1980s. The neighbourhood rewards regular visitors who have local knowledge, which is exactly why creator recommendations are the best way to navigate it.

The Lets Discover creators who cover Soho tend to eat here often and deeply. Their picks are not based on a single visit but on years of knowing which tables to book, which bars serve the best negroni and which coffee shops are worth the detour from the main drag. The recommendations below are drawn directly from their verified picks.

Soho's food scene is anchored by a handful of streets that each have their own character. Frith Street has long been associated with serious Italian cooking. Dean Street is reliably strong for neighbourhood restaurants with proper bar programmes. Old Compton Street remains the heart of the area's cafe culture. Wardour Street and its surrounding blocks are where new openings tend to cluster, which means the area's restaurant map is always shifting slightly. The creator picks below reflect where people who actually eat here regularly choose to go.

History and culture in Soho

Soho's history is as layered as its restaurant scene. The neighbourhood was shaped by successive waves of immigration, beginning with French Huguenot refugees in the late 17th century, followed by Italian, Greek and Chinese communities who each left a permanent mark on the area's character and its food. By the 20th century Soho had become the centre of London's jazz and music scene, home to clubs and venues that launched careers and defined generations of British popular culture. The area also played a central role in the history of London's LGBTQ+ community, with Old Compton Street remaining an important landmark. Carnaby Street, just to the west, became synonymous with the 1960s fashion explosion. Walking through Soho today you are moving through several centuries of London history at once, and the buildings, street names and long-standing institutions are all part of that story.