Eating out in Soho
undefined • 4 June 2025
Soho is absolutely teeming with places to eat, drink and dance late into the night but when it comes to eating out, how do you know which ones to head for or avoid? Let us help you with our guide of cafes and restaurants that have been tried and tested (sometimes many times) by us. All of them are within a 10 minute walk of our building in 7 Greek St and they are listed in no particular order.
Dishoom
is a small chain with 8 restaurants in London serving Indian inspired breakfast, lunch and dinner. They always have some walk in tables available although it is best to try to book in advance and despite the food being not entirely authentic, it is just delicious and the cocktails are excellent. Don’t miss their gunpowder potatoes, chicken ruby or house black daal and wash it all down with a mango lassi. Located on Kingly St just behind Carnaby St.
Flat Iron
on Beak Street has a simple centre piece in its menu: steak. Everything else dances around that including crispy bone marrow garlic mash, chips made from beef dripping and a choice of 5 different sauces. Mouth-watering for carnivores but if you don’t eat beef then this is not for you.
Govinda’s
vegetarian restaurant has been established since 1979 and is part of the Hare Krishna Temple in London. As one of London’s very first vegetarian restaurants it serves good value plant based food in unpretentious surroundings (their most expensive main course with 12 items is the Thali Extravaganza priced at just £15.95). Located on Soho Street just off Oxford Street.
Another really good option for cheap eats is Bistro1
at the bottom end of Frith Street. The menu is unfussy but with lots of choice and they offer a 3 course lunch menu for £18.90 which is remarkable.
Gilgamesh
offers contemporary pan Asian food in dark and opulent surroundings. The range of food covers dim sum, sashimi and tempura as well as signature dishes of beef rendang and ribeye bulgogi and yuzu baby chicken. An express lunch with a choice of 3 courses will cost just £20. Located on Upper St Martin’s Lane which is just on the cusp of Covent Garden.
Can you recall the scene in Eat, Pray, Love when Julia Roberts tries pizza in Naples for the first time and cannot believe her mouth? The restaurant she visited was called L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele
which has been pizza making since 1906 and named “the world’s best pizza”. Luckily for us, they have two restaurants in London including one on Old Compton Street. The interiors of the restaurant are, if we are honest, a little bizarre with such dark decor you are left wondering if they have paid the electricity bill but the pizza is quite simply “the nuts” and they are huge. Don’t settle for bad pizza.
Another good option for pizza with more of a canteen feel is Ruby’s
on Wardour Street. It’s well priced with unusual monthly specials on the menu alongside their good range of classics with vegan options.
Lina Stores
started off life as a one site deli in Brewer Street which still exists today. They have since expanded to restaurants in several locations, but nothing beats the original deli for fresh pasta and salami as well as Christmas hampers and panettones. They have a café and bar to eat on site but if you wanted to buy some groceries or a meal kit then you could prepare your food back at the flat.
Pie and Mash is a working-class British staple which you simply must try. Sadly, so many of the old institutions serving pie, mash and “liquor” (a parsley sauce, not booze) have since closed down but Mother Mash
is here to fill that craving. Choose your pie or sausages, style of mash (including Irish colcannon) and choice of gravy or liquor and tuck in. Finish off with sticky toffee pudding or apple crumble and leave the establishment knowing that you have had yourself a truly British experience.
A collection of restaurants particularly famous for their brunch menu, the Daisy Green Collection brings Australian food and coffee culture to London. Soho is home to Scarlett Green
offering shakshouka, tandoori salmon, Asian chicken salad, mars bar cheesecake and tiramisu for breakfast right up until 5pm. A different menu takes over for the evening. Order a summer negroni with gooseberry gin and don’t look back.
The Breakfast Club
also serves its menu all day and has several locations in London including two in Soho (D’Arblay Street and Old Compton Street). Enjoy pancakes, eggs and all manner of other classics with a strawberry matcha or immunity shot.
St Moritz
on Wardour St was set up in the 1970s and appears to still be in the same decade which is just wonderful. With a wood panelled interior reminiscent of a ski lodge you can choose from several fondues, bratwurst, rosti, veal in cream & mushroom sauce, frogs legs and snails. The wine list is, of course, Swiss.
Chotto Matte; Japanese Peruvian fusion starts here in this lively environment. Stand out menu items include gyoza paired with sea bass ceviche or red prawn truffles with smoked lamb chop. They have live Latin music every Thursday evening and a resident DJ on Friday and Saturday. As you would expect, the drinks menu is also super unusual. Really worth a visit for a unique experience where creative things happen with pisco.
Cecconi’s pizza bar
(yes pizza again) is on Old Compton Street with a range of pizza and pasta choices that you might expect but it is worth noting that they have a Friday and Saturday late night food menu from 11pm to 1am. Try the chocolate negroni.
Bone Daddies
on Peter Street is a great place to pop in and have a quick warming bowl of noodles swimming in delicious broths with Korean and Japanese options.
The Ivy Soho Brasserie
is delightful whether you sit inside or out on Broadwick Street. Famous for their Shepherd’s Pie where the mash is beautifully piped on top, they have a two course heritage lunch menu for £20.95 and they also do an excellent traditional Sunday roast. It’s a great place for non-speedy dining.
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Bloomsbury has a strong academic and literary history and is, of course, home to the British Museum. As you would expect, there are various restaurants catering to tourists that are best avoided if you want a good meal out. Here is our guide to some of the best choices within a 15 minute walk of Virginia House. My Old Dutch is a pancake restaurant on High Holborn. Aside from a multitude of sweet options, they have a surprising selection of savoury options too. If you imagine the sort of toppings you might get on a pizza but instead on a large crêpe then you get the right idea. Absolutely every dish is customisable and they also have a really good salad menu. Reasonably priced. Cocoro on Coptic Street serves hearty bowls of authentic ramen, sashimi and hot pot in an izakaya setting. We love the display food so typical of Japan to help you choose your dish. Flight Club Bloomsbury is more of a social bar that serves food. After a competitive game of darts (yes, darts!) tuck into a sharing platter or a burger. A particularly good spot for groups and located on New Oxford Street. Uzumaki on Gt Russell St is an immersive anime restaurant where you can eat a lovely bowl of brothy ramen, admire the amazing character mural and then exit via the gift shop. Eggslut is just off Tottenham Court Road on Percy Street. It is messy food to eat but the sort of place where you want to eat without conversation so that you can concentrate on the food’s comfort. Everything is set within a sandwich and honestly it’s the best place eat when you are particularly starving. Make your choice and apply to face. The Life Goddess is a Greek deli restaurant on Store Street serving healthy fare such as giant butter beans, kleftiko and crispy liver. A great spot for lunch or dinner with limited outdoor seating. Honey & Co have two local spots; one on Store St and another on Lambs Conduit Street. It offers a modern menu with a Middle Eastern influence. They have a decent breakfast menu and a generous sharing menu for lunch or dinner. Fortitude Bakehouse is not a restaurant and, aside from some sandwiches, they mostly serve delicious pastries and filled doughnuts, sorry, "beignets", in a converted mews garage. All food is to take away and there is some outdoor seating but it’s really very good and has become an internet sensation which is why it is included here. Be prepared to queue unless you get there very early. Located just behind Russell Square underground station. Ciao Bella on Lambs Conduit St is an old fashioned Italian restaurant that has been there for years. It is not the kind of Italian that centres around pizza and pasta but an actual Italian restaurant with actual Italian food on the menu like actual Italians eat.
Temple is a riverside legal district sandwiched between Covent Garden and Blackfriars. Unless you are in the legal profession or follow the Knights Templar, you may not have heard of it. It can be tricky to find the right places to eat locally as many of the local eateries are grab and go sandwich bars so please find our recommendations which are no more than a 10 minute walk from Eldon Chambers. Where any establishment is closed on any particular day of the week we have tried to indicate that below. Firstly, The Humble Grape is a great little place located in the crypt under St Bride’s Church. It is a wine bar with a really good food menu that includes small plates or a massive Tomahawk steak for two. Closed on Saturdays and Sundays. Barrafina on Drury Lane is another lovely option if you like eating up at the bar. You must have the Estrella Galicia on draught which is so hard to find in the UK (the bottled stuff is in supermarkets) and then remember that anything with an “x” in it like txistorra is from the Basque country and so is particularly good. Ditto anything Galician and remember that croquetas are always superb. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese dates back to the 17th century and is the famous waterhole of Charles Dickens, Samuel Johnson and Mark Twain although not necessarily at the same time. Enjoy beer battered cod and chips, steak and kidney pie or (if you want to stay awake after your meal) perhaps the Chop House Salad, all at reasonable prices. They offer a fabulous cheese board but perhaps the best choice is their warm kosher pork(free) scratchings. Located down a tiny alley just off Fleet Street so look for “Wine Office Court” in Google Maps. Franco Manca St Pauls is a great place for a quick bite at reasonable prices. They offer gluten free options as well as lovely salads. Toklas is a Mediterranean restaurant with an in house bakery with choices which include peaches with green beans and almonds, rabbit cacciatore and Amalfi lemon sorbet. Closed Sundays. Sarastro is an Italian restaurant on Drury Lane. The sense of theatre comes from the décor as well as the food and they often have live music either in the form of a Latin singer, string quartet or live opera. Never a dull moment here. Rules Restaurant is an incredible 200 year old institution that has the power to give you goosebumps if you are a James Bond fan (it’s where M meets Q and Moneypenny in Spectre). It also features in the script for Downtown Abbey. In real life it has been a literary destination for many an actor and author but it’s the sense of going back in time that makes it so special. Understated, unpretentious, uncompromising you either get it or you don’t. Have a look at the website and if a slice of Old England looks like your thing then get yourself booked in. The food, cocktails and service are very, very good indeed old boy. Smith and Wollensky is an American steakhouse on John Adam Street. Lovely surroundings and great food. Zizzi the Strand is a decent Italian chain located nearby with a good children’s menu. Old Bank of England is a converted pub in the old law courts of the bank. Enjoy ham, egg and chips or a burger for a quick bite on Fleet Street.
