London/Soho
From Imakoopedia
Soho is a region of central London, part of the West End, generally considered to be enclosed by Piccadilly Circus, Shaftesbury Avenue and Cambridge Circus to the south, Charing Cross Road to the east, Oxford Street to the north, and Regent Street to the west.
Soho has the densest concentration of restaurants, cafés, clubs and bars in central London, and represents the vibrant, bustling heart of the city. Although true of much of Soho, and some districts immediately surrounding it (such as Covent Garden), the area immediately surrounding Old Compton Street in the southern part of Soho is widely recognised as London's premier gay village.
Soho is sometimes considered to include London's Chinatown. Chinatown, however, lies south of Shaftesbury Avenue and, having a culture distinctly different from the rest of the West End, must be considered a unique district within itself, adjoining - but not really part of - Soho.
The name of London's Soho has been deliberately imitated by the SoHo district of Manhattan, New York, and by Soho, Hong Kong, one of the main tourist areas on Hong Kong Island.
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Get in
By tube
An Underground station serves each of the four approximate corners of Soho: Tottenham Court Road to the north-east, Oxford Circus to the north-west, Leicester Square to the south-east, and Piccadilly Circus to the south-west.
By train
The most convenient mainline rail station is Charing Cross, located about five minutes walk to the south-east.
By car
Access to Soho by car is not recommended, owing to traffic congestion and stringent parking restrictions. There is an Masterpark parking station on Poland Street.
Do
Soho is best discovered by wandering its streets. Take the less trodden paths and you'll be amazed by the rabbit warren of streets and the seemingly endless number of cafes, bars, shops and more. Some highlights are:
- Old Compton Street, Soho's unofficial high-street is full of bars, cafes, clubs and shops. It's a great place to grab a coffee and watch Soho go by.
- Soho Square, a centuries-old small park that becomes packed on warm sunny days.
- Have tea and cakes in one of Soho's great patisseries: the slightly tatty but utterly french Maison Bertaux (28 Greek Street W1D 5DD, since 1871) or Patisserie Valerie (44 Old Compton Street W1D 5JX).
Eat
- Busaba Eathai 106-110 Wardour Street about 10 minutes walk from Piccadilly Circus. 020 7255 8686. Open noon to 11:00pm every day. One of the best choices on a street with a number of fantastic restaurants. You'll find a laid back atmosphere with big low tables (expect to share if your party is small). The menu features among other dishes a fine butternut squash curry. 8-10. http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/review_1583.html
- Chowki, 2-3 Denman Street (Off Piccadilly Circus), (+44) 20 7439. Open every day until midnight. In a city which was once the capital of India it makes sense that one can find a decent to good Indian restaurant on just about every corner. Once in a while you find one though that does things in an interesting enought way to be worth talking about. Chowki is like that, with dishes from around India that do not conform to the standard Bengali/Kashmiri/Punjabi fare, but surprise and please the pallet with unexpected overtones of Africa, or Italy, or Greece. Set menus for £14.50 (£12.50 vegetarian). http://www.chowki.com
- Wagamama, 10a Lexington Street. Open Mon-Sat until 11pm, Sun until 10pm. Generally good quality Japanese food at a reasonable price. Service is swift, and although queues can often be quite long, clear rapidly. Diners are seated on benches opposite each other, so not a good place for an intimate meal. Main courses generally around £5 to £8.
Drink
- The Admiral Duncan
- Comptons
- The Yard
- The Village
- Rupert Street
- The Intrepid Fox is the best/only rock + metal pub in London, and can be found on Wardour Street. More info here: http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/show.shtml/375/
- The French House, 49 Dean Street, is the pub in which the French resistance drank convened during the Second World War. It is only a very small pub, so expect to be jammed in, particularly in Winter. Also, note that the pub only serves beer in half-pints.
Buy
Soho has a number of gay-related outlets - some of the best known are:
- Prowler
- Clone Zone, Old Compton Street
External links
- Soho Society (http://www.thesohosociety.org.uk/) - community website, currently being upgraded (November 2004)
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