Published: 05 November 2025
Soho is one of London’s most iconic neighbourhoods, compact, charismatic and constantly in motion. Covering roughly a single square mile, it’s made for walking, the kind of place to drift street to street and end up somewhere worth staying.
From hidden speakeasies and whisky rooms to rooftop terraces and neighbourhood cocktail bars, these are the best bars defining Soho right now.
History
Long a magnet for Londoners and visitors, it remains famously mixed in every sense, drawing pre-theatre crowds, late-night regulars, wine obsessives and anyone simply in search of a good time. In recent decades, Soho has softened its lively reputation into something sleeker, but the original spirit hasn’t disappeared; it still hums beneath the surface, making it one of the city’s most reliable choices for a night out, whatever the mood.
Three Sheets
Three Sheets is a neighbourhood bar with world-class standards, built around a simple philosophy that every great drink needs craft and the right setting. As the Venning brothers’ second outpost, the bar was opened in Soho in 2024, just off Soho Square and feels warmer than the Dalston original, with soft booths, dark wood and a decadent mood.
The menu takes on the classics: expect crystal-clear White Russians, mezcal sunsets (a smokier tequila sunrise) and Champagne by the glass, best paired with Maldon oysters or a lobster roll. It's also worth arriving before 10pm for occasional surprise performances and sampling the famous house dirty martini, which is made with Belvedere, olive oil and koseret tea.
Dram Bar
Dram is a Denmark Street newcomer set across two and a half floors inside a 17th-century Grade II-listed building, with two bars, a whisky shop, an outdoor terrace and even a private pool room complete with a ready-to-drink cocktail vending machine. Created by the team behind Milroy’s of Soho and Silverleaf Drinks, it shifts effortlessly from day to night, serving coffee and snacks in the morning, then cocktails and whisky in the evening, while downstairs bartenders work on their own ferments, cordials and low-ABV pours in a basement “lab”.
The atmosphere lands somewhere between Bauhaus minimalism and a Blade Runner-style drinking cave, washed in pink and orange neon, with a terrace out back close to Tottenham Court Road. Visitors can expect whisky expertise, beers and wines, plus a tight seasonal list of seriously inventive cocktails that are best enjoyed with their excellent house pickles.
Bar Crispin
All-day eatery Crispin brought its Spitalfields spirit and a love of fresh and eclectic bottles to Kingly Street a few years ago, creating Bar Crispin. Inside, there’s a chunky silver-zinc bar, jewel-toned triangle mirrors and playful zig-zag detailing, set to a laid-back soundtrack from the likes of Peaches, Eliza Rose and Flo Dill.
French-born head chef Fabien Spagnolo keeps the small plates sharp and moreish (the fried prawn sandos with pickled cucumber and crab mayo are a must-try), while head sommelier Giulia Vantoni has curated a list of around 150 vintages. It’s best known for natural wine, but it also happens to do an excellent Negroni, plus a salty Vesper for anyone seeking a change of pace. The main dining area seats up to 40, with terrace space for 20 more, while exclusive hire can accommodate up to 100 standing, making it an easy choice for private functions in central London.
The Vault
Tucked beneath whisky institution Milroy’s on Greek Street, The Vault is the kind of basement bar you imagine only exists in films, accessed by slipping through the shop and gently pushing the bookcase at the back before heading downstairs into a low-lit and intimate space serving excellent cocktails. It’s relaxed but polished, with a menu of original mixes and choice spirits, plus live music every Monday, making it a perfect pick for dates, anniversaries or an impromptu evening that stretches into the early hours.
Flute
Flute is Soho’s most-loved rooftop bar, crowning the Broadwick Street hotel with a landscaped wraparound terrace and sweeping views across the neighbourhood and the London skyline. Named after a noted 19th-century flute-maker once based on the street, it pairs outdoor glamour with an interior that leans into maximalism, with animal-print upholstery, cork walls, mirrored ceilings and an extravagant palm-frond carpet. At the onyx-topped central bar, bartenders mix an ever-changing list of inventive cocktails and a menu designed for sharing with friends.
The Little Scarlet Door
The Little Scarlet Door is an award-winning Soho favourite on Greek Street, set across two floors and styled like a New York loft apartment where the party just happens to have great cocktails. Designed to feel like you’re stepping into a flatmate’s home, it’s made for weekly house parties, date nights and late-night dancing, with an open-plan “living room” upstairs featuring exposed brick, comfy sofas, a kitchen-style bar and art curated by Soho Revue Gallery.
Downstairs, the industrial basement studio turns up the energy with resident DJs from Wednesday to Saturday and there’s even an Andy Warhol-inspired vault room hidden behind the laundry. Food leans casual and shareable, offering dishes like mezze and toasties, while cocktails take inspiration from the flatmates’ DVD collection and there are plenty of private hire options for birthdays, engagements and even daytime or team events.
SOMA
SOMA Soho is an award-winning underground speakeasy on Denman Street, reached through an unmarked door and a flight of stairs that drops you straight into one of the area’s most exclusive late-night rooms. At its centre is a statement stainless-steel counter, where bartenders build sharply executed cocktails inspired by the Indian subcontinent and beyond – think makrut lime leaf gimlets, chaat-spiked margaritas and oyster-and-champagne martinis with a twist.
The space is split between a snug and a lounge, softened with draped curtains and an easy, low-lit mood, while the soundtrack shifts from smooth jazz early on to Golden Age hip hop as the night stretches past midnight. Open late every evening, it’s made for nights that aren’t quite ready to end.
Soho’s best bars prove just how much the neighbourhood can offer within a few streets, from low-lit basements to rooftops with skyline views and late-night rooms that keep the energy high past midnight. The mix is part of the appeal, wherever the night begins, Soho has a way of keeping it moving.
