What is Soho known for?

Soho is known for: Vibrant It is best for Foodies, Nightlife, LGBTQ+, Theatre, Late Nights.

What are the best things to do in Soho?

Soho is especially popular for Foodies, Nightlife, LGBTQ+, Theatre, Late Nights. Browse our curated directory for top-rated attractions, restaurants, and experiences in the neighbourhood.

Is Soho worth visiting as a tourist?

Yes — Soho is one of London's most characterful neighbourhoods, known for vibrant. It offers an authentic side of London beyond the main tourist trail.

Soho Neighbourhood Guide - London Vacation Guide

Best for late-night dining, jazz clubs, and London's most eclectic street life. Soho is London's bohemian heart — louche, creative, and still surprisingly independent despite the rents.

Our Picks in Soho

Curated by our editorial team. Not paid. Not sponsored. Just places we think are worth your time.

Bao Soho

Restaurant

The Windmill Street bao buns that started a London obsession. The classic pork bao, the daikon bao, and the horlicks ice cream have never been off the menu. No reservations - the queue forms around 5:30pm and moves steadily. Worth every minute.

💡 Arrive at 11:45am on a weekday for lunch with no queue. The bar seating at the counter is the best spot.

Kiln

Restaurant

Wood-fired Thai cooking that bears almost no resemblance to any Thai restaurant you have been to before. The clay pot baked glass noodles and the Tamworth pork neck skewers are essential. Counter seating only - bring one other person, not a group.

💡 The bar opens before the kitchen so you can secure a stool without the full dinner queue. Arrive at 5pm for a drink, stay for food.

Carnaby Street

Shopping

The spiritual home of Swinging Sixties London. Today it's an independent retail district spread across fourteen connecting streets, with a mix of cult fashion brands, sports retailers, and independents that change faster than any other shopping area in central London.

💡 Kingly Court, a covered courtyard just off Carnaby Street, is three floors of food traders and independent retailers that most first-time visitors walk straight past.

Soho Theatre

Venue

The best venue in London for new comedy and provocative new writing. Upstairs is a proper proscenium; downstairs is an intimate studio. The programme is reliably excellent and ticket prices are sane by West End standards.

💡 The upstairs bar is one of Soho's best pre-show drinks spots, and you can usually get in without a ticket.

Bar Italia

Cafe

Open 22 hours a day since 1949 (closed 5am-7am, that's it). Espresso, panini, and a room that looks exactly as it did when the Frith Street building first opened. The Azzurri football photos on the walls and the ancient Gaggia machine are permanent fixtures.

💡 Post-midnight is the best time: theatregoers, clubbers, and night workers sharing the same small space. London in miniature.

Barrafina

Restaurant

A Spanish tapas counter on Dean Street where every dish is made at the open kitchen directly in front of you. The octopus, the cuttlefish, the pan con tomate, the ham croquetas. No reservations for the counter - arrive for the opening or be prepared to wait.

💡 The bar downstairs at Quo Vadis next door takes reservations and is half the price for comparable quality.

The Jazz Cafe (in Soho)

Venue

The Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club on Frith Street has been running jazz seven nights a week since 1959. The room is small, the talent is world class, and late-night sets after midnight are a Soho institution. Book the tables; the standing room fills fast.

💡 Late late shows (midnight and beyond) are cheaper than headline sets and often feature the same musicians in a looser, more experimental mode.

🕵 What Locals Know

Old Compton Street is the social centre. The street functions as Soho's main thoroughfare and has the highest density of bars, restaurants, and people-watching per metre of any street in London. Sit outside at any of the cafes on a warm evening and let the world come to you.
The alleyways are the real Soho. Brewer Street, Rupert Street, and the narrow lanes connecting them are where the neighbourhood's best discoveries hide - wine bars with no sign, specialist food shops, basement restaurants with six tables.
Avoid the big chain restaurants on the main tourist circuit. Anything on or immediately around Leicester Square belongs to Soho geographically but not spiritually. Walk two minutes north into the grid and the quality improves immediately.
Golden Square is a hidden pause. A small garden square tucked between Carnaby Street and Wardour Street, surrounded by ad agencies and media companies. Almost no tourists. Benches, trees, and a sense that the city is further away than it is.

🕐 Best Time to Visit

Weekday lunchtimes for the restaurant scene without evening queues. Thursday through Saturday evenings for the full Soho experience. Sunday afternoons for Berwick Street Market (vintage and produce) and a quieter look at the neighbourhood. Avoid Saturday nights in summer unless you enjoy crowds.

🚇 Getting There

Tottenham Court Road (Central, Elizabeth, Northern lines) puts you at the northeast corner. Oxford Circus (Victoria, Central, Bakerloo lines) for the north side near Carnaby Street. Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly, Bakerloo lines) for the south end and the theatre district. Leicester Square (Northern, Piccadilly lines) for the southeast corner.