Bottom’s up: Soho’s Swift is a local favourite
(Picture: Addie Chinn)Vibrant, eclectic, diverse and oh-so storied: Soho’s streets once formed London’s red-light district, housing sordid clubs and questionable basements. There’s not quiteso much of that any more — climb down unmarked steps these days and you’re more likely to find a lavish drinking den than anything else — though if you look closely enough in the right places, glimpses of the seedy past can still be seen.
Now known and loved as the hedonistic heart of London, as well as the spiritual home of the capital’s LGBTQ+ scene, the area thrums with flamboyantly dressed life strutting in and out of the many clubs, pubs and bars. Soho has been a hotspot for drinking through the ages, from the 1600s through the swinging Sixties, barrelling into the punk scene and beyond — London’s naughty corner has long attracted writers, thinkers, dreamers and drinkers. From Orwell to Oscar Wilde, Mozart to Karl Marx and Siouxsie Sioux to the Sex Pistols, artists across the decades have been known to look for inspiration here — or at least, claim to be as a decent excuse for drinking — so its no surprise the number of bars has rarely dipped. While the drinking dens that would draw the likes of Jeffrey Bernard and Francis Bacon have mostly disappeared (although, gloriously, Gerry’s on Dean Street is back and in ruder health than ever), there remains fun to be had at Trisha’s and El Camion, fine whisky to be knocked back at The Vault under Milroy’s, a sense of Sixties cool at Disrepute, the attractive kind of late-night danger at Opium, and terrific wine at Bar Crispin. But, after quite some whittling down, here are 10 of W1’s best spots for a drink.
