Best of 29 bars in SoHo

Book a table here for date night and things are sure to burn (request a spot in one of the plush pink booths for extra blush). The basement bar has a slightly complicated cocktail menu, but stick to the classic Martinis to feel very stylish in what is for the most part a fairly glamorous environment.
Choosing a cocktail is an experience in itself, as instead of a run-of-the-mill menu, there's a little story that accompanies each drink. It's recommended to choose based on which one captures your imagination, although the ingredients are listed on the back.
Once the site of the famous celebrity bar, The Pinstripe Club, this bar has had a stylish face lift without sacrificing its character. Instead of ingredients, the cocktail menu weaves literary stories into each libation, and membership options are available if you really love it. Find out more here.

Bar Termini serves coffee, cocktails, wine and a couple of small plates to enjoy it all. Each one of them is perfection. Its relaxed opening hours, from day to night, make it a perfect place for a morning beer, an Italian aperitif or an elegant evening drink, and it's a consistently impressive date spot.
Like capacity, the number of options on the menu is modest, but that allows Bar Termini to focus on exceptional quality drinks, both hot and cold. There is also a small selection of dishes to share.
Inspired by Rome's Termini train station, this bar will make you live la dolce vita, especially if you immerse yourself in its exceptional negronis. Of course, we wouldn't turn down a Death in Venice if you offered us one...

This stylish bar spread over two floors is one of the best places to drink in London. That's thanks to affordable, simple, standout appetizers at the top and lusciously dark spirit-based cocktails in a haunting cellar below. There's something for everyone here, including Irish coffee. If you love cocktails, Swift has to be on your London bucket list.
Wherever you choose to have a drink, the bar has a friendly, approachable vibe that's as much a local pub as it is a high-class cocktail bar. Only with really good drinks and quite a beautiful interior.
Another up and down affair among our group of Soho bars. Upstairs is light and airy, with a focus on clear, refined spirits, while downstairs has low lighting and wood paneling, with rum and whiskey cocktails populating the menu. Move on, quickly. You can find more here.

This Soho nightspot offers a compact cocktail list, the promise of desserts, and a DJ rotation throughout the week. Half the menu includes ambitious desserts; the other half is an unpredictable cocktail list. Some are truly exceptional, others not so much. Try the Cosa Nostra, an Aperol-based cocktail that replaces the usual prosecco with a champagne syrup.
Sate is not a cocktail bar that serves desserts. Half of their quirky menu is dedicated to the sweetest things in life, from classic carrot cakes to delicious chocolate cigars (unfortunately they're not smokeable!).
Choosing between cocktails and desserts is a thing of the past in Soho's sweetest bars, where you can accompany your drinks with an exquisite dessert. It's a place where a banoffee pie can come with a bourbon and honey concoction, and diets don't exist. Intrigued?

It's a great story and the bar does it justice too. There's an excellent cocktail list and the decor is chic and retro; Don't miss the experience of this great bar in Soho.
Jack Solomon's, named after the famous London boxer and promoter and situated on the site of his former gym, is a huge success. A punchy cocktail list is the star attraction, with drinks like On The Ropes and *ahem* Lovely Fanny turning heads. Find out more here.

A quirky tube-themed cocktail bar that is all the rage with tourists. He's a bit hazy about what era he's portraying, but you're not really looking for historical accuracy; I bet Cahoots doesn't take himself seriously. You have two hours to drink, so book in advance. Our advice: ask for a seat in the carriage, the best place at home, and book a ride for when friends from out of town visit you.
Forget all that upper lip nonsense and head over to Cahoots for some jolly old kneeling! A Blitz-themed bar where clocks stopped in 1946, you can grab a Vera Lynn inside her old Bakerloo carriage.

The Gin Club sells almost 200 gins and there are four ways to order them. G&Ts are served in double measures and there are a host of unusual gins. Served in gorgeous glasses, each gin with a particular brand of tonic, they look fabulous and are a surefire Friday night muscle relaxer. For the more curious, there are tasting menus. If this all sounds a little gin-geek, don't be discouraged. The atmosphere is that of a bar, not a laboratory, with high ceilings and low lighting.
When it comes to choosing a poison, the clue is in the name. Mother's Ruin finds a spiritual home here on Great Chapel Street, with over 350 varieties of the product hidden behind the bar. With a compact food menu and regular tasting events, get ready for a crazy night out here.

If you like cocktails with a twist, Wun Tea Room serves them in a relaxed style below the Bun House Restaurant. Many of the drinks on the list are filled with baijiu, China's national liquor. Experience it under the glow of neon and with a soundtrack of 60s hits straight from Hong Kong.
For the noir vibe of neon-lit Shanghai, head to the basement of bao bun house bakery to find Wun's Tea Room & Bar. A restaurant and cocktail bar hybrid in Chinatown, the drinks are heavily influenced by China, resulting in great creations like Peanut & Goji Berry and Mint & Sichuan Sour. Find out more here.

As for wine, there is an emphasis on organic and biodynamic wine, in addition to promoting new producers who are revolutionizing the industry. This makes it a great place to go and discover something new.

It's quality cocktails in a lackluster, elevated setting at Aqua Spirit. But it's a rooftop bar in Soho, so it's worth checking out. The rooftop terraces are awkwardly located at the opposite end of the room from the elevator entrance and can only be accessed by strolling past the elegant Japanese restaurant. It's a shame the terrace doesn't have the same international chic style as the dark, sexy indoor bar, circular in shape and ideal for sitting and people-watching.
It seems the cocktails taste better at altitude, or maybe it's just the incredible views. Whatever it is, everyone loves a good Soho rooftop bar, and Aqua Spirit won't disappoint.

There's a unique and potentially hugely unpleasant USP in Garlic & Shots. Everything on the menu at this Soho cocktail bar (and we mean everything) has garlic involved in some way. Beers, cocktails, coffee, and even a handful of their 101 shots contain it. Don't bring your vampire friends to this seedy bar... You can find more information here.

A pretty laid back and very comfortable cocktail bar specializing in great drinks, gourmet hot dogs and tater tots. The ground floor is worth a look, if you get the chance. It's decorated like a stylish person's cozy living room, with its own bar and (when it gets late) a sound system too. Meanwhile, upstairs is a more conventional affair with a decent amount of space and a very friendly atmosphere. As for drinks, don't fall asleep on the spicy Margaritas or the impressive Negroni mezcal. A very decent place for your next night out.

Not the New Evaristo Club, also known as Trisha's Bar. It's a true Soho stalwart: 75 years and counting. Most of them have had Trisha at the helm, and she is a Soho icon in her own right.

Soho Grind serves coffee during the day and caffeinated cocktails in the basement bar at night. If coffee in your drink isn't your thing, this speakeasy-style bar (trend overload alert) also serves a range of fruit cocktails, straight prosecco, wine and beer. Either way, you'll definitely leave excited.

A smartly appointed wine lounge on the outskirts of Chinatown, it's part of The Blue Posts, a revamped pub by restaurant team The Palomar and The Barbary, and is a terrific spot for pampered drinks. The drinks list is very trendy thanks to wine director Honey Spencer and head sommelier Sarah Wright.

Make your way through the chain bars dotted around Soho and you'll find the best cocktails in bustling central London in more discreet locations. Henson's Bar and Social, on the ground floor of Mimi's Hotel, is just that. With its oak-paneled lounge, red velvet curtains and low ceilings, it has an old-boys' club atmosphere, but thankfully without the stuffy men. There's nothing over the top about Henson's, but it still maintains a sense of classic grandeur. It's the kind of place you'd take someone if you wanted to impress them, but also show that you're down to earth and refined.

Today it's a private members' club (£100 a year) that's more glamorous than gory: the flowered teapots certainly seem at odds with its wicked reputation. Nevertheless, it is a vibrant and intriguing place to enjoy a delicious cocktail.

Another strong contender for one of the best bars in Soho here. If you have the money, you can rent all six floors and drink on each of them. For those of us who are cash-strapped, The Lobby Bar will have to do, with a variety of Martinis and Old Fashioneds to keep you happy.

This new Soho nightspot is the edgy little sister of existing venues The Little Orange Door in Clapham, The Little Blue Door in Fulham and The Little Yellow Door in Notting Hill. It features house party-style decor, comfy sofas to sit on, and a cocktail list inspired by hit movies.