Image / Resident Hotels
The Resident Soho
Soho sits between Oxford Street, Leicester Square, and Piccadilly Circus, with theatres, record shops, late-night restaurants, and independent bars all within a few streets of The Resident Soho on Carlisle Street. Spend time on Berwick Street for market stalls and casual coffee, wander down Greek Street for dinner, then head towards Carnaby for independent shops and smart places for evening drinks. Dean Street, Frith Street, and Old Compton Street are all worth walking in the evenings, with most restaurants and bars open until midnight or later.
Soho Sights and Culture
From The Resident Soho on Carlisle Street, Carnaby Street, Frith Street, and Old Compton Street are all within a few minutes on foot. Start with the Piazza, Soho Square, and the streets between them, then walk south towards galleries on Cork Street and the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square. For older buildings and blue plaques, Dean Street and Greek Street have some of Soho’s most well-documented history. Theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue are a ten-minute walk, and bookshops along Charing Cross Road run from Soho Square down to Leicester Square.
Which Soho street was once called Milk Alley?
Bourchier Street has an older history than its present name suggests, it was once Little Dean Street, and before that it was known as Milk Alley and Hedge Lane. It’s a small reminder that Soho’s street map has been renamed and reshaped many times over the years.
International Restaurants near Soho
Dean Street, Old Compton Street, and Wardour Street have a strong mix of international restaurants, most within five minutes of The Resident Soho. For Peruvian food and Spanish sharing plates, Frith Street and Dean Street have good options. Steakhouses are well represented on Wardour Street, while Swiss, Scandinavian, and Sri Lankan places sit across Old Compton Street and the streets off Greek Street. Most restaurants in Soho take last orders between 10pm and midnight, with several staying open later on weekends.
Which Soho market dates back to the 18th century?
Berwick Street Market was founded in 1778, and it’s long been one of Soho’s most useful lunchtime stops, with fruit and vegetables, flowers, coffee, dairy produce, and international takeaway foods on offer.
Global Dining in Soho
Old Compton Street, Frith Street, and Berwick Street have some of Soho’s best international restaurants, with most open for both lunch and dinner. For Mexican street food and Thai restaurants, Berwick Street and the streets off Wardour Street are strongest. Lebanese places and Turkish grills are well spread around Dean Street and Old Compton Street. Korean and Taiwanese restaurants sit closer to Chinatown on Gerrard Street and Lisle Street, most serving until 11pm or later.
Image / Flickr
Is there a jazz club in Soho?
Ronnie Scott's at 47 Frith Street has been the home of live jazz in London since 1959, when saxophonists Ronnie Scott and Pete King opened it in a basement on nearby Gerrard Street. It moved to its current location in 1965 and has hosted Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, and Chet Baker, among many others. Jimi Hendrix played his last ever public performance here in 1970. The club still runs two shows a night, most nights, in a low-lit room where every seat feels close to the stage. In 2026, Ronnie Scott's opened its first-floor space for the first time, adding a new live music venue and a members' lounge above the main club.
Booking-ahead in Soho
If you’re booking ahead for a longer dinner, Soho’s French, Italian, and Greek restaurants tend to cluster around Dean Street and Greek Street, with most taking reservations. French bistros and brasseries are strongest on Dean Street itself, and Italian restaurants with regional menus run from Frith Street south to Shaftesbury Avenue. For Greek food, Old Compton Street has the most choice. Seafood and Japanese restaurants are worth considering midweek when they’re quieter, and Indian restaurants near Shaftesbury Avenue are well placed if you’re eating before a show. Weekend tables across Soho fill up fast - book by Thursday for Friday or Saturday evenings.
Image / Wikimedia Commons
What is the little Tudor cottage in Soho Square?
In the middle of Soho Square sits a half-timbered cottage that looks several hundred years old. It isn't. The building was put up in 1925 to disguise an electricity substation underneath, designed in a mock-Tudor style to match the historic square. During the Blitz, the space beneath it was pressed into service as an underground bomb shelter. Today it's used by the square's gardeners to store their tools. The square itself dates back to 1681, when it was laid out as King's Square, and a weathered statue of Charles II still stands at the northern end. There's also a memorial bench to singer Kirsty MacColl, who wrote the song Soho Square.
Specialist Dining in Soho
Soho’s food scene works best when you know where to look, and these picks keep things varied without straying far from Dean Street or Old Compton Street. For carefully cooked traditional Chinese dishes and modern takes, head for menus that move well from dim sum to roast meats. If you’d rather keep things closer to home in style, Brazilian flavours and lively plates bring a brighter pace, while British classics and modern favourites suit a slower dinner near Carnaby. There’s also gluten-free friendly dining for meals that keep the focus on the plate, premium steaks and carefully grilled cuts for something more substantial, and nearby breakfast spots and morning plates if you want to start early on Brewer Street. For evenings that stretch on, rooftop cocktails with skyline views add a higher perch above the bustle.
