Carnaby Street
The pedestrianised heart of sixties London, still full of independent labels and small bars.
Area guide
Soho never quite settles. Carnaby's shopfronts and Berwick Street's stalls give way to Chinatown's lanterns and the basement jazz of Ronnie Scott's, and Regent and Oxford Street sit right on the edge of it. It suits guests who want the city loud, late and immediately to hand.
Stay in Soho
Boutique serviced apartments a short walk from everything above.
Highlights
Chinatown
Lantern-strung streets of bakeries, dumpling houses and late-night dining off Shaftesbury Avenue.
Ronnie Scott's
Frith Street's legendary jazz club, running two sets a night since 1959.
Regent Street
The sweeping Quadrant of flagship stores, five minutes from the front door.
Oxford Circus & Oxford Street
London's busiest shopping run, plus fast tube links north, south, east and west.
Where to eat
Some of the best-reviewed tables in Soho, all within easy reach of the front door.
Bocca di Lupo
Regional Italian small plates at a marble counter facing the kitchen, just off Piccadilly Circus.
Kiln
Live-fire Thai cooking along a narrow counter on Brewer Street — clay pot noodles are the order.
Barrafina
Counter-only Spanish tapas, no bookings. Sit, order the prawns and the tortilla, and watch the plancha.
Photography is illustrative of the style of each restaurant.
More local favourites
Bar Italia
Frith Street's 24-hour espresso bar, open since 1949.
The Ivy Soho Brasserie
All-day brasserie dining on Broadwick Street.
Dishoom Carnaby
Bombay café cooking; go early for breakfast.
Berwick Street
Market stalls and lunch counters through the middle of Soho.
Getting there
Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road (Central, Elizabeth, Victoria and Northern lines).
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