Best bars in Soho

Soho has never been short of a good place for a drink. Over the years, its pubs – the Coach and Horses, say, or the French House – have hosted those so keen on doing so they could fairly be considered professionals.

Once, its streets were famous for the unmarked doors that led not to brothels but instead to private, sometimes unlicensed drinking dens. Today, as everyone seems incredibly fond of mentioning, things aren't the same, but who cares when now one can sip icy martinis outside Quo Vadis or plough through the wine at El Buen Gusto? Below are the area's 15 best bars, listed in no particular order.

Tea Room below Bun House

24 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4DZ, bun.house

Bun House is fighting the good fight against the unrelenting dishwater tide of dullness among bars that are all alike. It is a place of wicker chairs, turntable cabinets, white painted walls and not nearly as much green lighting as all the photos suggest. There is a touch of seediness, sex beneath the surface. The actual selling point, though, for the less openly prurient, is the drinks and their ingredients. Rather than vague approximations of Chinese flavours – you do worry about what infusions poor old gin will be subject to next – they’ve gone for the real thing, importing bottles of Chinese spirits, liqueurs and the like. They make their bitters and mixes in house, with traditional fruit and veg, and citing influence from Chinese medicines. They seem certain there are bottles here you cannot get anywhere else in Europe.

Swift

12 Old Compton St, W1D 4TQ, barswift.com

Bobby Hiddleston and Mia Johansson are big in the cocktail world, which is no surprise given they're the duo behind Dead Rabbit, Milk & Honey and Callooh Callay. Swift is their latest venture, supported by the team behind Nightjar and Oriole. Though unassuming from the outside – you could be a Soho regular and not know it was there – it's tardis like inside. Upstairs is chic and mirrored, part Bar Termini, part Bob Bob Ricard, while downstairs its a warming den of leather booths and dim lights. It's the sort of bar Soho deserves: drinks are strong and finally mixed, leaning towards dark spirits, and the food is much better than it needs to be. Oysters are fresh and salty, steak tartare is stuffed full of capers. Swift is glamorous, sexy, a date bar that hums with atmosphere. Put it on your list – right near the top.

Andrew Edmunds

46 Lexington St, W1F 0LP, andrewedmunds.com

Perhaps better than it’s ever been, Andrew Edmunds recently won The Good Drinking prize in our Restaurant Awards, and for good reason. It’s a small spot, cramped to the point that coming here on a first date feels like you’re being very forward indeed, with the best tables upstairs and not much to look at – just settle for being distracted by someone good looking. The food, French-ish/English-ish, is fine, but its the wine that's extraordinary. And you’re here for wine: forget cocktails. What a list, and so quietly marked up that you’re getting a steal with almost every bottle – indeed, the more expensive the better the deal (they do start quite pricey, though). Oh, and it smells a little, of the kitchen. Having been going 30 years, those who knew old Soho say it’s one of the last bastion of such things. Drink too much gorgeous wine and come back often.

68 and Boston

4-5 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4DD, 68andboston.com

Boston, the bar upstairs, looks like glamorous train carriage from the golden age of cocktails but plays it a little bit safe. Wine bar 68, downstairs, is the real gem, with a wonderful way of pricing: every bottle on the list is £20, so choose what you like, not what you can afford. Better yet, if you don't fancy a bottle, they're served by the carafe (£14) or glass (£5.50). Wines are well picked and they're always working to update the list – so go back to try something new. Just beware that it's hugely, hugely busy these days. You’ll probably end up getting drunk here: the pull of another bottle at just £20 is monumentally hard to resist, but hey, that’s what Soho is for. If you fancy drinking something more upscale, ask – they’ve a few ‘hidden’ wines kept hidden away for those in the know. That’s you, now.

Milk & Honey

61 Poland St, W1F 7NU, mlkhny.com

You know a bar is good when local bartenders love it, and Milk & Honey has long been a Soho favourite for those in the know. Hidden in plain sight this terrific bar has been doing its thing for just shy of 15 years. The talent hasn’t diminished, and neither has the care put into the drinks. Cocktails are strong and proper and happily, and they've made an effort recently to freshen things up. At around £10 a drink, M&H is also a bargain for central London, and the quality outstrips the price. It functions as a members bar, but non-members can book up until 11pm – though going earlier in the week means you’re more likely to score a table. Milk & Honey is civilised, without the crushing formality.

Bar Américain

20 Sherwood St, W1F 7ED, brasseriezedel.com

As the name suggests, this is a classic American bar, and done near perfectly. One can become very fond of Bar Américain and very quickly: passing through Piccadilly Circus (close enough to Soho, we think), it acts as a magnet – a quick negroni becomes a temptation impossible to resist. It’s a very beautiful place, calling to mind grand Parisian hotels of the 20s and 30s, bottles winking from the bar, staff floating through with their finery and litres of charm. You’re here to drink the classics: they’ve a killer Clover Club and a straight-down-the-line Manhattan. But ask: the bartenders know their stuff and bring their A-game to any challenge – tell them what you like, and they’ll bring you something new. They often have specials on, as well. Top marks for the attentive staff, bringing plenty of water and bowl after bowl of popcorn – both essential after a few here.

Mark's Bar

HIX Soho, 66- 70 Brewer St, W1F 9UP, hixrestaurants.co.uk

The bad: you might not get in. If it’s busy, they don’t squeeze people into this basement, so either be there early, or bamboozle them with charm and dazzle them with your brilliant wit. We’re kidding: just take someone hot. Hot people get in everywhere. The good: pretty much everything else. Naturally, the bar snacks are distractingly tasty, but the drinks list is excellent, and unusual too, with a few historical recipes brought back to life. Attention to detail is everything here, so if you’re not sharing one of the big old Chesterfields, head to the bar and sit and watch – there’s something about it that’s like seeing a cardmaster turn tricks. And have a Hix Fix, just to say you have.

Disrepute

Disrepute, 4 Kingly Court, W1B 5PW, disrepute.co.uk

The menu, which is a series of short stories, reads like it's been put through Google Translate, but the drinks are first rate at this spot, which is on the site of the historic Kingly Club, where the Profumo Affair began. And while they've used a non-native speaker whose literary experience seems to be fifteen minutes scanning Tumblr #FanFic to write the menu, it’s a cracking date spot up there with the best in London. Absolutely worth a visit. Cahoots nearby is pretty good too.

Blind Pig

58 Poland Street, W1F 7NR,socialeatinghouse.com

Jason Atherton's bars are always first rate – in fact, some are better than the restaurants they're attached to. Social Eating House is excellent, mind you, but Blind Pig is worth a trip on its own merits. It's all vintage feeling, low ceilings and darkness, cocktails are expertly made, managing to both be inventive with a touch of the classic. It's usually quieter midweek, at least these days, but you'll often need to book. Great bar snacks, too.

The Pink Chihuahua at El Camion

25-27 Brewer St, W1F 0RR, elcamion.co.uk

Forget house infusions and drinks that take half an hour to make: sometimes a good night needs tequila and dancing. The Pink Chihuahua is built for it: they’re providing the tequila – more than 300 different types of it, in fact – you’re there to drink it down and dance it up. They’ve all sorts of twists on Margaritas and Daiquiris, and, given you’re downstairs from Mexican restaurant El Camion, plenty of bar food to indulge in too. Lots of fun, and if you’re feeling more in the mood just to sit back and sip something slowly, ask about their choice of Mezcal. There's real talent here, but fun too.

Dirty Harry's

203 Wardour St, W1F 8ZJ, dirtyharryssoho.com

Given this is 2017, where everyone is offended by everything (think of those sweet, sweet retweets), it’s a stroke of luck Dirty Harry’s hasn’t been picketed, protested, petitioned or no-platformed. The publicity says it’s themed after Coyote Ugly, making it literally a dream come true for teenage boys from the noughties, but in real life, this doesn’t mean that much more than girls dancing on the bar and lots of classic rock. The drinks are a touch expensive, though quite good, but we'd stick to the beers. With this kind of thing there's the worry that it'll go one of two ways: either it'll all be a bit cut-price strip club, or they'll camp it up to be cor-blimey, Carry On, saucy seaside postcard stuff. Seedy, or naff: both are crinkle-your-nose embarrassing. Somehow, and full credit to them because it’s a tough gig, Dirty Harry's is neither. It's somewhere to drink lots and stay late.

Mr Fogg's Salon

58 St Martin's Lane, Theatreland, WC2N 4EA, mr-foggs.com

Downstairs is a pretty decent pub, busy from theatreland. Upstairs, the salon is quieter, but only a little. The walls are a glittering ballgown of 19th century curiosities, unsubtle nonsense winking away. Head to a chaise longues with a couple of friends or a date and take in something from each one of the five “acts” which split the menu. Drinks seem to smell especially good here, rich, relying heavily on the likes of rum, cognac and sherry. Gin lovers need not despair: they’ve a room with well over 300 different types next door. Come elegantly dressed.

Gerry's Club

52 Dean Street, W1D 5BJ, gerrysclub.com

A word of warning: this is technically a member's club, but you'll probably be fine if you flirt enough – and don't ask for Gerry, he's long since passed. Michael looks after this place now. We've only been once – very late, very drunk and with very good friends. Most old-school Soho drinking dens are dead, but this hub of actors and writers is what remains of 'Old Soho'. If you're boring, steer clear: it is a place to drink wine and beer and tell stories, to laugh uproariously and to give yourself a monumental hangover in a faintly discreet way.

Bar Termini

7 Old Compton St, W1D 5JE, bar-termini.com

Do Bar Termini right and you’ll love it: do it wrong, and you may be underwhelmed. Tony Conigliaro, cocktail chap par excellence, and coffee maestro Marco Arrigo have built a revolving-door of a place: don’t come here to linger. Expect a night of cocktails and you’ll leave disappointed: instead, love it in the day for the £1 espressos, and swing by in the evening for a negroni (£6). They’re small, but some of the best in the capital. One swishes in and out here, and that way, it adds a touch of Italian glamour to any evening.

Trisha's (New Evaristo Club)

57 Greek St, Soho, W1D 3DX

Drinks don’t make a bar, and thank goodness, as the stuff served at Trisha’s – named for its owner – is uniformly pretty awful: red and white wine you’d consider an insult if a friend served it at supper, prosecco wildly overpriced, terrible spirits, so on and so forth. At more than 70, the club is Soho’s oldest, and while nobody who goes there can ever remember anything changing – it’s often quite hard to recall much about a night after Trisha’s, as it happens – nothing needs to. The bad wine and expensive mixers and paint stripper spirits are all part of the point: it’s a glorious drinking den, and marvellous, marvellous fun. There are characters here: the last time we were in, we sat being scared witless by an old East End gangster who said he’s known the Krays. Tremendous. Long live Trisha's.

The Vault at Milroy's

3 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4NX, shop.milroys.co.uk

A bar through a bookcase: we’re sold. Better yet, it’s underneath one of Soho’s finest whisky shops – with stiff competition from The Vintage House – so if you’re taken with something downstairs, buy it on your way out. It’s a simple little bar and the service is decidedly so-so, but it’s usually pretty busy, they play good music and have an excellent range of spirits. The menu is changed regularly, but it’s a good place to cram into with friends or on a date. You mightn’t spend the entire night here, but for a couple of drinks on the way somewhere, or on the way back, it fits the bill perfectly. They've upped the standard of cocktails recently, too.