Walk down Old Compton Street in Soho today and you will find restaurants, bars, and the constant hum of London nightlife. But number 59 holds a secret that changed British music forever. This is the story of the 2i’s Coffee Bar, the birthplace of British rock and roll. The 2i’s Coffee Bar was a coffeehouse … Read more
Walk down any street in Soho today and you will find the ghosts of centuries past sitting alongside the latest openings. This tiny square mile in the heart of London’s West End has been feeding people since before the United States existed as a nation. Understanding why Soho’s historic restaurants are worth seeking out means … Read more
Soho has lost hundreds of beloved food establishments over the decades. Rents skyrocket, chains move in, and family-run shops shutter their doors for good. But a remarkable group of old Soho delis and cafes have refused to disappear. These are the historic venues that opened their doors fifty, seventy, even over a hundred years ago … Read more
Stephen Fry has warned that Soho is facing a “cultural catastrophe” as decades of LGBTQ+ history, iconic venues, and community safe spaces disappear under the weight of gentrification, rising rents, and large-scale development. His voice has become one of the most prominent in a growing chorus of activists, venue owners, and community members fighting to … Read more
Walk down Brewer Street in London’s Soho any day of the week and you cannot miss it. That unmistakable pistachio-green storefront, the pyramids of Parmigiano Reggiano stacked behind the glass, the scent of fresh pasta hanging in the air. Lina Stores has been standing at number 18 since 1944, and in the eight decades since, … Read more
Somewhere in a backroom above a Greek Street café, a tape recorder was switched on. A market trader who had worked Berwick Street since 1948 leaned forward and began to talk. A club doorman from Walker’s Court cleared his throat and remembered the night the bands stopped playing. A restaurateur described the smell of the … Read more
Walk down Old Compton Street in Soho on any given morning and you will pass coffee shops on every corner. Most of them belong to chains you can find in any city in the world. But at number 52, tucked between a theatre and a patisserie, sits a shop that has been selling coffee from … Read more
Independent filmmakers tell stories big studios ignore by working outside the studio system, where they retain full creative control and can pursue character-driven narratives, unconventional formats, and underrepresented perspectives that major studios consider too risky, too niche, or too difficult to market to mainstream audiences. These filmmakers secure their own funding through grants, crowdfunding, and … Read more
Walk through Soho on a Tuesday afternoon and you will hear two versions of London at once. One is the clatter of delivery bikes, the hum of luxury flats being fitted out, and the ping of contactless payments in gleaming new cocktail bars. The other is the creak of an old pub door, the smell … Read more
London’s nightlife has been dying a slow, expensive death for over a decade. Few figures sit at the centre of that story quite like Alex Proud. He built an empire of cabaret venues, photography galleries, and nightclubs that defined a particular era of the capital’s after-dark culture. Then that empire crumbled, leaving behind unpaid performers, … Read more