A stone's throw away from Oxford Circus lies the iconic area of Soho, once the stomping ground for music royalty like Jimi Hendrix, The Who and The Rolling Stones in the swinging ‘60s.
And although you’re more likely to spot a tracksuit than a bespoke suit with wide lapels, most of the magic that existed over half a century ago can still be found today. This area of the Capital still retains its style, creativity and free spirit thanks to the plethora of cutting-edge and environmentally conscious menswear stores, trend-establishing restaurants, legendary pubs, thought-provoking art installations and more.
Esquire is lucky enough to work right next to this cultural hot spot, so if you’re looking for suggestions for your next fashion/culinary pilgrimage, our editors can lend an expert helping hand.
Nick Pope, Executive Editor
When the time comes to satiate my luxury cardigan lust (every few weeks or so, irrespective of the weather or the health of my bank account), I generally need a bolt loosener first. You can’t move for historic pubs in Soho, but my favourite is The French House on Dean Street. Famous for its half-pints and free-flowing Ricard pastis, it’s a proper institution propped up by legendary Soho characters. Friends and concerned eavesdroppers may arrive to stage an impromptu knitwear intervention, but they’re wasting their time. I’ve got merino on the mind.
The second step is to actually buy the thing. My go-to for cardigans, and just about any piece of outerwear, is Universal Works, who champion skilled, small-scale production. While the independent Nottinghamshire-based workwear brand is perhaps best known for those staple ‘Bakers’ overshirts, it has a wide selection of loose-fitting layering essentials. Or I could cut right and step into Sunspel on Silver Place; no brand is more synonymous with understated, well-crafted essentials – understandable, since the Midlands brand has been perfecting them for over 160 years. It’s a tough choice, but nothing another half-pint can’t solve. Santé.
Jamie Carson, Content Lead
The Great Frog holds a special place in my cold, black heart. The alternative premium jewellery shop (favoured by the likes of Metallica, Jay-Z, Keith Richards et al) is where I spent my first ‘big boy’ pay cheque on a hand-crafted skull winged ring in British Hallmarked .925 Sterling Silver. I was new to London from the North, still shocked by the Central Line and its beastly inhabitants, but the friendly staff here welcomed me with open tattooed arms. It’s also where my wife and I selected our wedding rings, and more recently where I was gifted an alphabones letter A for my daughter Astrid, which I wear on a necklace everyday. Quite simply, they have bled me dry and I couldn’t look better for it. Like a heavy metal Mr T.
After this I’ll swing by Reign Vintage for a perusal of its vast array of well-kept second-hand clothes, which stocks everything from one-of-a-kind leather jackets to flared denim, therefore completing my Easy Rider Americana fantasies. And down the road from here is probably my team's favourite breakfast spot - The Breakfast Club. It does an obscene stack of pancakes with decadent toppings which beats the commercial dry granola with yoghurt merchants in the area by a country mile.
Charlie Teasdale, Style Director
There are few brands that offer the full service. That is to say, a place that offers you clothes for every eventuality or occasion; a place where you can find both a great wedding suit and the perfect pair of joggers. Well, Oliver Spencer is such a brand. Oli’s clothes are elegantly easy with a bohemian flair, and increasingly conscious of the effect they have on the planet. Much of the collection is organic, made in the UK and coloured using natural dyes, and yet Mr Spencer still manages to inject everything with the requisite level of slickness. His unstructured tailoring is some of the best on the market, but I’d also point you in the direction of a recent collab with hip gardening brand Niwaki.
A planet-conscious contemporary of Spencer, Christopher Raeburn (of RÆBURN) specialises in the recycling of unwanted or unloved fabrics into garments that are more than the sum of their parts. The Airbrake Anorak, for example, is cut from old parachutes, while the Anti-G Field Jacket is constructed from army surplus bivouac sacks, which offer impeccable waterproofness and, if it’s of interest, fire retardancy. Good for when you don’t know what’s up ahead, but you know you need to look good.
Once you’ve got yourself some new looks, it's time to celebrate with what Soho does best - lovely, lovely pints. The Blue Posts on Rupert Street (there's a multitude with the same name in the area, so make sure you get the right one), was established in 1738, and the cosy Grade II listed building was refurbed in 2017 by the team behind the Palomar restaurant, and it looks just as good as its neighbour.
Miranda Collinge, Deputy Editor
I remember going into Flat White shortly after it opened in 2005 and looking, perplexed, at the menu. What was this mysterious ‘flat white’ of which they spoke? It’s hard to imagine such innocent times now, but the pleasingly spartan coffee shop on Berwick Street was certainly one of the first to bring the perfect – and now ubiquitous – coffee-and-microfoamed-milk combo to London, with the appropriate Antipodean vibes to match, and has stayed true to its mission ever since.
Another great thing about Soho is the quantity and variety of great fashion stores that are so easy to pop into should I feel the need for a sartorial pick-me-up after work (or sometimes even during!). The A.P.C. flagship store on Lexington Street is a haven of calm, and the Parisian brand’s beautifully cut, elegantly understated clothing is always hard to resist.
For accessories – and especially a backpack that can fit a laptop and still look stylish, which is very much the holy grail of the hybrid-working era – I’m a fan of the Swedish bag brand Sandqvist and its store on Berwick Street. The staff there are always lovely, and it’s nice to browse their range of hiking rucksacks and imagine faraway mountains to be climbed.
Check out all the other unique stores you can experience in Soho
