FEATURES ARCHIVE/TRAVEL
London's famous square mile: Soho
It's a place where you can find yourself... and lose yourself.
Soho is to London what the Vatican City is to Rome - a world
within a city. Bordered by Oxford Street, Regents Street, Charing
Cross Road and (a little beyond) Shaftsbury Avenue, Soho is known
as the Square Mile. The area has been made famous by coffee shops,
restaurants, bars and prostitutes - if you put all of these
together, you've got a cocktail for a great night... well,
you might want to leave the prostitutes out!
Soho offers ultimate pleasure for the senses; including
sensational flavours, eye candy, fantastic music and aromatic cuisine
from around the world. Restaurants, bars and coffee shops rule here.
In a battle for customers, tables and chairs are strewn out onto
the street. Suddenly the roads become unofficial pedestrian walkways
and the Rickshaw driver's "pedestrian hit count"
comes into effect. Gripping their handlebars tightly and pedalling
as fast as they can, the demonic Rickshaw driver wants the skin
from your heals. But that's okay... because it's
Soho!
This place is so charming that you can excuse many of its negatives.
But if you want to escape the crazy Rickshaw drivers of Soho, then
dive into Little Italy on Frith Street. This friendly little bar/restaurant
offers authentic Italian; from the flash, bottle-spinning barmen
to the sensational selection of flavours on the menu. Read the Little
Italy feature...
 Many
of Soho's oldest and finest pubs and clubs have been immortalised
in Keith Waterhouse's book, 'Soho'. It's an addictive
read that really tickles your imagination. The book is about a Yorkshire
lad, Alex, who leaves his hometown of Leeds to find his girlfriend.
His search takes him to Soho where he endures the longest 24hrs
of his life; meeting many characters, some of whom still live within
the square mile of Soho. If you're never visited this famous
area of London, read the book first! In fact, get
it now.
A while ago, Ben and I happened upon the Arts Club on Soho's
Frith Street. From the street, the Arts Club exists as a single
doorway, with no indication of what to expect on the inside. Beyond
the door was a dingy flight of stairs, darkly descending to another
door, which muffled the sound of music. We entered. The interior
was very basic but the atmosphere was electric and very friendly.
We mingled with the crowd and were soon
accepted by the other members. Hugs (and a
little bit of spit) were exchanged as we danced the night away until
4am with some of the friendliest people we've ever met.
On leaving the club, a bold male voice resonated throughout Soho's
Frith Street, "anyone who fancies a party, follow me".
So we did. And followed the flock of partygoers to Milroy's
Whisky shop on Soho's Greek Street - www.milroys.co.uk.
The grand old shop was opened for us and we followed the crowd downstairs
into Milroy's tasting bar. I took advantage of the owner's
son's generosity/drunkenness and proceeded to sample rare
Whiskies until I could no longer see. But that was okay... because
I was in Soho!
If you want to step away from the norm and enjoy a night
of unexpected shenanigans and ultimate fulfilment, then get yourself
to Soho. We'll see you there.
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the Book
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