Nowadays Soho is heaving with great places to eat. These are a few of my favourites.
Google map here.
Koya Bar (Intermediate B+), 50 Frith St, www.koya.co.uk
An Udon noodle specialist that attracts a lot of Japanese customers. I wanted some advice on what to get but the Japanese waitress couldn’t understand my question so the friendly chef took over and sorted me out with a bowl of their Kitsune (B+); sweet tofu with udon noodles and spring onions which I spiced up with a bit of shichimi chilli powder.
A bottle of Kernel craft beer was the perfect companion (B+).
Barrafina (Advanced A-), 54 Frith Street, Soho www.barrafina.co.uk
On the Soho scene since 2007, Barrafina is very much trying to emulate the Barcelona institution Cal Pep by providing high end Spanish cuisine in a tapas bar setting. (please see my El Born post)
Like Cal Pep it’s not possible to make reservations but you can have drinks and nibbles in the queue while you’re waiting (about 40 mins in my case). Again like its counterpart, it’s not cheap, but the food is usually top notch. Since my visit in mid-2014 they’ve been awarded a Michelin star which goes some way to justifying their prices.
I started with Chorizo & Potato Chips which were a bit of a surprise as they looked more like spring rolls than ‘chips’. Don’t recall being particularly blown away by them (B). Gambas (just two) al Ajillo (A) and the Morcilla Iberica with Quails Eggs (A) were more to my taste and Chips with Brava sauce were okay (B+). To drink their cheapest wine, a Humilitat red, off a pricey list, was pretty decent (B+).
This place is great if you’re flush and happy to pay top dollar for good food. Personally I found it tough to justify the expenditure because I know I can get as good or better on my travels, and for less money. Don’t let me stop you going though, it’s definitely a good foodie experience.
Please see this post for some other great places I’ve been to more recently in Soho:
Bone Daddies – Ramen (Intermediate A), 31 Peter St, Soho, London W1F 0AR, www.bonedaddies.com
The Palomar – Israeli/Palestinean fusion tapas (Intermediate A), 34 Rupert St, London W1D 6DN, thepalomar.co.uk
Kiln – Thai Grill (Intermediate B+), 58 Brewer St, Soho, London W1F 9TL www.kilnsoho.com