Carnaby Street and Kingly Court: shop first, then the courtyard
A street named after a 1683 house, made famous by 1960s boutiques and still dressing London: shop Carnaby in the afternoon, then climb Kingly Court for Syrian mezze or a Filipino feast.
By Only Soho Editorial
Carnaby is the part of Soho that dresses up. The street is short, about 250 metres from Beak Street to Great Marlborough Street, but with the lanes around it, Kingly Street, Foubert's Place, Newburgh Street and Ganton Street, it is the best few blocks for clothes shopping in central London. Shop in the afternoon, when the light is good, and save Kingly Court for when your feet give out.
How Carnaby got its name, and its reputation
The street takes its name from Karnaby House, built nearby in 1683, and it was laid out in 1685 or 1686. For most of its life it was an ordinary Soho street. Then, as its history tells it, the boutiques arrived: Bill Green's Vince on Newburgh Street, which drew the bodybuilders from the Marshall Street baths and used a young Sean Connery in its catalogue, and in 1957 John Stephen, the King of Carnaby Street, opened His Clothes. By the 1960s it was the street of the mods and the peacocks, and the first Cranks vegetarian restaurant opened at number 22 in 1961. In October 1973 the Greater London Council closed it to traffic, and it has been pedestrianised ever since.
Carnaby Street itself
Today the main street is a run of fashion flagships. Carnaby's own guide lists Dr. Martens, The North Face, Barbour, Birkenstock, Camper, MUJI and Sephora among the names, and new arrivals in the past months include K-Way at 26 to 27, Kookaï at 37, Eastpak at 35 and TALA at 3 to 4. It is busy on a Saturday, so go on a weekday afternoon. Start at the Dr. Martens shop, because nothing says Carnaby like a pair of boots.
The side streets
The interesting shopping is a street back. Foubert's Place has the Astrid & Miyu jewellery flagship, OG Kicks for trainers and the Turkish restaurant Zahter. Broadwick Street, at the north-east corner, has END. for streetwear and Axel Arigato. On Newburgh Street, Mark Powell has been cutting suits in Soho for 40 years, and his shop at number 10 opens at noon. Book a fitting for a made-to-measure suit, the most Soho thing you can buy on these streets.
Liberty, the department store, is at the top of Carnaby, a few steps from Great Marlborough Street. Go in for the building as much as the shopping.
Kingly Court
Through an arch off Carnaby Street is Kingly Court, three floors of restaurants and bars around an open-air courtyard. This is Soho lists the line-up, and it is one of the best places in Soho to feed a group that cannot agree. Here is where we would go.
Imad's Syrian Kitchen. Imad Alarnab's restaurant serves Syrian sharing plates and mezze, with plenty for vegetarians. Order the mezze and share everything.
Donia. A Filipino restaurant with a sharing menu and a view into the open kitchen. Sit where you can see the cooks and let them choose for the table.
Goldies. The newest arrival on the ground floor, a French-inspired wood grill from the team behind Blanchette. Take a courtyard-side table and order whatever has come off the grill.
Señor Ceviche, Shoryu and Liu Xiaomian. Peruvian ceviche at an open counter, with a bottomless brunch on Saturdays; Hakata tonkotsu ramen; and Chongqing noodles in the Southwest Chinese style. For a quick lunch alone, take a stool at Shoryu and order the tonkotsu.
Drinks downstairs
Under the courtyard are two of Soho's more theatrical bars. Cahoots is a 1940s-themed bar built like a disused underground station, with entertainment and its own cocktails, and its pub sibling, Cahoots Ticket Hall, sits alongside. Disrepute, in the basement, is a sixties-style cocktail bar with a carefully put together list. Go to Disrepute after nine and order a Martini.
Kingly Street
Kingly Street runs parallel to Carnaby Street on the east, and it has Dishoom, Kolamba for Sri Lankan food, The Counter and The Little Violet Door for late dancing, plus Padella, the pasta restaurant, which has opened here. For dancing after dinner, The Little Violet Door is the late one: get a drink at the bar and find the floor.
When to go
Weekday afternoons for shopping, the courtyard from six for dinner. In the run-up to Christmas, the Carnaby lights are switched on on Wednesday 4 November, and the street is at its prettiest after dark.
