Where to eat on and around Soho Square

Be clear about one thing first: very few restaurants sit on Soho Square itself. The old restaurant address at number 11 has closed, so the honest answer to eating here is to treat the square as a starting point and let the streets around it do the work: Sutton Row, Bateman's Buildings, Greek Street and Dean Street. Everything below is within a short walk of the garden.

The garden is free to enter and open daily from 8am, with closing time shifting through the year. It is the best place to eat a takeaway coffee and a pastry in good weather, and the square's own history, from its 1681 layout as King Square to the statue of Charles II, is a decent excuse to linger. Details are on the London Gardens Trust page.

Coffee, then a drink: 21Soho, Sutton Row

21Soho is the one operating place we can point to that sits right on the square. It is in the big green tiled building, with the entrance at 3-5 Sutton Row, and its own site says it opened in 2019. It works as a coffee shop by day, opening at 8am, and turns into a bar in the evening. Listings tag it dog friendly, with takeaway and late night service, and OpenTable gives a price band of £25 and under.

Go at opening for the quiet hour before the offices fill. Order a coffee and something from the pastries and light bites, then carry it across to the garden. Come back after work for a cocktail. Check the current hours on its own site first.

Seafood down an alley: Manzi's, 1 Bateman's Buildings

Manzi's is tucked down an alley off Soho Square, roughly five minutes on foot from Tottenham Court Road station. It comes from the group behind The Wolseley and Brasserie Zedel, and it is a big, two floored seafood restaurant with mermaid and Poseidon decor that leans cheerfully theatrical.

The menu is almost entirely from the sea, running from shellfish to monkfish wellington, with a couple of vegetarian dishes and a steak for the non believers. The bar seats about 20 and suits a quick drink without committing to a full dinner. Order the monkfish wellington if you are sitting down, or take a bar stool and start with shellfish. Hot Dinners has the full write up.

Greek Street, running south from the square

Greek Street begins at the square's southern edge and runs down to Shaftesbury Avenue. It has long been known for its restaurants, and two are worth the detour.

L'Escargot, 48 Greek Street, is described by Wikipedia as London's oldest French restaurant, established in 1896 in a Georgian townhouse dating from 1741. Infatuation mentions velvet drapes and a crystal chandelier. Order the snails: they come flambéed in pastis, and Infatuation notes plenty of butter. It is a lunch or early dinner room in spirit, all old fashioned French theatre.

Noble Rot Soho, 2 Greek Street, is a wine focused restaurant with European cooking in a former townhouse. The dining room is yellow lit and velvet clad. Infatuation praises the consistent value of its set lunch, so go in the daytime and order that, with a glass of something from the wine list.

A pub with a dining room: The French House, 49 Dean Street

The French House is a classic Soho pub with a small dining room upstairs, where chef Neil Borthwick cooks French classics, according to Hot Dinners. Infatuation also lists it among its best restaurants in Soho. The seat to ask for is upstairs for a proper meal. Downstairs is for a drink and a lean against the wall.

How to put it together

• Morning: coffee at 21Soho, 3-5 Sutton Row, then a stroll round the garden.
• Lunch: the set lunch at Noble Rot Soho, 2 Greek Street, or snails at L'Escargot, 48 Greek Street.
• Early evening: a stool at the bar in Manzi's, 1 Bateman's Buildings, for a quick drink and shellfish.
• Dinner: upstairs at The French House, 49 Dean Street.

Opening hours and booking policies change, so check each venue's own website before you set out, particularly for the set lunch at Noble Rot Soho.