Louche: New live music and cabaret bar promises to revive ‘spirit of old Soho’

Soho’s ever-moving “golden age” is being evoked at the new opening, which takes the site once occupied by 68 & Boston
Drinking den: the new bar
Press handout
David Ellis @dvh_ellis29 September 2021

A new Greek Street bar is promising live music, cabaret and cocktails — as well as the revival of the spirit of “old Soho”.

Louche, which is vowing to be aptly named, will open on the site of popular wine and cocktail spot 68 & Boston, one of the victims of the pandemic. The new venue will be substantial, with capacity for 260 drinkers and two stages for performances.

Open for soft launch on October 4, before fully opening on Friday October 8, the bar’s backers say the new opening will showcase “everything from the glitz and the glamour to the misbehaviours and the underbelly of Soho.”

The interiors include a series of portraits of the area’s notable characters, including George Skeggs, the brightly-suited artist better known as Soho George, as well as Song For My Father pianist Horace Silver, who played legendary jazz club Ronnie Scott’s a number of times. Others making the wall include Madame Louise — she ran the area’s first lesbian club in the Seventies, on Poland Street — as well as outlandish former club promoter and socialite Philip Sallon, who will be a familiar sight for anyone regularly in the Groucho Club.

The bar comes from the Record Bars team, who operate Eastcheap Records, Northcote Records, Old Street Records and Venn Street Records. Howard Taylor of Rocket, said of the opening: “The idea is that we are bringing old Soho back to Soho in the venue. The venue itself is a three storey old panelled townhouse with a 260 capacity across those three floors, with lots of little nooks, low lit warmth and a burgundy and dark green colour scheme, refurbished to be respectful of the building.

Rogue’s gallery: one wall of the bar will feature pictures of familiar faces in Soho
Press handout

“There is a stage for live music and performances on the ground floor and an old English panelled suite of rooms on the second floor with an upright piano and a second stage for further live performances.”

He added: “Every detail of Louche Soho takes inspiration from the notorious characters and attitudes of old Soho, from the low-lit interior styling to the diverse entertainment schedule, all to create a truly inclusive atmosphere. We’re excited to continue to build on our reputation for bringing great entertainment, delicious cocktails and outright fun to the London bar scene.”

While atmosphere will be the club’s paramount concern, the drinks list is set to be a mix of “classics with a twist”, but Louche’s signature serves will include a watermelon mezcalita, a Soho spritz made with rose cider, and a Umamartini, which sees a classic gin martini flavoured with fino sherry, elderflower and olive brine. A bar menu of snacks will follow.

Live music will be offered throughout the week, with a livelier programme on the weekends and more relaxed fare at the start of the week. The news is likely to be heartening for gig fans, given the sector has struggled in recent years, with the likes of The Borderline shutting in 2019 after three decades of shows.

The idea of “old Soho” stems from the area’s perpetual forlorn longing for a time not so long past, which is something of a tradition for W1 locals. Now the idea is thought to refer to the 1970s and 1980s, when the likes of journalist Jeffrey Bernard propped up the end of the bar by the loos in the Coach & Horses and characters including the painter Francis Bacon would spend the afternoons in the area’s drinking clubs. In the 1980s, though, it’s said the “golden age” was the Fifties; Louche itself is designed to look like a bar from the 1920s. So it goes.

Louche will open at 5 Greek Street, W1. For more information, visit louchesoho.com

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