Walking in Soho
The best time to discover the Soho neighbourhood is walking in a weekday afternoon, especially sunny afternoon, in the small streets surrounding Soho square, minutes away from Piccadilly. There are numerous new restaurants, cafes and bars popping up in the neighbourhood worth exploring in the day or the night. There is Barrafina, the famous and best Spanish tapas place in London. It is very small, with few booths surrounding the bar area so expect a huge line and long wait. However, if you try to visit the place in less busy days and times and with a small group it would be easier to find a spot. Go for classic and unique tapas combined with good Spanish wine or sherry. Close by you will also find Pizza Pilgrims, a little place famous for its incredible and cheap pizzas. For a sunny day have lunch outside Dean Street Townhouse, for a more classy appeal.
Walking on Old Compton street I stumbled upon a cute little place with coffee makers and tea cups on its window. It is called Algerian Coffee Store and inside you find a huge selection of coffee roasts, from all over the world, with special housing blends like the one I purchased, Arabic Spice, and a variety of teas as well. Further down I spotted Gerry's Wines and Spirits, an alcohol shop with a huge selection of drinks, worldwide, in good prices. It is crazy the amount of booze they are selling.
Another little gem is Ham Yard Hotel and its courtyard. The hotel is very pretty and contemporarily designed with a cosy feeling. There's a cafe/restaurant inside but in a nice day the courtyard is worthwhile. Old style french tables and chairs and one booth made by white stone. The coffee is great and seems to have a great food selection as well, always not forgetting the cocktails. Surrounding the hotel are some new, contemporary shops in the area. An Australian clothes shop, an eyeglasses shop, a tea shop, a men's swimsuit shop and much more, all new, trendy designers.
Another find is Nordic Bakery in Golden Square, with desserts of Nordic origin, as the name states. For the night I like LaBottega Negra, which looks like a sex shop outside, but inside, in the basement is a Mexican (not original) restaurant and bar, with loud music and the best margaritas. Another would be Blanchette, in Brewick Str, away from the crowds. A small British tapas place with great wines. Couple seatings outside. On the same street, newly opened Duck & Rice, with great energy and Chinese cuisine. I haven't tried it yet, but is supposed to be great or otherwise a small Hakkasan. Further down is Yautcha, famous Chinese as well with beautiful (really beautiful, as art) desserts. For just a bar and maybe a pizza on the side is B-Soho, with live performances by a guitarist most nights. Reminds me an Old Street atmosphere and is good with its cocktails. Also for drinks, and food (even though I believe Sushi Samba has better cuisine), is Choco-Matte, for cocktails and Japanese-Peruvian cuisine. Furthermore, we have Floredita, the best latin bar/club in London.
Obviously, by walking around someone can discover a large amount of even more choices of restaurants and small cafes and atmospheric bars. Since I haven't heard or tried the rest, I cannot give a recommendation, but do go and discover yourself the little gems hidden in between old sex shops and classic British pubs.