The French House, Soho, W1

Been reading a lot about this place in recent books on the gentrification of soho. Thought I would check it out. Exactly as expected, down to the half pints of beer and most people drinking wine. Worth a check out but wouldn't go more than once.

Formerly known as the York Minster, this pub was taken over by a French speaking landlord shortly after the Great War and was casually known as 'The French Pub' until its current name was formalised in the 1980's. Famous for being the UK headquarters of the French resistance movement during WWII, it is reported that Charles De Gaulle wrote his 'A tous les Francais' speech in here. Other famous visitors include just about every notable alcoholic you care to mention, including Dylan Thomas, Francis Bacon, Malcolm Lowry, William Burroughs and Peter O'Toole. Many of these regulars can be spotted in the many portraits that cover just about every inch of wall space in this remarkably compact pub, alongside images of revered French celebrities, many grouped according to profession. The pub has a bare boarded front bar area with the servery on the back wall. The dark wood counter has a lovely retro French coffee machine on the end of it and a smart matching bar back. Bar stools run around the counter and along a drinking ledge under the front windows, making it almost impossible to squeeze through at peak hours (i.e. always). I managed to grab a seat in a small recess to the rear left, where one long bench runs along the back wall serving a couple of tables in a space that is created behind a staircase. Alongside the photos are some collages and various posters and art works, all with a French theme, which rounds the décor off nicely. The Francophile theme is continued at the bar, with a good wine list seemingly proving popular with most patrons. Beer is limited to a few keg lagers and I was surprised to see Theakston Best available on keg as well. As per any other French bar, the pint is an alien concept, so I had to make do with a half instead, which was no bad thing given the inferior quality of the beer. This is a real curio and a place I'm glad I got around to visiting, if only for its interesting history and literary connections. In reality, this place is far to small to allow you to settle down for more than a swift half and the obvious restrictions caused by the lack of good beer provides a further setback. Worth a quick look and certainly a good option should you fancy a drop of wine in atmospheric surrounds.

Official site of The French House - www.frenchhousesoho.com

Official site of The French House - www.frenchhousesoho.com

Small but quaint pub.Still no real ale so not a pub I will return to. Au revoir.

Tiny 'L'-shaped bar with very limited seating and difficult to reach the bar to get served. Also has a bit of standing room outside on the pavement under the small window awnings. No real ale, and (famously) no pint glasses so made do with keg Theakston Bitter (£2.00 for a half). Overall, a distinctly curious little place...

Randomness Guide to London - French House entry

Randomness Guide to London - French House entry

Originally named The York Minster. This pub acquired the ”French House” nickname before WWII, presumably because of its Francophone owner, and during the war it was apparently patronised by Free French drinkers, including General de Gaulle allegedly, which must have reinforced its French identity. This is a very, very, small one-roomed pub. It’s so small there’s no room for any tables, just stools at the bar and at shelves round the sides of the room. There’s no real ale, and the only lagers are Kronenbourg and Carlsberg. It’s got lots of character with many original features remaining, but with no real ale and a refusal to sell pints (presumably pretentiousness?) it hardly qualifies as a pub. But that certainly retains its French character.