18 March 2026

Beer and sandwiches: The French House in Soho

This column is our weekly pub review, written by pintsmen, women and children across the nation. Suggestions to letters@newstatesman.co.uk

By New Statesman

Illustration by Marta Signori

The French House in London, a Soho establishment that only serves half-pints, might seem an unorthodox choice for a column intended to celebrate the great British pub. As for sandwiches? Try steak tartare and escargot. And by the way, it’s not even French.

The York Minster – as it was first known in 1891 – was opened by a German and then bought by a Belgian. In 1984 the pub officially became the French House, although it got its Gallic nickname in the Second World War. It was a gathering point for Free French officials in the city, and Charles de Gaulle wrote “À tous les Français” (“To All Frenchmen”) there. So goes the myth, anyway.

Half-pint or bust

Though restricted to halves, beer at the French is plentiful on draught: Meteor, Worthington’s, Horizon IPA, La Chouffe and The Kernel’s London Stout. There is Breton cider, and a long (and fairly reasonable) wine list.

Trad life

In 1992 – above this tiny, wood-pannelled, red-leathered pub – Fergus and Margot Henderson opened a restaurant by the same name. It’s an industry favourite, but tables are hard to come by. The menu is very traditional: think confit, think duck, think garlic, think bavette.

It has become something of a cliché to describe the French House as a bastion of Old Soho – but it is no less true for that. You can see why it was a favourite of Dylan Thomas and Brendan Behan. That is why I ask all pintsmen, wherever they might be, to be halfpintsmen. Just this once.

The French House, London W1

[Further reading: Beer and sandwiches: At the Black Bull Inn in Sedbergh]