SOMA bar Soho

Down a short flight of stairs off Denman Street, SOMA feels like Soho edited to its cleanest lines: an unmarked door, a low lit room, a long stainless steel bar that turns the act of mixing into theatre without the showboating. The project comes from Kricket founders Rik Campbell and chef Will Bowlby, and the drinks lean into Bowlby’s India shaped palate with confidence: bold seasoning, bright acids, and aromatics that cling to the glass. The menu keeps names minimal and ingredient led, with reworked classics like LEAF, a gimlet laced with makrut lime leaf and curry leaf, or CHANA, a playful Mai Tai riff that nods to chana masala. SOMA picked up Best Bar at the GQ Food and Drink Awards in 2022, and the room’s soundtrack shifts as the evening deepens, from smooth jazz to Golden Age hip hop, as if the bar is pacing you for one more round.