Le Beaujolais

Le Beaujolais is about as far away as you can get from London’s new wave of natural wine bars. The restaurant downstairs is a members -only venue but the ground floor bar is open to all. A central London mainstay since 1972, this robust timewarp comes complete with rustic French tables that are pleasantly well past their best, a chaotic seating arrangement, scrappy chalkboard menus and ties hanging from the ceiling, as if the last 1980s yuppie has only just been asked to leave. It is, in other words, pure Keith Floyd-core. Sure, there’s a food menu of classic French cuisine; croque monsieurs, steak frites and boeuf bourguignon, but people aren’t really here to eat, they’re here to drink bottles, carafes and glasses of the Frenchest of wines. The list is exclusively French, and broken down by region, from the Loire to Bourgogne, via the Rhône, Bordeaux, and of course, Beaujolais. 

Time Out tip

If you’re after some ‘Old Soho’ energy – now only matched by the likes of the French House – swing by Le Beaujolais at 3pm on a weekday to soak up some Chardonnay with a crowd of old school Soho characters.