Comptons of Soho

Long before Soho became known as the gay village, long before the Village Bar or the Admiral Duncan or even Clone Zone, there was Compton’s. An old-fashioned gay club that used to have blacked-out windows and sawdust on the floor, the venue has changed with the times and now has two floors, clear-glass windows and far nicer toilets. Compton’s is still popular with a crowd of beer-drinking, blokey gay men and is pretty cruisey. The upstairs lounge has flock wallpaper and a chandelier – a good place for a date or conversations – but the main floor is louder, darker and clubbier, and tends to be where the action is.