Cafe Boheme

Cafe Boheme has poured coffee and served escargots on Old Compton Street for more than three decades, a French brasserie in Soho that trades from early morning through to the small hours. Named after the nineteenth-century French poets who once gathered on this street, it keeps a brass bar, a mosaic-tiled floor and walls hung with pictures that have long felt part of the neighbourhood's furniture.

The kitchen holds to a traditional repertoire, and the all-day menu at Cafe Boheme runs to escargots, confit duck and steak frites, all built on classic recipes. Live jazz plays at the bar every day from three in the afternoon, so the room moves from a quiet morning coffee to a busy evening of dining and drinks without losing its character. Current menus sit on the brasserie's own website.

Why this French brasserie in Soho keeps its regulars

The appeal is consistency rather than reinvention. You can arrive for breakfast, a mid-afternoon glass of wine as the jazz starts, or a late supper after the theatre, and find the same room and the same cooking each time. Confit duck and steak frites are the plates people return for, and the long hours make it a dependable choice when much of the neighbourhood has stopped serving. It has become enough of a Soho institution to feature regularly in the city's restaurant guides, including Time Out.

The room and the setting

The interior does much of the work, with the long brass bar and mosaic floor giving it the worn, lived-in feel of a Parisian cafe that has run for generations. It sits in the middle of Old Compton Street, at the centre of Soho's dining and nightlife, which keeps the crowd a steady mix of locals, workers and visitors from morning to close. You will find more of the area's tables in our Soho restaurants listings, with another all-day option a few doors along at Old Compton Brasserie.

How a visit works

Cafe Boheme runs from 8am on weekdays and 9am at weekends through to the early hours, with the kitchen serving across the day rather than in fixed sittings. Live jazz begins at 3pm daily, so arrive from mid-afternoon if you want the music with your meal. Walk-ins are part of the character, though a table is worth booking for the busier evening and weekend service.