The French House — Restaurant in London

The French House 📍49 Dean St, London W1D 5BG 🚇 Leicester Square 🍺 £3.50 French House Lager (1/2)

A Soho Institution.

The French House is located on Dean Street in Soho just off Shaftesbury Avenue. The nearest Tube is Leicester Square, it’s a five minute walk to get here.

This Historic pub was built in 1891 and was originally called The York Minster. The pub was run between 1914-1989 by the same family who originated from Belgium. This pub is famous for being the unofficial headquarters of the Free French in World War II. The name was changed to the French House in 1984 following a fire.

One thing you need to know before visiting, is that the beer is served in half-pints only. This rule is relaxed every year on 1st April when pints are made available. In recent years it has become custom that @suggsofficial serves the first pint of the day.

The footprint of this pub is compact and bijou. The bar area wraps around the servery with a cosy snug located on the left. Around the ox blood red and wood panelled walls are a number of interesting prints, artworks and photos by Soho based creatives. There are stools around the bar, drinking ledges and traditional furniture in the snug.

The beer selection is minimal and diverse. I decided on a French House Lager, my beer was decent, price point was West End. I mentioned that the beer was served by the half but you can buy a half a gallon for £28, but I wasn’t that thirsty. Upstairs is the pub’s well renowned restaurant. This intimate venue serves traditional cuisine from a menu that changes daily. Every Thursday, The French House serves the ever popular steak frites.

Every time I visit here it’s always absolutely packed with a wonderful convivial atmosphere. The clientele is a mix of punters from all walks of life and backgrounds. I have often found myself talking to interesting people that I’ve never met before. The best time to visit is between 2pm and 4pm when local characters pop in for a chat and a beverage.

I can’t speak highly enough about this special Soho institution. The @frenchhousesoho , an absolute must visit London Pub.

ℹ️ Info correct on...

Not your typical English Pub (but that's kind of the point I guess)

A real institute of a Pub, you're guaranteed to have great (sometimes just weird) conversations with real characters in this place, no doubt lubricated by plenty of alcohol. The drinks aren't fancy, but you'll come here for the conversation and to people watch more so than to have a quiet drink.

The couple who run the place are great people, always friendly and welcoming, as are the staff. You'll be shoulder to shoulder in this place, partly due to its size (but also because it's always busy) so you can expect to get to know a few people here.

Last time I was here an old Irishman dressed to the nines (as can be the case with the customers here - often coming from the theaters or from work nearby) - started hitting on a young northern lady (who later turned out to be his employee) who, as a distraction, started a conversation with me about Arsenal (Coincidentally my team / North London Football Club). This turned out to be his favorite topic of interest too (part of me began to wonder if they were about to scam me in someway at this point - but they turned out just to be friendly people having a drink after work) and he eloquently/drunkenly offered up "insider tips" on the direction the club was talking, in what can only be described as a flamboyant and poetic vernacular - I can't say he was right, but it was certainly more entertaining than your usual pub chat with a stranger. I imagine this sort of thing happens here a lot.

Expect: Real Londoners, Friendly Drunk Business People, Friendly Drunk West End People, Lost Tourists, Beggars, Simple Drinks, Great Conversations That You Won't Remember The Next Day, and...

The French House was owned by a Belgian. Of course, we Brits can't tell a Belgian from a bell-boy, so the former York Minster got known by the proprietor's language, not his nationality. It's the French House!

There were a lot of Free French customers, during WW11. Indeed, a photo of Charles de Gaulle sits on a high shelf, behind the bar.

Use of mobile phones is banned, but for the very good reason that the current owner seeks to promote, and succeeds in promoting, genial conversation amongst all comers, together with the more regular clientele of actors and writers.

Don't be put off by the arty tendency. They're never snooty. I doubt if the boss would tolerate anyone misbehaving like that, anyway, but they're alright people, so no problems!

'The French' is in Soho, right enough, but it's far enough away from the Cambridge Square end of the village to escape from the flocking tourists in general, and silly blokes suffering from 'Away from the Wife Syndrome'.

The place is small and popular, so it gets crowded, but people 'rub on' in an 'in the same boat' kind of way.

'The French' has always been a great place and looks set to remain so for another grateful generation of conversationalists, with a liking for great, well chosen, wine, cider and beers by the half...