An underground cocktail bar beneath Broadwick Street, no sign, a red door, and a staircase down into one of the best-kept cocktail rooms in Soho. Low light, late hours, and drinks made properly.
No frontage, no menu in the window, no queue spilling onto the pavement. Just an unmarked red door on Broadwick Street and a flight of stairs going down. The speakeasy idea gets used loosely these days, here it's literal, you have to know it's there.
Low ceilings, brick alcoves, leather that's seen a few good nights. A room that's dark in the way a cocktail bar should be dark, so the conversation carries and the drinks do the talking.
There's no shortage of bars in Soho. What there are fewer of is somewhere you can hear the person across the table, get a properly made Negroni without a fight at the bar, and stay past midnight without the room turning into a club. The full case is on the quiet bar in Soho page.
Drinks until 1:30am, Tuesday through Saturday. For a late one after dinner, or a first one when everywhere else is full, the basement tends to have room when the street doesn't. And if you want it all to yourselves, the room is available for private bar hire in Soho, bartenders included.
8 Broadwick Street, Soho, W1F 8HN. Red door, downstairs. Three minutes from Oxford Circus.
Sun & Mon until midnight, Tue to Sat until 1:30am. Walk-ins welcome, booking wins on weekends.
Signature and classic cocktails, a real low & no list, champagne and wine, and a short dessert menu.
There's the costume-drama kind, passwords, phone boxes, a fridge door that swings open if you know which handle to pull. Fun once. And there's the older idea the word actually comes from: a room that simply isn't advertised, where the point is what's in the glass, not the trick at the door.
No password, no script, no queue for a photo of the entrance. The red door is unmarked because the room never needed a sign, word of mouth has kept it busy since the beginning.
Speakeasies grew out of streets exactly like these, crowded, loud, and full of people looking for somewhere the night could slow down. Below Broadwick Street the noise stays upstairs, and the cocktail list gets your full attention.
Most of London's hidden rooms ask you to trek east or book weeks out. This one is three minutes from Oxford Circus, and Tuesday to Saturday it pours later than almost anything else nearby. Directions are on the find us page, such as they're needed: red door, downstairs.
The name comes from Prohibition-era America, when bars hid behind unmarked doors and you spoke easy about where you were going. The modern version keeps the good parts: a hidden entrance, a room you have to know about, and drinks taken seriously. The password theatrics are optional, and we skip them.
8 Broadwick Street, W1F 8HN. Look for the unmarked red door and head downstairs. It's three minutes from Oxford Circus, on the quieter end of Soho after dark.
No. Finding the door is the only test. Walk-ins are welcome whenever the room allows, though on Fridays and Saturdays a booking is the difference between a table and a doorway.
They run the range from full costume drama, fake fridge doors, phone-box entrances, passwords, to rooms that are simply hidden and let the drinks do the work. Ours is the second kind: no gimmick at the door, a proper cocktail list behind it.
No. Come as you are. The room is candlelit and grown-up, and that does more for the atmosphere than a jacket policy ever could.
Until 1:30am Tuesday to Saturday, and until midnight on Sunday and Monday. The last hour down here is often the best one, most of Soho has called last orders by then.
"For the love of God, don't tell your friends about this place. Keep it a secret, and long may it remain a dark, classy, quiet place to enjoy great cocktails brought to you by staff who genuinely want you to have a good time."
Google Review"Basement Sate is a hidden gem, nestled underground, offering a cozy and intimate atmosphere for indulging in delightful desserts and handcrafted cocktails… an escape from the city's hustle and bustle."
Google Review"Absolute favourite place for cocktails in London. Great for date night or catching up with friends, the leather seats, low lighting, and exotic drinks make for a sophisticated and perfectly schmooz-y vibe."
Google Review"We booked our team night out here, and the staff are super accommodating. The cocktails are top-notch, and the prices are really reasonable for London, Soho. We'll definitely be coming back!"
Google ReviewBook online in seconds, or get in touch for private hire and we'll come back to you.