Great little bar nestled into a small alley. One of my favorite places to go in London for a drink!…read moreTheir bar tender (I forget his name), is a strangely cute and I could not stop staring at him ‍ I'd honestly fly back to London just to order a drink from him again. Thanks for the great drinks and experience!

I-- I'll do anything that you want me to do, And I'll do…read morealmost anything that you want me to do, But I can't go for that, (No can do) No, I can't go for that, (No can do) Oh, I can't go for that, (No can do)* That sums up my opinion of Retro (also what I said when I went out with someone who was into diapers...no thanks!). I gave it a shot, but I just can't go for that. There was nothing compelling about it. The jukebox was good and the posters on the wall were neat, but the beer was mundane, the crowd didn't have a great vibe (kind of "clique-ish") and it was so bright! Oh my goodness, maybe I should have quoted a line from "Blinded by the Light" it was so lit up in there. Trust me I look better in dim lighting and maybe a filtered lens. This place was very bright, like when a policeman shines a light inside your car when you're parked by a dumpster in a deserted Wal-Mart parking lot and catches you...well never mind about that last part. In short, nice enough place, not my scene. ____________________________ *the dudes from Philly, Hall & Oates http://youtu.be/ccenFp_3kq8

Comptons has been around for a long time, looks the same for years, and still manages to pack in…read morethe gay crowd especially in evenings and weekends. Don't let the crowds outside fool you thinking there's a long line to get in. They're just drinking and smoking in the designated sidewalk pub area. Downstairs can be smashing full of fun, but we enjoyed upstairs even more. It was a "little" more sedated and Cheers pub-like with lots of regulars. Drinks are reasonably priced, and doubles are encouraged. That's cool so we don't have to wait at the bar twice, especially since only one bartender upstairs was handling the whole floor.

Clearly this is the most popular gay bar in Soho, right? When Jamie W. and I sauntered by on a…read moreweeknight evening, we were quite intimidated by the number of guys hanging out right in front. It was like Mickey's in WeHo on a Saturday night, just without the go-go boys. That's not to say there weren't lookers lurking about. We steeled ourselves to enter the premises and ordered our £12 drinks from the busy bartender. Now here's the trick. Walk up to the second floor... The vibe changes to low-key with patrons sitting either at round tables and in comfy upholstered wingback chairs. There's even a bar upstairs, so you don't have to compete with the West End boys and East End girls taking up space below. Jamie nursed a Gin & Tonic, while I had a Tequila, OJ and Cranberry Juice mix (photo: https://yelp.to/vdCmPktddk). He didn't have grenadine for a Sunrise but no complaints from me. We were chillin' with our mates upstairs. DRINKS - 4 stars...stiff and potent AMBIANCE - 4 stars...the downstairs is packed but the upstairs is like a pub SERVICE - 3.5 stars...busy bartenders TOTAL - 4 stars...gay central in Soho RELATED - Exploring London? Here's my collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/3zFACrx

After downing a Carrie Bradshaw-style cocktail at the chill subterranean Friendly Society (review:…read morehttps://yelp.to/4zJuovAN4J), Jamie W. and I were way too intimidated to face the manly crowd in front of Compton's. We went in the opposite direction on Rupert Street and found this inviting courtyard bar. It's marketed as a gay bar but... The clientele was more mixed than gay. Hey, it wasn't a big deal to us. Especially as we sauntered to the bar bathed in pink and royal blue dayglow. Boys bellying up to the bar. Oh yeah, we home. The print was really small in their comprehensive cocktail menu, but that didn't stop us from ordering more libations. Stop judging us. Jamie went for the £12.50 Margarita, and I continued my Cosmopolitan streak with their £12 one (photo: https://yelp.to/RsyQWeRD5R). We went back into the courtyard to find a table. The leafy terrace and strings of white light were quite inviting, and we ended up hanging out in this sanctuary until they closed at 11PM. Cool. DRINKS - 4 stars...they did the trick AMBIANCE - 5 stars...the courtyard was loverly SERVICE - 4 stars...efficient bartender TOTAL - 4 stars...a nice way to end our first night in London RELATED - Exploring London? Here's my collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/3zFACrx

I had a drink here before going out with some friends. They played some great music and the…read morebartenders were really friendly. It gets dull quickly especially right before they close so be prepared to watch for open seats or stand, which is not the worse so you can dance a bit to the great playlist.

KU is a corner bar that sits smack in the middle of the gayborhood. The first floor is the "bar"…read morewith a jovial and packed pub atmosphere. Upstairs is more lounge-like with plush couch seats around cocktail tables. We liked upstairs but could only find stools at the bar. It was fun to observe the bartenders pouring drinks. We found the bartenders don't serve the customers directly and they don't have cash registers. So you don't really chat with the bartenders or tip them. Instead orders are placed via roaming servers who handle the cashless transactions. This was a first for me in a gay bar setting. The world is changing. Upstairs music was current. Volume was not too loud (surprising for a Friday night) so we could converse without shouting. Clientele was a great mix, showing the diversity of LGBTQ+ London. We like that and will come back again.

Love KU!!!!! Always have the best time! Best staff! Yummy drinks and a good vibe. Would highly…read morerecommend!!! And again the whole staff is lovely and Awesome!!!

Listen, if you're looking to dip your toe in the gay pool that is Soho, I think this subterranean…read morebar lounge is the ideal starting point. Embarrassingly Jamie W. and I had not really explored London's gay subculture before, and we saw images of this particular bar on YouTube. We thought this might be the spot to target. Turned out we were right because it was surprisingly quiet on a Sunday evening compared to a congested zoo like Compton's. The dimly lit space was decorated with a combination of Barbie kitsch and faux-floral delights. The bartender, a gentlemanly young man, was genuinely delightful, and immediately made us feel relaxed with his banter. Jamie ordered the £11 Sunset Cruise, a tantalizing mix of different rums, coconut, apricot liqueur, and pineapple juice (photo: https://yelp.to/ILAB8Cpofh). Tropical yet bold enough to raise Jamie's freak flag. He was a happy camper. I went rather predictably with the $12 Cosmopolitan just because I was searching for my inner Carrie Bradshaw (photo: https://yelp.to/ILAB8Cpofh). She's in there somewhere. It was good enough for us to hang in the bar for a good while. There were plenty of sitting areas where we could feel we could hold a semi-private conversation about whether we'd still do Ricky Martin at age 52. The answer was an unequivocal yes, but you knew that already, didn't you? Indeed it was a friendly society here. COCKTAILS - 4 stars...libations with unique stylings AMBIANCE - 4.5 stars...unique decorations in a uniquely underground setting SERVICE - the bartender had our best interests in mind TOTAL - friendly is the right descriptor RELATED - Exploring London? Here's my collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/3zFACrx

Love this place. This is my go to every time we are in soho. The drinks are ok but it's nolstalgic…read morefor me. The owner is a doll and the decor is one of a kind. Come here for a drink to start your night and come back at the end of the night for a finisher. Please don't ever close!

The Admiral Duncan is a great long-roomed space to sing the night away. When we were there there…read morewas a drag queen who sang live and the entire bar to support her while doing so. The bartenders are kind and easy to love because they work hard at taking care of this non-stop high volume group of party people who frequent here. Im not sure who the Admiral Duncan is or was but I'm sure he would be so very proud.

Went with my husband and another couple. What a fun filled friendly crowd. The drag show was…read moredelightful! The staff were great! Will definitely visit again next time we're in town.

G-A-Y Bar has the tendency to the be the trashier option but we loved it very much as drinks are…read moreserved in plastic here still but the music is bumping and so are their crowds. This is great place to dance and enjoy new friends to dance with. Also this place was where Madonna performed 20 years ago and for that reason we will always make this place part of our evening.

Been a long time since I went to GAY. For nostalgia I thought I would pop in for one drink before…read moreheading home after seeing Priscilla at the Outer Net club (Highly recommend new night club under tottenham court road tube - Called Here @ outernet). It seems I managed to find the only Gay bar that is anti gay. The twink shop boy on the door starts to quiz me of when I last visited and refused to let "People like me in".... Darling I used to come here when Astoria was still a thing and before Jeremy Joseph even took over heaven. I hope grinder put's them out of business All I would say is stear clear there are better places to go. Ku Bar, Friendly Society & now Outernet. I had already been to those the night before hence trying GAY. Bit shocked to see so many other people have had a similar experience.

Okay, what a dump this place is. From the crappy interior with its beer stained pool tables and…read morethe disgusting toilets which you feel you need to be vaccinated against this place is not aiming itself at the pretty boy, immaculately presented gay boy. Saying that, i can't say i haven't had one or two very good nights getting trashed in here. It's very cruisy, gets very busy and there's a lack of pretension which is refreshing. This is not the place to take someone if you're trying to make an impression but if you're in the area you could actuallyhave a good time here.

I have no idea why but I love this place. It has nothing to do with me but still I went back. My…read morefavourite night is Friday, the music is amazing and the vibe quite surprising. There is a very good mix of people and no judgement. The place stinks like an old dirty pub, sometimes they make you pay £10 to enter which is a total rip off, Saturday nights are quite cheesy, the guy at the coat check is more than useless and must be on valium, which creates crazy lines to get you coat back, staff is just unfriendly and still needs to learn how to make G&Ts but hey maybe one should only drink beer there, no need to tip, I left £1 for each drink but never get a thank you or a better service for the 10 other drinks I bought. Don't think about it, be in a good mood and you'll have a blast. I did!