If there is one thing you have to remember when you are out on a lunch break in Soho and looking for food, it is that you can find many places that provide tasty, good value and fun options. Whether you want to grab something on the go, or perhaps sit back and enjoy your meal for an hour, you will find Soho quite accommodating. Here are a few places that you should check out: 

• L’Escargot – this restaurant is for the people that will appreciate a nice crystal chandelier and a curious meal, such flambéed snails in pastis. L’Escargot is perhaps the oldest French restaurant in Soho. It is also one of the best places to grab some food, and it is 100% true to the area. You can get yourself a nice and classy lunch, which still fits into the casual enough category, with buffet and prix fixe options. 
  
  
• Inko Niko – located on Broadwick street, Inko Niko is one of the most notable restaurants, thanks to its great logo. In here, you can find amazing charred coconut soft serve for a fiver. If you hated cauliflower as a child, this is the place to rediscover your new love for it, because they have an impressive recipe with parmesan and panko crunch with grilled cauliflower that will leave you wanting for more. It is a fun place, where you can just grab yourself a stool and sit on one of the many-sided counters, appreciating the unique atmosphere of the place. 
  
  
• Kêu – a casual Vietnamese café with a Soho branch stands as a reliable option for all those who love Banh mi’s. It also has a nice selection of roast duck and roast pork dishes. The meat and rice dishes on the menu always have customers coming back for more. It is a great place to get a delicious lunch in less than an hour. 
  
  
• Tongue & Brisket – if you don’t like making your sandwiches at home, then this is the place you need to come to. You will find they are adamant about putting plenty of delicious food between the bread. They have some of the best classics, like smoked salmon and roast turkey, but also interesting new options like chicken schnitzel, ox tongue and chopped liver. Perhaps the most notable signature sandwich here is the salt beef. It is the place to visit for a sandwich that will keep you going till dinner.
   
• Yalla Yalla – this is the place to be when you want to sit back with colleagues and just have some good quality time. This restaurant is all about Beirut street food and there is something for everyone. With lots of vegetarian options, pomegranate juice and great chilli cherry caipirinhas for when you are having dinner after work. It is a walk-in only restaurant, so make sure you get there early. 
  
  
• The Golden Union Fish Bar – this is a great place to spend one hour of your lunch break. One might even say it is an essential one, with its cod, battered sausage and mushy peas meals. With interesting neon signs, comfortable chairs and an interior that is more than welcoming, the Golden Union fish bar is a solid pick in every situation.
  
  
• The Good Egg – this all-day café serves middle-eastern food and you can easily spend a lot of time browsing their rich menu of cocktails. Visitors wholeheartedly recommend the shawarmas and any food with aubergine. 
  
  

© Occupa Commercial Property Consultants

One of the areas in London that have seen progressive development and improvement over the years is without a doubt Soho. Long gone are the days of sex shops, strip clubs, shady dealings and consigned prostitution that filled the area. That is all history. And while there is still a sense of risqué living in this central neighbourhood of London, more and more young entrepreneurs and culture-loving families find it right for them. 

Soho is full of many architectural surprises. The streets lined with Georgian houses, a large number of which have blue plaques to celebrate popular residents contain many interesting venues. Townhouse clubs, theatres, restaurants and cafes contribute to a reputation of lively and fascinating nightlife. Many new incomers have chosen Soho, due to the number of conversions still taking place – warehouses and offices becoming residential properties help. The population has doubled. Particularly common are the young entrepreneurs and empty-nesters looking to downsize from family homes in the suburbs. 

More than half of all homes are rented, and not owner-occupied. The big office building developments by Derwent – 1 and 2 Soho Place are going nicely and bringing in more businesses to the area. With a new 600-seat theatre on the way, Soho is also becoming more attractive as a place to visit on a weekend. 

Property scene  

Many fine Georgian houses are located in Soho. For example, there is a 4-bedroom house with a traditional interior and boasting a roof terrace for sale on D’Arblay Street for £4.95 million. Another striking example is the 5-storey, 4-bedroom Georgian house on the market for £4.9 million by Make Architects Timothy Tan and Christina Leung. Soho is rich in period conversions on a level above ground-based restaurants and shops. There are also plenty of office-to-residential conversion schemes going on. 2-bedroom houses in Richmond Mews fetch about £2.5 million. 

The new-build homes 

There is a Galliard development called Tottenham Court Road West consisting of 81 studios of 1, 2 and 3-bedroom flats divided over 2 blocks on Dean Street. Summer 2022 is the target for completion. The studios start at about £975.000, 1-bedroom flats at £1.495.000, 2-bedroom flats at £1.69 million and 3-bedroom flats at £2.4 million. 

First-time buyers 

Westminster residents can take advantage of up to £54.500 that Westminster Home Ownership Accelerator provides. This is to help with buying a home in London, following any period of renting a subsidized flat to accumulate a certain amount of savings. Langill Road in Maida Vale has 1-bedroom flats available at about £1.000 and 2-bedroom flats available at about £1.576 a month. 

Renting in the area of Soho 

Rental homes in the area are always in demand because many people are working hours in nearby restaurants and entertainment venues. The studios start at about £1.500/month, with 1-bedroom flats being around £2.000 and 2-bedroom flats about £2.500 per month. If there are any homes in Soho that are the most popular, it has to be the short-et flats, with a minimum rental of 90 days. Rents range anywhere between £2.300 for a studio flat and go up to £6.500 for a 3-bedroom duplex. 

Transport 

Soho is a London district with superb Underground stations. There is one in each of its four corners. Oxford Circus is on the Central, Bakerloo and Victoria lines. Leicester Square is on the Piccadilly and Northern lines, Piccadilly Circus is on the Piccadilly and Bakerloo lines and Tottenham Court Road is on the Northern and Central lines. 

© Occupa Commercial Property Consultants

The area of Soho has long been regarded by Londoners and visitors to the capital alike as one of the most vibrant parts of the city. It seems its history of showing everyone around it some jolly time has given it quite the reputation for raucous nightlife, old-school pubs and so much more. Soho is a delightful mix of busy, sexy and grubby streets, where the sophisticated meet the unconventional. A lot of famous names have made it their home throughout various periods of history – Karl Marx, legendary musician Mozart and the famous band Sex Pistols. And while ‘sleazy’ is the word everyone thinks about when they consider Soho, the area has done a great deal to move beyond that. 

Today, it is like a tourist magnet, heading towards the West End shops. Young professionals dot the landscape, as they head to work, while patrons sample the finest foods and drinks in the restaurants around. When you take a stroll around, you will be able to soak in most of the wonders of the area. Here is where you can head while you are here: 

• Go for a stroll – when the weather is fine and you feel like it, you can check out the Golden Square and Soho Square, both of which are open. These are essentially sun traps, which usually attract many people. Be mindful of going there on the weekend, as free spots are premium. If you would much rather swerve the shade, check out the rooftops of Aqua Spirit, which is just off Regent Street. 

• Sway off the beaten track – if you wish to try out the unusual locations, then head down to Soho’s longest-running place for tattoos – Diamond Jacks. There is also a nice 1940s themed bar at Cahoots. 

• When it is raining – on what many would consider a regular day in London, you can go explore the ties that Soho has to the film industry. Shaftesbury Avenue is home to legendary Curzon. You can also check out Picturehouse on Piccadilly Circus. You can catch up to the latest blockbuster movies, or stop by an A-class play, both modern favourites and cult classics. There is enough to satisfy any taste. 

• Culture trip – The Photographer’s Gallery boasts an ever-changing programme of exhibitions, a bookshop and a delightful café. Being here means you won’t feel bored for a single second. There is also the option of Soho Theatre on Dean Street. It is highly-regarded by many theatre enthusiasts. You can check out some of the best up-and-coming comedians. A curious fact is that Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag debuted here. 

• Visit the bars – a great number of the bars in Soho stay up open till late. If you are a jazz enthusiast, then Ronnie Scott’s the place to be. If you are more into sweaty dance floors, then perhaps the atmosphere of G-A-Y will be more up your alley. El Camion is a fine bar for sipping tequilas till 3 am, so it is a nice place to visit if you are looking to stay late. 

As an area of London, Soho has managed to keep showing a unique face around. At the same time, it has soaked what the capital has to offer in terms of the environment. The result is an area that will hardly seem like any other, once you visit and stay for a while here. Soho is and will remain, an all-time tourist favourite hotspot. 

© Occupa Commercial Property Consultants

I love Soho. And finding out that the main plot of this book is set in one of my favourite places filled with fond memories of a previous place of employment, I had high hopes for this book. 

Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed. 

I still love that the British Library Crime Classics are reminding us of some great novels we would otherwise miss out on, but this was not one of them. 

For all I care, I'd happily never encounter Brandon's work again. Ever. 

Still, I guess there is some value in having this book as a reminder that publishing and crime fiction in general have, for the most part, moved on from creating pulpy, badly researched, slashers that base their entire plot on the portrayal of racism and tropes

. 

I even gave this book the benefit of my doubt as far as I could because I fully understand why some of the xenophobia was present in this story, but this story just does not work. Near enough the entire story is set in the immigrant communities, and yet, the only plot and tension was created because of the cliched portrayal of the groups of immigrants. I cannot even think of any one individual character who was portrayed as an individual human being. Not a single one.

Add to this some other ridiculousness - apparently, there was an espionage story in there somewhere -  and I seriously cannot think why any trees had to die for this particular re-issue. 

Taking a last glance back at the figure upon which the disgruntled doctor was now engaged in stripping of its misleading apparel, something struck him concerning it which, until that moment, had not.

The shaven head without the wig intensified tremendously the Teutonic caste of the dead man’s face, even masked in make-up as it was. There, unquestionably, was your Prussian of the officer class. During his many visits to the Continent upon police business he had seen dozens who might have been blood brothers of the dead man. He had little doubt that, when the face was eventually cleaned off, the scars of student duelling affairs would be found bitten into it.

‘Espionage, right enough,’ he murmured. ‘But in what connection, and who was sufficiently antagonistic to what you were up to, to make a slaughterhouse end of you, such as they have done?’

The book had a strong start but the latest revelations and assumptions have been entirely ridiculous, even for the time of original publication. 

This story is headed towards Passenger to Frankfurt territory if it doesn't manage to turn a corner fairly soon.