One of our first stops in Soho was the Algerian Coffee Stores on Old Compton Street, which has been around since 1887. The decor is a mix of Victorian and modern. They sell roughly 80 types of coffee beans, as well as tea and chocolate. There are no tables, but they’ll pull you a shot of espresso for £1 to drink while standing. I had one and it was delicious.
Soho Square is populated with some enormous trees. Josie stood beside this one for scale.
Before we even planned this trip to London I had it in my mind to seek out The John Snow Pub at Broadwick and Lexington. The pub is named after Dr. John Snow, famous for being the first to determine, using detailed maps, that cholera outbreaks were caused by contaminated water rather than by bad smells, as was commonly thought at the time.
After an outbreak in 1854, Snow’s maps showed that cases clustered around a public water pump near this spot. When officials removed the pump’s handle the outbreak stopped, proving him correct. This new understanding eventually lead to London’s modern sewage system, and as other cities copied it, cholera became a thing of the past.
The street layout in Soho has changed since the 1850’s but this plaque and red granite curb stone outside the John Snow pub mark the spot where the Broad Street Pump once stood. Until a few years ago it was marked by a fake pump handle that has (temporarily?) been removed due to nearby construction projects.
The story of John Snow’s cholera victory is colourfully told in a great book called The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson: both Josie and I read it years ago and really enjoyed it.
After our explorations we ate dinner at a lively Soho tapas spot called Ember Yard. The only seats available were at the chef’s counter, so we sat face-to-face with the guys expertly churning out plates of food, much of it prepared in a large wood grill they occasionally restocked with apple and birch wood. Aside from coming away smelling a bit smokey, it was a great fun experience and the food was excellent.
Clockwise from top left we enjoyed: grilled flatbread with honey, grilled asparagus with bottarga (cured fish roe), roasted potatoes with thyme and butter, and Jamón Ibérico that had been aged 5 years — this is the full leg from which they shaved off thin slices for us.
Our dessert of vanilla and almond cake with oranges and ricotta is not shown because we ate it too fast.