Soho · Westminster
The French House
Only halves served, ever, since the 1920s.
- Address49 Dean Street, Soho, London W1D 5BG
- Phone020 7437 2477
- Websitefrenchhousesoho.com
- OwnershipIndependent pub
About The French House
The wartime base of Charles de Gaulle's Free French, where beer is still served exclusively in halves and the walls carry Soho's bohemian ghosts.
Originally the York Minster, this tiny Dean Street pub became the unofficial headquarters of the Free French forces during the Second World War, and legend holds that de Gaulle drafted his rallying broadcasts here. It later drew Dylan Thomas, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and generations of Soho's literary drinkers. There's no music, no television and, famously, no pints — only halves, a rule instituted in the 1920s to keep conversation flowing rather than heads spinning.
On tap
House pastis and a compact wine list alongside beer served strictly in halves, per house tradition.
Food
A short bar menu of French-inflected snacks; the upstairs dining room does more substantial plates.
More pubs in Soho
- The Coach and HorsesSoho's rudest, most beloved literary local since 1724.
- The Dog and DuckA Grade II Victorian gem with an Orwell room upstairs.
- The Blue PostsA 1739 Soho local stacked three storeys deep.