If you've walked down Old Compton Street on a Friday evening, you already know what makes it special. The pavement is full, every restaurant has people spilling out of the doors, and there's an energy to the street that you don't get anywhere else in London. It's one of those places where you come for dinner and end up spending the whole night in the neighbourhood. But Old Compton Street didn't become this way by accident. The street has been at the centre of Soho life for over 300 years, shaped by waves of artists, musicians, and communities that made it their own.
Image credit: Daniel Gynn
A Street Built in the 1670s
The first houses on Old Compton Street appeared in 1677, making it one of the early streets in Soho. It was named after Henry Compton, the Bishop of London, who helped fund St Anne's Church nearby and was known for protecting French Huguenot refugees fleeing persecution in France. By 1683, the street was fully built, and within a few decades it had become a busy mix of watchmakers, booksellers, grocers, and traders. The name was originally just "Compton Street" - the "Old" was added in 1896 to tell it apart from other Compton Streets across London.
Those early years set the tone for what Old Compton Street would become - a street that welcomed people from all over.
Image credit: James Kirkup
The Italian Families Who Shaped Soho
The Italian connection to Soho really took hold in the 1920s. Italian families arrived in the area and opened grocers, delis, bakeries, and restaurants across streets like Old Compton Street, Frith Street, and Brewer Street, giving the whole neighbourhood a distinctly Italian feel. They brought fresh pasta, cured meats, and a way of eating that most Londoners weren't used to at the time. By the middle of the 20th century, the Italian influence on the street was unmistakable - the smells, the sounds, the way people gathered around tables with good food and good wine.
Some of those businesses lasted for generations, and the Italian community became the backbone of Soho's food scene - the waiters, chefs, grocers, and importers that built its reputation for Italian food. That legacy is still felt
Image credit: Call me fred
The Birthplace of British Rock and Roll
In 1956, a coffee bar called the 2i's opened at 59 Old Compton Street and quickly became the most important music venue in the country. Artists were performing Elvis Presley covers to packed basement rooms, record labels were sending scouts to find the next big thing, and the venue became widely credited as the birthplace of British rock and roll. It stayed open until 1970.
The 2i's closed in 1970 but the street never slowed down. What started as a music hub became one of London's most popular streets for food, drink, and nightlife.
Image credit: Nefeli Karanikola
The Heart of Gay London
Old Compton Street has been a gathering point for London's LGBTQ+ community since the 1970s, and by the early 1990s it was firmly established as the heart of gay London. The bars, cafes, and restaurants on the street became places where people could be themselves, and the community gave the area a spirit of openness and celebration that still defines it today.
The LGBTQ+ community shaped the personality of the street in a way that's hard to overstate. The openness, the colour, the feeling that you can be whoever you want to be on this street - a lot of that comes from the people who made Old Compton Street their home.
If you've been on Old Compton Street during Pride, you'll know there's nothing else like it in London - the whole street turns into a celebration that pulls in everyone walking past.
Image credit: Daniel Gynn
Old Compton Street Today
Walk down Old Compton Street now and you'll find a mix of everything that's shaped it over the centuries - Italian restaurants serving fresh pasta alongside coffee shops, cocktail bars, and independent businesses. The street has changed a lot since 1677, but it still has some of the best people-watching in London and an atmosphere that keeps people coming back.
Soho has always attracted people who want to be somewhere with a bit of personality, and Old Compton Street has more of it than anywhere else in the area. Businesses that have been here for decades sit alongside places that opened last year, and they all feel like part of the same street.
Our Place on the Street
64 Old Compton Street is proud to be part of this street's story. We serve handmade pasta, Italian wines, and house cocktails in a room that looks out onto one of London's best streets. If you haven't visited yet, come and see what Old Compton Street is all about.