Get a front row seat to a West End show at The Room Where it Happens - Soho's newest theatre bar

One of the best things about London has to be the West End - streets after winding streets of some of the most incredible theatre and musicals in the world. It’s almost hard to choose which is better, London’s theatre district or its bars and restaurants. Maybe that age-old question is at an end, though, married together at Soho’s newest musical theatre bar - The Room Where It Happens.

It may feel like a cliche that actors and performers are just waiters in between gigs, but unfortunately, it’s one for a reason (trust me). So why not combine the two? Enter The Room Where it Happens (yes, named after that Hamilton song) - a place where your servers all sing, where it’s showtunes and starters, meals with musicals, cocktails and cabaret.

Where is it?

As you’d expect from any self-respecting theatre bar, it’s in the heart of Soho in said theatre district. Specifically, it’s on Greek Street, right by Soho Square Gardens and round the corner from Ronnie Scott’s in case you fancy making a musical night of it.

What's special?

Look, we all love the buzz of London’s theatre and music scene - it’s the face that draws in a thousand tourists every year. However, between all the general admin and work that comes with adult life (boring), it can be easy to not take full advantage of the city. Also, you can get caught in a rut between not wanting to shell out more than £35 for a ticket but also a little bit tired of only having restricted view seats where you have a very scenic view of a pillar and leave with a cricked neck.

All the waiting team at The Room Where it Happens are insanely talented inbetween-west-end-show performers and will be serving up your favourite musical numbers alongside your drinks. We're not talking a stumble and a tumble with a badly rigged mic in the corner, we're talking a live pianist and singing so incredible it will have you tearing up and wanting to join in.

What's new?

The whole thing only opened up fairly recently, so it isn’t yet flooded by tourists and musical theatre kids. We hesitate to say secret spot (nowhere in the city can be labelled that), but it's little-known considering how fun it is.

Who should you bring?

Pretty self-explanatory, but bring anyone who loves a good old musical - that friend who has showbiz in their blood, just not in their day job.

It’s a great place to bring people who are visiting London - think parents, siblings, friends from abroad. Whoever it is in your life who wants the version of London that feels like it’s come out of an American-written Netflix show about England.

What should you wear?

Despite being a quite literally all singing, all dancing kind of place, you could probably turn up in a full Elizabethan style regency ruff and not many people would bat an eyelid - although they may expect a verse from SIX or something.

Jokes aside, it’s a very casual place which is more about the experience than anything else, so you can turn up in relaxed weekend garms, or your office 'fit. After 10 minutes, you’ll be so immersed in the environment that you’ll probably forget you’re wearing clothes at all.

How does it work?

The live music performances take place from 5pm on weekdays and Sundays, and from 12pm on Saturdays. There are request slips on your table which you can fill out and pass to your singing servers. Although, just to note, when we saying singing servers, they’re not singing as they actually take your order - no-one’s breaking into an operatic chorus of one large glass of house wine and a mojitoooooooo for everyone to hear. Not yet, anyway.

Each server has songs or musicals that they do, so you’ll get about six different people performing in an hour visit. From 9pm it’s finally your turn to take the mic; we’re not talking some kind of cringeworthy open mic karaoke, but a classic theatre-kid style gathering around the piano where you all sing together. So whether you’re a confident soprano or a strictly shower-only singer, you can get involved without feeling like the spotlight is solely on you. (Although just to reassure anyone whose had nightmares that followed this structure, singing is 100% not compulsory.)

What are the prices like?

It feels like you should have to pay entry to get into The Room Where it Happens, but they are doing God’s work (for broke twenty-somethings at least), by keeping entry totally free.

They have a specialised cocktail menu which honours some of the most iconic West End Performers in history - there’s The Cynthia, The Judy, The Groff & Bailey, and if you’re not sure who any of those drinks are referring to, then this probably isn’t a place for you. As well as the speciality cocktails, they still have all your favourites like a Negroni, an Old Fashioned, and a Naked & Famous. These will all set you back around £14 or £15, but considering you get to request your favourite songs, and you have bona-fide West End performers singing directly to you in a room of about 30 people, it feels like a good deal all in all.

They run happy hours too, every weekday from 5-7pm on selected drinks including cocktails, pints, wine, and beer, so it's worth keeping an eye out for those.

The Unmissables

Usually, for a Guestlist review, the unmissables typically centre around one dish or drink that was a standout. For this place, it’s the experience that is unmissable.

If you’re someone who gets goosebumps and/or chills listening to live music (or even recorded music), you shouldn’t miss this place. It’s a heartwarming, uplifting experience which brings all the joy that music usually delivers, but with a sparkle of something a little more special.

What to skip

Even though they serve up proper grub, a couple of drinks and maybe a bar snack or two is all you need. A bit like when you go to the theatre, it’s the performance you’re there for first, everything else comes second.

The verdict

Go. It’s the closest you’ll ever get to living a scene from a film.

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