Village Soho

One of the best gay bars in London! Ivan, the bartender, is amazing, professional, funny, and genuinely lovely. He definitely deserves a pay rise! 😁 Vivian Bam Bam is the best DJ I've come across in any bar so far. Their music selection and style can keep people dancing all night, even without a drop of alcohol. Village is an absolute must-visit if you want to have a fantastic night out in London.

Security staff great, bar staff friendly. Been a regular here for the last 13 years. The management is awful. The manager turns the music up to unhealthy levels and closes his eyes to anyone else. Drives the punters to the other side of the bar due to horrendous noise for the terrible 8pm “entertainment”. Horrible little man attitude, walks around oblivious to customer needs. Staff don’t even like him. Sooner he goes the better.

★☆☆☆☆ – Disgraceful Treatment by Security Staff I visited The Village Bar last night and was left completely humiliated by the unprofessional behaviour of the security team at the door. Without any valid reason, I was refused entry by one of the security guards. When I politely asked why, he told me I needed a booking — yet I watched multiple other guests walk straight through the door ahead of me with no booking required and no questions asked whatsoever. To make matters worse, the guard's behaviour was downright rude and disrespectful. Instead of giving me a proper explanation, he started asking me completely irrelevant and humiliating questions — including asking me where the toilet was. What kind of door policy is that? Why would a security guard ask a customer something like that? It felt intentionally demeaning and made the whole experience even more upsetting. There was no sign, no notice, and no prior communication to suggest any booking policy was in place. The rules were clearly being applied selectively, and the treatment I received was embarrassing and deeply unfair. I expect a venue of this nature to train its door staff to treat ALL customers equally and with basic human dignity. This kind of dismissive, inconsistent, and frankly insulting behaviour is completely unacceptable. I will not be returning, and I strongly urge management to take a serious look at how their security team is conducting itself.

I wanted to leave a review to say a genuine thank you to Village Bar for taking customer safety seriously. I was there on an evening when a person wearing a witch’s hat was refused entry/barred, and I really appreciated how professionally and calmly the situation was handled. It was reassuring to see staff act decisively rather than ignore potential issues. A couple of weeks before that, the same individual had tried to steal my friend’s handbag and phone from our table. It was a really uncomfortable experience at the time, and it honestly made us feel a bit uneasy about coming back out. So seeing the team recognise the situation and take action showed that they do pay attention and care about their customers. The staff were attentive, aware of what was going on around them, and clearly prioritised the safety of everyone inside. That kind of vigilance makes a huge difference, especially on busy nights. Because of how seriously they handled it, I feel much more confident returning. It’s good to know that Village Bar doesn’t just focus on having a good atmosphere, but also on making sure their customers feel safe and protected. Thank you again to the team — we’ll definitely be back.

I walked up to the door alone and was refused entry because “no singles allowed” this is a bizarre policy. As someone who travels solo often i have never experienced this excuse before and cant wrap my head around why you wouldnt allow a single person to enter. Another single person in the line behind me even tried to tell them that i can join him and the bouncer refused, and let that person is as a single person while putting an arm out to push me to the side. Keep in mind i was sober so being drunk was not an excuse, the only other reason i can think of is that im visibly Arab so was refused entry based on that (i really hope thats not the case). The owner states “health and safety concerns” as a reason but doesnt explain how a single person going for a drink is a health and safety concern? Edit: the owners answer is complete BS for a number of reasons. 1. A white twink walked in alone with no issues 2. I was meeting a date for a drink inside, which i relayed to the bouncer, she didnt care and still refused me entry 3. She asked me random quesions about the layout of the place, which i answered because ive been there before. Which shows it was more about me looking like a threat and not a gay patron (i.e my ethnicity) rather than a “health and safety issue” 4. I have been to GAY, Feedom, Shadow Lounge (when it was open) , Admiral etc all solo with no issues.