Byron

I allowed myself a bit of a lunch break today so I took a little wonder around Soho to see what’s still there and what’s not. In Wardour Street there is a new branch of Byron at the old The Intrepid Fox pub. Byron prides itself as a place to go for a proper Hamburger. I’m not sure its USP is enough to make it stand out from the Gourmet Burger Company, Hamburger Union and other such places. Do people really want to spend £6.25 for a burger in a bun and £2.75 for fries? Anyway I digress – it’s a shame The Intrepid Fox is no longer a dark and dingey pub serving booze for the local colourful community. The interior is all spruced up and you can now see right into the building, with shiny glazed tiles and effiecient looking staff in uniform. It’s a far cry from how it used to be.

When I was a fashion student I used to pop into Soho to gather fabric swatches for projects. Those fabric stores must have hated us students as they always knew we were never going to buy anything. Not that I was ever like those obnoxious contestants as seen on Project Catwalk. After a busy afternoon we used to head to The O Bar next door to the Intrepid Fox for their spectacular happy hour – bring on the cocktail pitchers! One time it was so rammed we thought we would try our luck next door at The Intrepid Fox. Our first mistake was not looking like an extra from Clockwork Orange. The second mistake was when one of our group tried to order a Perrier instead of a pint (why I will never know…). It wasn’t like we were made to feel unwelcome but we really did look out of place there and it did take forever to get served as the barman totally ignored us. OK so not very fond memories of the pub but it is such a shame that  a little bit of the real Soho has now gone.