64 Old Compton Street to launch in Soho next week

Also in Soho, 64 Old Compton Street will serve a simple menu of accessibly priced classic Italian dishes.

The menu will be divided into three sections: Cold, Fritti & Baked; Pizzas & Salads; and Pasta, Risotto & Oven. 

Dishes will include baked portobello mushroom, sun-dried tomatoes, pomegranate salad; pizza ‘nduja, sausage meat, buffalo mozzarella; white pizza, wild mushroom and truffles; smoked chicken Caesar salad, garlic croutons, avocado, quail eggs; and linguine with tiger prawns, courgettes, garlic, chillies and white wine. 

Desserts include pistachio tiramisu; and affogato with amaretto. 

Safei, who lives as well as works in Soho, has designed 64 Old Compton Street to be somewhere ‘his neighbours will feel like they can drop into at any time, while also being a destination for anyone visiting the area and in search of a relaxed, homely Italian meal’.

Design details include a bold red fascia sporting the venue’s gold-and-black graphic logo; and a dark blue-painted, antique-strewn dining room that is as ‘intimate and louche, like Soho itself’.

The venture is proudly gay-owned, with Safei excited to be opening around the time of LGBTQ+ Pride in London.

“Since 2009 the wonderful people of Soho have taken 40 Dean Street to their hearts and many treat it like an extension of their home, office or hotel. But we were having to turn too many people away, so opening 64 Old Compton Street literally round the corner felt like the perfect solution,” Safei says.

“Despite their close proximity, they’re very much their own restaurants with their own personalities – 40 is the older gay brother who’s been around for a while and knows where the party’s at, while 64 is the cool lesbian sister who’s new on the scene but intends to make her presence felt. I hope people will love them equally!”

64 Old Compton Street will be officially open from 3 July and will trade from 12pm until 11.30pm seven days a week.