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As all Soho regulars know, The French House is special. Located at 49 Dean Street, Soho, London and previously known as the York Minster, it’s name morphed to “the French place” or “the French house” during the Second World War. The story is that after the fall of France, General Charles de Gaulle escaped to London where he formed the Free French Forces. His speech rallying the French people, “À tous les Français”, is said to have been written in the pub. The legend carries on, and today the pub sells more Ricard than anywhere else in Britain.
The notoriety of the French and its place in the heart of every Soho regular continues. As Clive Jennings said of that “lethal triangle of The French, The Coach & Horses and The Colony were the staging points of the Dean Street shuffle, with occasional forays into other joints such as The Gargoyle or the Mandrake … The Groucho or Blacks”.
An aural map of Soho that rings bells with me.
More relevantly to this specific time of year is that it ordinarily only serves beer in half pint glasses. The story has it that the half-pint rule was out in place in the 1920s by then landlord Victor Berlemont when a group of sailors used smashed pint glasses during a mini-riot.
But for the last 15 years the pub has set aside the rule on April Fool’s Day to raise money for various charities by selling beer to customers in pint glasses. In recent years it has become a further part of the tradition for Suggs to pull the first pint.
A few beers at the French has always been a good way to kick off an evening in Soho. Tomorrow you can have them in pint glasses and just stay there all day. See you there!
The French House – 49 Dean Street, Soho
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