September 28, 2026
Kingly Street sits just off Carnaby, close to the crowds but quiet enough to escape them. That's where you'll find Bar Crispin, a small wine bar with an outsized reputation among people who care what's in their glass.
It's easy to walk past. The frontage is understated and the room only seats a handful of tables. But that's the appeal. Regulars mention this place quietly rather than shout about it, and once you've been you understand why.
The list leans hard into low-intervention winemaking. Small growers working organically or biodynamically, sourced from across Europe, from Greek islands to volcanic vineyards in Sicily and northern Spain. Some names you'll recognise. Most you won't, and that's the point.
Because the merchants are independent the list turns over often. A bottle you loved last month might already be gone, swapped for something equally interesting from a different corner of the map. Staff talk you through what's open that night rather than push the safest pour, so the room works whether you already know your amphora wines from your pét-nats or you're still working that out. Current bottles are listed on the wine and food menu.
The kitchen follows the same instinct as the cellar. Playful, seasonal, nothing overworked. Monkfish crudo with blood orange and chilli. A rich crab rarebit with chives. Lamb skewers lifted by labneh and spiced carrots. Comté gougères with pickled walnut ketchup make a good opener. The fries have their own following.
Bring people and order across the table rather than one dish each. It's built for grazing, and it's the better way to taste what the kitchen's actually doing that week.
Walk-ins are welcome but the bar fills fast once the working day ends and the Carnaby crowd spills in. If a private space suits your evening better, the 14-seat cellar room known as the Green Room handles smaller dinners and tastings. Worth booking early given how few seats it holds. Details sit on the private hire and catering page.
19 Kingly Street, a short walk from Carnaby Street, Regent Street, and Oxford Circus station. Despite sitting minutes from the busiest stretch of the West End, it keeps the pace of a neighbourhood bar.
Address: 19 Kingly Street, Soho, London, W1B 5PY
Phone: +44 (0)20 8050 0373
Email: bar@crispinlondon.com
Hours: Mon–Sat 12pm–9:30pm, Sun 1pm–9pm
Bar Crispin isn't chasing attention. Good wine, well sourced, alongside food that doesn't overcomplicate things. That's the whole pitch, and it holds up. For a walkthrough of what to actually order, see what to order at Bar Crispin
