London’s most flamboyant postcode has welcomed a theatrical hotel with the chutzpah to rival the most glittering West End show. Broadwick Soho’s dazzling looks — name up in lights on the exterior, pink elephant statues in top hat and tails over the entrance, lacquered ceilings, staff in leopard print jackets or stripy jumpsuits — is the work of design’s greatest showman, Martin Brudnizki. It’s his first hotel in London. Same for the owner, Noel Hayden, who grew up in his family’s hotel, Mon Ami, in Bournemouth. At an early age he was an assistant to his magician father — look out for the photo in the glitzy rooftop bar, Flute. That sense of performance pervades. It’s fun and fabulous. There’s a Francis Bacon in reception, Warhol lithographs in the private dining room and those elephants (the hotel’s mascot) crop up all over the place; on the wallpaper, as a whimsical brass bar cart, on the front-door knocker. Guests can watch the world go by from the terrace of Bar Jackie (where breakfast is served) or descend to the Italian-style restaurant, Dear Jackie, a perfectly lit den, ideal for intimate negronis.
Overall score 10/10
Main photo: Broadwick Soho, London
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Rooms and suites
Score 10/10
There are 57 rooms (nine of them suites), all exquisitely turned out. Even the standard room has a trompe l’oeil wardrobe and a bathroom decked in blue leopard-print wallpaper. In the suites, bathrooms are a restful concoction of white and green marble and the bedrooms come with that elephant drinks trolley (Torres crisps, chianti). I love the green glass framed mirrors, made in Murano, and the shimmery lighting. Better still, the chunky bedside lamps turn on at the push of an actual switch. You won’t want to stay in, but there are free films and an iPad loaded with newspapers and magazines; perfect for lazy weekend mornings between the silky Frette sheets.
Food and drink
Score 9/10
With its red and white-striped Murano lighting, red silk walls and intimate booths, Dear Jackie feels illicit. One diner is in a strapless, floor-length black velvet gown, which, between courses, she removes (not at the table) to reveal a silver dress beneath; another is the image of a young Andy Warhol. Chefs can be glimpsed working away behind a red curtain — more theatre. On the walls, a series of plates depict everything from aubergines to thigh-high boot-clad legs. The plates delivered to the table are equally diverting. My pasta starter (orecchiette, puttanesca, pangrattato) has a pleasing crunch and the monkfish main has an Italian twist: cime di rapa. Of course, the homemade gelatos and sorbets are as good as you’d find in Italy. Repair to glamorous Flute for a DJ creating a party atmosphere and a glimpse of the Shard sparkling on the horizon. Breakfast (Burford Browns whichever way, coconut chia pudding, brioche French toast) is at a counter table, which somehow feels so Soho, in Bar Jackie, where even the speakers match the dark pink walls. This is also the place for Italian aperitivos.
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What else is there?
Score n/a
What more could you want? Perhaps a nook with a fireplace for cosy after hours (or after shopping) revelry/flopping. They have one (for guests only) with dinky cocktail chairs, a vintage record player and plenty of inviting corners.
Where is it?
Score 10/10
In the heart of Soho on Broadwick Street, minutes from colourful Carnaby Street, Berwick Street’s fabric shops, Liberty, Oxford Street, theatreland, Chinatown and Trafalgar Square. The thick of it, in the best possible way.
Price B&B doubles from £595
Restaurant mains from £24
Family-friendly Y
Dog-friendly N
Accessible Y (six of the rooms are accessible)
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