Balans Soho No. 34 (the little one) Formerly: Old Compton Cafe / Balans Soho Society Café (aka Soho Café)

One of two major Soho outlets in the gay café/brasserie chain Balans. The mothership Balans, at 60 Old Compton St [see entry], remains the first point of call for many visiting gays. However, this corner establishment might have the edge, particularly with its optimum use of Soho-cruisy window seating on both ‘gay catwalk’ Old Compton St and Frith St, not to mention a generous pick of pavement tables and chairs. In contrast to its local sibling, this was (pre- COVID) a 24-hour affair (including takeaway), but it's not back to normal hours. Food is neither inexpensive nor super-pricey, ranging from extended-hours breakfasts (fry-ups, eggs benedict and much more) to comfort food (salt beef sandwich, chicken enchilada etc); the standard is decent, though they won't do a burger any rarer than grey-medium (local law). While Balans now refers to this spot as "the little one" (to distinguish itself from the mothership at the other end of the street), this restaurant stands on a spot where four different businesses once thrived, including the original Old Compton Café, where in 1987 the Balans story begins. Current owner David Taylor joined two of the café’s three co-founders – his old friend Prady Balan and wife Sally — in 1989, when the establishment went round-the-clock. This became Soho’s gay haven in the 1990s, as the Soho Café, and in 2015 the then expanding chain stepped up its rebranding as 'Balans Soho Society', and in October reinvented its pint-sized Soho Café as an airy, cosy, urban-rustic café-bar four times the original size.