The Social is a brilliant place to go for lunch round the Oxford Circus area. It’s trendy and has two floors, the basement of which is used for a variety of club nights each evening.

Food wise, there are only 5 tables so you have to time your dining well if you want to get a table. The food ranges from Square Pies to various things on toast (beans, cheese etc), yummy salads, piles of nachos and sandwiches (including the very popular fish finger sandwich!) It can take quite a while for food to arrive, but I recommend the Tuna Melt. It’s yummy in a really dirty kind of way!

There’s also a brilliant jukebox filled mainly with retro & non mainstream music, including some from Heavenly Records who part own The Social.

Very much recommended!

The boys in my office dragged me here for lunch today. I’m feeling really hungover and rubbish today so I needed some comfort food to make me feel better. (Note to self, drinking bottles of wine in Gordon’s wine bar all night is not a good idea on an empty stomach).

The Social is a strange looking place. It doesn’t look like a bar. It’s a wierd long corridor place and, well, it actually looks like a youth club/ bar/ pub/ american diner. I’m confused. But then I notice that the staff wear T-Shirts that say ‘social worker’ on them which makes me happy.

We had pie and mash and the pies were from the famous and brilliant Sqaure Pie company. Decent gravy and a fair amount of mash. Not too shabby. Yummy in fact. We did have to wait a while, but we didn’t notice as we were too busy giggling like children. We were having a very serious conversation about why you wouldn’t want to lose your little finger.

It was empty when we got there but thankfully filled up as it was a bit strange being the only people in there. It’s small too. I know there’s a club downstairs so I guess it’s busier in the evening.

They get four points becuase the food was great, otherwise, I’d have probably have given them a three.

But they need to turn the air con off. We sat there shivering like little penguins. Never mind. My hangover has nearly gone.

Well its a definite on a night when the hip hop karaoke is on. Once a month in the downstairs. You will need to get there early to get a prime spot and, if you are really jammy, a seat. Its standing room only after 6.30 in there. You have to sign up before 7pm but this is often extended. Its one of those ones where the entertainment is the background and not really the main reason for being their. No one is excellent although the scary thing are those that have clearly spent the last month practising.

The drinks are reasonably priced, the shooters are a riot and a must if you are planning to perform. The audience is mixed which means you can go with either an after work crewe or roll with your own posse. If you are lucky enough to have one. Average age would be late twenties to early thirties I would say.

The upstairs is a bit more serious. Drinking, eating type set up is more de jour whereas downstairs you can have a bit of a dance after the main show.

It always takes a while to get going but its so worth the laugh. but funnily enough because it closes early, say 1pm its just not one that I go to for any other reason.

Home of the infamous hip-hop karaoke, but also not such a bad place to have a meeting in the afternoon, when it’s fairly empty, central, and has decent seats. I’ve not been in the evening yet but by the sound of the rest of the rave reviews, I should come back. No real ale but they do have a tasty Breton cider in bottles that’s well worth a go.

Nestled behind oxford circus probably one of the most logistically challenged bar but it works. Consistently good nights, a good crowd and the friendliest bouncer in London. Cracking any day of the week and serves a mean fish finger sarnie if you happen to be peckish.