Soho’s
Parklands Rd, Westlands
Tel: +254-20-3745710

Nairobians, where do you go when you are in the mood for some serious dancing (and by that I do not mean structured dancing like salsa)? I mean shake-a-leg dancing when you truly want to bust a move and express yourself? For me, hands down, it boils down to one of two places – Dolce on Koinange Street or Soho’s in Westlands. Today, I would like to tell you about the latter!

Soho’s is located near Unga House, not far from the crafts market across from Sarit. I start with its location because it always surprises me when I find someone who doesn’t know where Soho’s is. Surprisingly, this happens often enough.

As I was saying, Soho’s is a bar/club in Westlands. I am not quite sure how to express how much I like Soho’s, so let me just start by describing it physically. Soho’s has 3 distictive sections. As you enter the establishment, the first area you come to is an outdoor area which feels more like a bar than a club, followed by an indoor bar area and dance floor downstairs, and lastly, if you venture further, you get to the VIP section upstairs. Yes, Soho’s is a two-level nightclub. What’s cool about these two levels is that they are not entirely separate from each other but rather, the VIP section overlooks the dance floor below – sort of like a mezzanine.

I first fell in love with Soho’s because of the downstairs bar and dance floor area. I loved the ambiance – I felt it was really all about dancing. The music at Soho’s always has me jumping to my feet at almost every song! Soho’s is one of those place where everyone is so focused on having a good time that they mind their own business, allowing you to dance whichever way you want. Soho’s is also one of the few places in Nairobi where you can just turn around and dance with a stranger acceptably. I don’t know what it is about Soho’s, but as I say, people are normally in a jovial mood and just out to have a good time. I’ve spent many late nights dancing away at Soho’s. I am ashamed to say that the club even once closed on my friends and me when we were having too much fun to call it quits of our own accord.

Recently, I have a renewed love for Soho’s – this time not for the downstairs section (which is still pretty hot) but for the upstairs VIP section. Let’s be clear on one thing: I am not a Soho’s VIP! Somehow though, lately, I’ve been finding myself in the VIP section more often than before. Somehow, the company I am with always heads up to this section.

When I first went to Soho’s VIP, I thought it was completely boring and wannabe. I felt that the real partying took place downstairs. When a good song would come on, I would quickly run downstairs to really enjoy it. Over time though, I’ve come to love the atmosphere upstairs. I’ve learned to appreciate the spaciousness there as well as the company I find there (I am not being a snob or anything, I just keep finding a lot of good lost long friends there, and bump into new interesting acquaintances all the time). I also love the fact that it’s so much easier to get a drink upstairs because of the lower patrons-to-bar ratio.

Upstairs or downstairs, I think Soho’s is just a lot of fun. If you are looking for a place to hang out at which is not too chaotic and has a decent enough age group (sorry young’uns – that means not you ) you need to check it out.

I advise you not to do so too early in the night though. Soho’s seems to pick up well after midnight, sometimes even as late as 1 a.m. If you get there too long before midnight, you get a totally different (understand: quiet) feel and might be tempted to leave before the fun truly begins.

If you try it out, I would love to hear what you have to say. If you have been to Soho’s before, does my review do it justice, or is there something I’m missing out?

I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Biche

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