A pub that only sells pints one day of the year, namely 1 April? Must be an April Fool’s, right? Except it’s not.
The French House on Dean Street — originally called the Wine House, and later the York Minster — is one of Soho’s best-loved pubs. A throwback to the stewed glory days of Soho, its photo-trimmed walls ricochet with tales, such as the time Dylan Thomas mislaid his manuscript for Under Milk Wood here. How many more stories like this must have been lost to the sands of time/dregs of drunkenness.
The French House is known for something else, too: only selling beer in half pints. Stories circulate about why this is so. Time Out claims it stems back to an incident in the 1920s, when a bunch of sailors started breaking pint glasses over each others’ heads. Londonopia suggests a more prosaic reason: that serving beer in smaller measures promotes the practise of folk chatting to one another, rather than slogging away at vast amounts of liquid. When Londonist asked the French House, they remained tight-lipped on the reason, but whatever it is, it’s London lore that you cannot get a pint in the French House.
That is, unless you visit on Pints Day — an event that started around 2000, and which falls on 1 April (or, if 1 April date lands on a weekend, the closest weekday to it). On Pints Day, and Pints Day alone — this year it’s Tuesday 1 April 2025 — antique pint glasses are ferried up from the cellar, given a good rinse, and the beer flows at twice the usual rate.
The first pint of the day is not just served by any old bartender. “Suggs has poured the first pint for at least 23 of those years,” French House landlady Lesley Lewis tells Londonist. In 2025, however, the Madness frontman is unable to make it, and another celebrity pourer will be doing the honours. However, the pub is keeping shtum about who that might be. You’ll just have to shirk off work to find out.
Other celebs spotted behind the bar on Pints Day include DJ Nick Grimshaw, political commentator Robert Peston, actor Ken Stott and chef Angela Hartnett. It’s a bit like a lock-in with some of the country’s best-known faces.
As well as being a quirky excuse for a drink, pints are auctioned off — alongside a few framed photos and paintings — between 2pm and 4pm, in aid of Soho Parish School .”We have various pourers coming and the pints often go for over £100,” says Lesley, “Ken Stott’s went for £240!” Who says that no good can come from daytime drinking?
Pints Day is not the only eccentric event to unfold at the French House. Each July, the Soho Waiter’s Race sets off from outside the pub.
Pints Day at the French House, Soho, Tuesday 1 April 2025, from opening at 11.30am
All images © Peter Clark — check out more superb work on his website.
