Milroy's of Soho

Walk to Greek Street looking for a Milroy's sign and you will find one that says 3 Greek Street, because the shop renamed itself and the bottling business kept the old name (3 Greek Street, Milroy's).

Why go

John Milroy and his brother Wallace opened here in 1964 as Soho Wine Market, and the shop became Milroy's soon after. It claims to be the world's oldest whisky shop, and it says its early customers included the residents of 10 Downing Street (Milroy's).

The stock is the case for going. Over 200 whiskies, bought with a deliberate weighting toward independent bottlers and bottles that are hard to find elsewhere, from named indies like Chorlton Whiskies, the Italian bottler Hidden Spirits, and Decadent Drinks (3 Greek Street, Milroy's). The shop bottles under its own labels too, the Vintage Reserve and the Soho Selection. Its own account of why it can get what it gets is six decades of trade relationships.

There are two rooms. The shop at street level now has a bar in it, and a Tasting Room runs curated sessions for up to sixteen people. Downstairs, through a bookcase, is the Vault, a candlelit cocktail bar with a list the team writes itself (3 Greek Street).

Order this / avoid

• Order: a dram chosen at the counter rather than off a list, since the buying is the point. One of the house bottlings if you want something that exists nowhere else. An indie bottling from one of the three named above. A cocktail in the Vault.
• Avoid: hunting for the old sign. And a Sunday, if you want a long night: it opens at 2.30pm and closes at 10.30pm, against midnight the rest of the week.

What locals & experts say

• Lauren Bowes, The Spirits Business, October 2024, reporting the reopening: "Following a refurbishment that began in May, independent whisky specialist Milroy's has given its Soho shop and bar a new look and name... The new ground-floor bar will offer more than 200 whiskies to taste by the glass, with Highballs on tap." She reported the news rather than reviewing the place. ref
• Stephen Worral, managing director of 3 Greek Street, in the same piece: "The new 3 Greek Street site, comprising The Vault and our tasting room as well as the bar and shop, is all about releasing whisky from long-held mindsets." ref
• No review exists. No critic, guide entry, chef or bartender assessing this shop was reached on 1 August 2026, and the industry-vote file holds no pick under Milroy's or 3 Greek Street.
• The shop, on its own history: "As the world's oldest whisky shop, its name has evolved over six decades, but its reputation for quality and craftsmanship has remained constant... Since opening in 1964 as Soho Wine Market and later becoming Milroy's, our shop has been a cornerstone of the whisky industry." ref
• The business, on how it buys: "We specialise in independent bottlers and hard-to-find whiskies. Our expert buying team sources single rare bottles, thrilling casks, and everything in between... because we've built relationships across the trade for over six decades, we can access the really good stuff that you just don't find everywhere." ref

Good to know

• Where: 3 Greek Street W1D 4NX, at the Soho Square end. Look for the number on the door.
• The name: the shop trades as 3 Greek Street. Milroy's is the bottling and online business at milroysofsoho.com. Same family of business, two names.
• Timing: Monday to Saturday 10.30am to midnight. Sunday 2.30pm to 10.30pm.
• Booking: walk in for the shop and the bar. Tastings are booked, up to sixteen people.
• Three floors: the whisky bar and shop at street level, the tasting room on the first floor, and the Vault cocktail bar on the lower ground, all reworked in the 2024 refurbishment.
• Also here: a Mac-Talla Lighthouse Bar for the Islay bottler, and Monday Jazz Nights, both reported at the October 2024 reopening.
• Hygiene: the FSA registers this premises as "3 Greek Street", basement and ground floor, rating 5, inspected 15 June 2022, Westminster, with all three components at 5. Four years old, which is the last inspection on file. FHRSID 413777. ref

Jeff's take (his words)

• Note: none. His raw saved-places export carries an empty Note against this row. The master line "Historic whisky shop with The Vault bar below" is curation text, and both halves were verified first-party before being used: the shop dates to 1964 and the Vault is still there behind the bookcase.

Verdict (Chef Jeff ladder)

should-visit — Worth the detour, and go knowing what the sign says. The shop at 3 Greek Street opened in 1964 as Soho Wine Market, became Milroy's under John and Wallace Milroy, and now trades under the street address itself, while Milroy's continues as the bottling and online business. It calls itself the world's oldest whisky shop. What is actually on the shelves is the argument: over 200 whiskies, weighted toward independent bottlers and hard-to-find bottles, with named indies like Chorlton, Hidden Spirits and Decadent Drinks, and two of the shop's own labels, the Vintage Reserve and the Soho Selection. Sixty-two years of trade relationships is what buys access to that, and it is the kind of depth that does not need to rotate to be craft. You can drink there as well as buy. The Tasting Room runs curated sessions for up to sixteen, and through a bookcase in the shop is the Vault, an underground candlelit cocktail bar with its own list. Open to midnight six nights, and 2.30pm to 10.30pm on a Sunday. The one caveat is that nobody has reviewed it. The only outside source is a trade report of the October 2024 reopening, so the assessment of what is on the shelves is still the shop's own.