Acoustic and Sound Design in Soho
Soho packs more hospitality into less space than almost anywhere in London. Restaurants, bars and members’ clubs sit wall to wall, often with residential flats above and licensing conditions that make noise control non-negotiable. These are small, characterful, hard surfaced rooms that fill quickly and get loud fast. Designing sound for Soho means solving for density, separation and atmosphere at the same time. We do that from the first drawing.
Soho restaurants, bars and members' clubs
The problem in a Soho room is rarely a lack of volume. It is the opposite. A full room of bare brick, glass and hard floors builds noise on itself until guests are shouting and the energy tips from lively to exhausting. Our work across Soho covers restaurants, bars, members' clubs and late venues, and in each the priority is intelligibility under load. We design the system and the acoustic treatment together, so the room stays comfortable at capacity rather than only when it is half full. We delivered exactly this at Claude's, the members' lounge at Chotto Matte on Frith Street, where a sculptural Pequod Acoustics system sits within a controlled basement interior.
Noise, neighbours and sound containment
Few Soho sites stand alone. Most share party walls or sit beneath other occupiers, so sound transmission has to be considered from the outset. We coordinate system directivity, zoning and operational levels with the wider design team, and identify where a specialist environmental or planning acoustician is required. We do not provide statutory licensing or environmental-noise reports.
Atmosphere that survives a full room
A Soho venue lives or dies on how it feels at peak. Our Cognitive Load Index framework assesses comfort, attention and fatigue, so the design holds up when the room is full and the energy is high. The aim is a space that feels alive without becoming tiring, where guests stay longer, spend more and come back.
For how we work with venues across the city, see our architectural audio consultancy in London.
Explore our hospitality audio and acoustic design and our approach to restaurant acoustic design.
See the Chotto Matte case study and more work in our portfolio.
Before the venue opens
Can you design one system for daytime dining and late-night DJ use?
Yes. The system has to be designed around both operating modes from the beginning, with appropriate loudspeaker capability, zoning, low-frequency support, DSP and control. The aim is to create flexibility without forcing the venue to run the same acoustic character all day.
Can you upgrade the audio in an existing Soho venue without rebuilding the whole system?
Often, yes. We can assess the existing loudspeakers, amplification, DSP, zoning and infrastructure, then establish what can be retained and where targeted changes will have the greatest effect.
How do you manage sound spill and neighbour-sensitive sites?
We use system directivity, zoning, level management and low-frequency strategy to control where the audio system places energy. Those measures can reduce unnecessary spill, but they do not replace formal building-acoustic or environmental-noise design where that work is required.
When would a Soho project also need an environmental or building-acoustic consultant?
Where the brief includes planning-noise requirements, formal assessment of neighbouring premises, structural sound isolation or other regulated acoustic work, we coordinate with the appropriate specialist consultant. Sonic remains responsible for the architectural audio and system-design aspects of the project.
Can you coordinate the audio with the interior designer, lighting and M&E teams?
Yes. Speaker positions, cabling, equipment locations and system requirements are coordinated with the wider design so lighting, HVAC, joinery and other services are resolved before they become site clashes.
Planning a Soho venue?
Book a thirty minute audio strategy review to identify the acoustic risks in your Soho space and the path to a room that performs at full capacity.
Book an Audio Strategy Review