The duo behind “Italian-ish” supper club-turned-restaurant Forza Wine complete a 14-year journey into the heart of London’s West End next week with the opening of their latest venue in Soho.
Founders Bash Redford and Michael Lavery started out running supper clubs at the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane under the name Forza Win, which they modified to Forza Wine following a move to permanent digs in Peckham.
They currently have two sites, in Peckham and at the National Theatre on the South Bank – both rooftop venues whose stunning views are very much part of the attraction. This aspect will be difficult to replicate in the former Daroco premises on Manette Street in Soho – although there is an outside terrace for warmer months.
No details have been released of the menu, but it is sure to stick pretty closely to the formula summed up in the 2026 Harden’s guide as “rather good Italian wines or cocktails and perfect little plates of Italian tapas” – and their signature cauliflower fritti is sure to be there.
Forza Wine Soho will have a soft opening from next Thursday, 26 February.
Following up on their rooftop original and the very successful National Theatre follow-up, Forza Wine are gearing up for their next big launch.
Italian-inspired Forza Win is to close next week, with planning to expand their successful spinoff Forza Wine.
The pair started out on a casual basis at the Truman Brewery in Whitechapel in 2012, before switching to a permanent base in a Peckham warehouse. That closed during the pandemic, the restaurant relaunching in Camberwell Church Street in 2022.
They announced the February 21 closure in a social media post headed:
“FORZA WIN CAMBERWELL IS CLOSING, FORZA WINE IS NOT. It’s been 12 years! 5 as a supper club, 7 as a restaurant, two of which we’ve spent on Camberwell Church Street. We’ve had the immense privilege of working on over a decade of Forza Win in its many iterations and couldn’t be prouder of what everyone who has been part of it has achieved.”
They added: “Now it’s only Forza Wine you need to remember, and we’ll be slinging cauliflower fritti and custardos in more postcodes very soon.”
The brand is hailed in the 2025 Harden’s guide for its “great vibe” and “delicious plates”, and in recent years Forza Wine has attracted the most attention – initially for its dramatic roof-top setting in Peckham, and since late 2023 for its high-profile second branch in the heart of the South Bank, on the top floor of the National Theatre.
pop-ups, Peckham 2019, National Theatre 2023
This time they’re opening in Soho, taking over the Daroco site (which, to be honest, we hadn’t realised had closed a few months back). That’s a big old space and, importantly, has a pretty extensive terrace, something which has proved to be pretty useful at Forza Wine’s other openings. There’s also a large area for a bar underneath what was Daroco, so we’ll have to see what they’ll do with that.
As to what they’re planning for Soho, they’re being pretty tight-lipped on it for the moment. But ultimately, we can expect something similar to the other Forza Wines. So that’s a concise menu of Italian small plates, a cocktail list that is strong on negronis and margaritas and a low-intervention-focused wine list.
We’ll bring you more news on this as we get it.