2014 is the over-zealous approach of the door staff who, apart from questioning all the contents of rucksacks, demand that all liquids be poured into the drain or, if water, into the plant pots lining the short alley that connects the road to the bar. The one downside which I experienced in 2013 and again in Feb. The Yard became one of the rare victories for anti-development campaigners back in March, after the Council decided that the venue - which is situated in the last. The atmosphere is informal and attracts a mixture of age-groups, and it is typically a place for friends to meet after work, while at the weekend, clients from further afield are to be found there. Just six months after Westminster Council rejected plans to replace The Yard with a block of luxury flats, the famed London gay bar is once again under threat of redevelopment. The prices are on the pricey side, but appropriate for a well-presented establishment in Soho. The outdoor 'yard' area is certainly the place's strongpoint, allowing pleasant al-fresco drinking in the summer, being heated in the winter for sitting out, and meaning smokers do not have to venture to the street.
At one stage the staff had a bit too much attitude, but these days (2013-14) they are friendly, a mixture of East Europeans and Latin Americans. I have been coming to meet up with friends in this bar intermittently over the last twenty years, as it is one of the most distinctive places in the locality with its second bar on the first floor with outdoor balcony.
