St John Hotel is now closed; it is now occupied by One Leicester Street.
The review below no longer applies.
On premises well known to a previous generation of Soho theatre-diners – the site used to be Manzi’s ‘famous seafood restaurant’ – the decor is in keeping with the white, masculine, minimalist style of the original Smithfield restaurant, itself converted from a derelict smokehouse.
St John’s approach to the hotel trade isn’t entirely unprecedented. The template of carefully designed but thoroughly simple rooms that was set by the Soho House hotels (Dean Street Townhouse; Shoreditch Rooms; High Road House) can perhaps be seen in St John Hotel’s offhand self-descriptions: ‘Mini Grand, Urban Hut’ or, in relation to the cheapest ‘Post-Supper Rooms’, ‘These smaller guest rooms remove the need for
a taxi home after supper.’