Waxy O’Connors in Leicester Square

“Have you ever read Lord of the Rings?”

I nod, wondering what analogy is going to require a knowledge of Tolkien.

“Going into that pub,” my friend said, pointing at what could have easily been mistaken for a door to a set of flats, “is like walking into the Shire.”

After a quizzical stare at the red door with the intriguing overhang of “Waxy O’Connors” I shrug and descend into one of the most unique concept pubs I’ve seen. Designed as if built into a large tree, the Irish pub features natural-style wood work, dozens of nooks and crannies, multiple bars and at least three different live bands all playing in different parts of the enormous pub.

Waxys is located in Soho in central London and clearly a favourite with locals and visitors to the city. My guide for the evening is an old friend from Colby who is back in London for the weekend visiting her former haunts from back when she studied abroad in the city. Once in the pub, our attention is caught by a group of fiddlers kicking up some Irish jigs. The group looks as though they’ve just popped in for a few pints and happened to bring their instruments along – there’s no stage, in fact they’re sitting around a table filled with food and drinks, but they’re clearly there to entertain the other customers who are toe-tapping along while waiting at the upstairs bar.

We find a table – not an easy feat and one that required some rearrangement of the furniture – under the large tree built into the centre of the pub. Drink prices are a little steep – suggesting that Waxys is more of a evening destination than a local pub for drinking and socialising but certainly worth the visit. Now if I’m ever travelling through London with a Tolkien fan, I know the place most Shire-like to take them for a drink – and that kind of London knowledge? Priceless.