Izakaya Bar

Sosharu

Jason Atherton's Japanese izakaya and basement sake den near Farringdon, open from 2016 until its 2018 closure.

★ 4.0 $$$ Clerkenwell, London Sake flights, izakaya snacking, a Clerkenwell night out (historic)

Published March 25, 2026 · by the barsforKings editorial team

The Pitch

Sosharu sat on Turnmill Street in Clerkenwell, a short walk from Farringdon station, and ran as Jason Atherton's full-scale Japanese izakaya from March 2016. The ground floor served Tokyo-style small plates, while the real draw for drinkers was 7 Tales, the basement bar built around sake, Japanese whisky, and highballs.

The Caterer reported the abrupt closure in August 2018, with Atherton calling Farringdon "an incredibly tricky spot" and floating a Soho or Mayfair relocation that never materialized at the same name. We keep this page as a record. People searching for the old izakaya will find what it was, and where to go in Clerkenwell now.

At a Glance

Address64 Turnmill Street, Clerkenwell, London EC1M 5RR

NeighbourhoodClerkenwell, London

Nearest transitFarringdon (Elizabeth line, Circle, Metropolitan, Thameslink), about 4 minutes

Price Range$$$

Drinks specialtySake, Japanese whisky highballs, izakaya small plates

ReservationsWas reservation-led; the basement bar took walk-ins

HoursPermanently closed since August 2018. Hours below reflect its final trading pattern.

Best forSake flights, izakaya snacking, a Clerkenwell night out (historic)

Plan Your Visit

Sosharu has been closed since August 2018. For a similar Clerkenwell night, the directions below point to the former Turnmill Street site and the bars now nearby.

Get Directions Ask Our Team

64 Turnmill Street, Clerkenwell, London EC1M 5RR

The Room

Sosharu split over two floors. Upstairs read as a polished modern izakaya, all blond wood and low lighting, built for plates and pours rather than a long sit.

The basement bar, 7 Tales, was the seat to ask for. Hardens and trade coverage flagged the downstairs room as the more atmospheric half, a dim sake and cocktail den under the restaurant.

The Drinks

The bar's case was sake and Japanese whisky. The team poured highballs with care and ran a sake list deep enough to flight by style, which set it apart from the gastropubs around Clerkenwell at the time.

Cocktails leaned Japanese in spirit and ingredient. With the venue closed since 2018, prices and the exact menu are historic, so treat the notes here as a record of what the bar did rather than a current list.

What to Order

Sake flight

The reason to head downstairs to 7 Tales. The team built flights by region and style, the clearest read on the list.

Japanese whisky highball

Poured with hotel-bar precision. The benchmark order for the bar's spirits programme.

A Japanese-leaning cocktail

The downstairs list mixed Japanese ingredients into modern serves. Worth a try over a standard classic.

Izakaya small plates

The kitchen's snacks paced the drinking. The right way to anchor a session at the bar.

The Crowd and Vibe

Sosharu pulled a Clerkenwell and City after-work crowd in its day, with the basement bar drawing a later, drinks-first set. The restaurant struggled to fill lunches, which Atherton cited as a factor in the closure.

Because the venue shut in 2018, there is no current crowd to report. The notes here describe how it ran while open, drawn from trade press and review archives.

What Regulars Say

The Caterer and The Drinks Business both reported the August 2018 closure and the talk of a relocation that did not return under the Sosharu name.
Archive reviewers rated the downstairs 7 Tales bar above the ground-floor restaurant for atmosphere and the sake programme.
For a current Clerkenwell drink, regulars point to the cocktail rooms nearby rather than the shuttered Turnmill Street site.

Who It Is For

A piece of London bar history

Useful if you are researching Jason Atherton's group or the old Clerkenwell izakaya scene.

Sake and Japanese whisky fans

The programme it ran is the kind to seek out at its successors around Farringdon.

Skip if you want to visit tonight

The bar is closed. Use this as background, then pick an open Clerkenwell room.

More across the city in our best bars in London guide and our best cocktail bars in London roundup. Searching nearby? Try cocktail bars near me, browse the full London Bar Guide, or see more Clerkenwell bars and London cocktail bars.

Inside the Bar

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Pair This Bar With

Sources
The Caterer (Sosharu closure report, 2018); The Drinks Business (Atherton closes Sosharu, 2018); Hardens restaurant listing; Yelp and OpenTable archive listings (permanently closed).

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Photos via Google Places. Henry Jim · Sosharu · Tomáš Jelínek · Telmo Martins · Mitesh Shanbhag · Chanun Chirattikanon · Karola Resch