Dinner dates can be daunting; stuffy, formal, and physically restrictive. The solution? Counter-seating. Often misunderstood as the unfortunate solution to a scarcity of tables, eating at the counter is in fact one of the culinary world’s sexiest inventions – right up there with tattooed line cooks and midnight cheese toasties. With your backs to the rest of the world, maybe watching over your meal in progress, counter-seats create an automatic, casual intimacy and the key ingredient is simple: touching knees. Easily done as you both sit down; as you lean in to linger over the menu; as you start to lose feeling in one leg and have to cross the other over. The accidental touch endures and just like that, you’ve broken the formidable touch barrier and consolidated companionship. We’ve collated Soho’s best counters to share this cuffing season:

Classically candle-lit and achingly chic, Ducksoup has seen its fair share of late-night tristes. Snuggled over the counter, sharing plate after plate of seasonal fare with glass after glass of natural wine, an evening easily slips away entirely. The soulful sounds from their ever-rotating library of vinyl are supported by the gentle murmur of your fellow diners. Suddenly the cold air outside seems too arduous to bear – the whole restaurant conspiring to keep you a few moments more.

Encircling the commotion of their open kitchen, The Barbary’s sleek horseshoe counter oversees a coursing current of energy. Heat from the tandoor is palpable from every seat and the room hums with a controlled chaos – hunger of all kinds building. Couples tear, soak, and smear sesame-crusted Jerusalem bagels through the smoky flavours of the Barbary Coast; appetites and heart rates rising in tandem.

Tucked away on a quiet street, safe from the West End’s prying eyes, is Jugemu: a 20-seat Japanese omakase bar. With the gentle swish of noren curtains, Soho evaporates behind you, hungry anticipation setting in. Chef Yuya Kikuchi’s menu doesn’t follow an established structure – instead gracing guests with a masterclass in culinary creative expression; intimacy deliciously facilitated by a one-of-a-kind, shared experience.

Famed tapas bar Barrafina boasts Soho’s most elegant countertop. The brindled marble is warmly lit and dotted with red leather barstools; scrupulously overseen by stainless steel and a busy brigade of chefs. Those lucky enough to secure a window seat will join an underlit polyptych of contented faces cosily angled inwards. Poring over shared menus; white cloth napkins wiping away stray tortilla yolk; trying and failing to split a trio of prawns between two. Gloriously private moments, framed for all of Dean Street to see.

If all goes according to plan, shatter that broken ice with drinks and dancing at Soho’s best dive: Trisha’s.