It’s natural for Sarah Jessica Parker to compare London to New York. The Sex in the City star’s current turn in Plaza Suite at London's Savoy Theatre means she’s in town for a while but last week noted the lack of late-night options at London restaurants. “I could go on and on about how deeply in love I am with this city,” Parker said, speaking to the Standard. “However, you have a curtain that comes down at 10.12pm-10.14pm, and it’s your big meal of the day... That’s the talk that surrounds the show — ‘where is our meal tonight?’"
Unfortunately, despite the capital having a well paid “Night Czar” — which sounds more ominous than it does effective — SJP is on the money.
Unlike NYC, London has too few restaurants open beyond 10pm and even fewer with kitchens open after midnight. It can make post-theatre dining a squeeze and, as the Plaza Suite star is apparently discovering, the early closing times make it damn near impossible to eat if you’re only ready to sit down to dinner from about 10.30pm. It wasn't always this way: Jeremy King told the Standard recently how he and Chris Corbin built their hit restaurant Le Caprice by staying open 'til midnight, which drew the theatre scene.
Thankfully, a handful of central London restaurant operators are defying the apparent unspoken curfew and stay open late. They are the glowing lighthouses in a sea of early closures: salve for the late-night hunger pangs. Here, then, is our round-up of the best places to eat in central London after 10.30pm.
The Dover
The buzzy new Italian-American restaurant in Mayfair seems built for late night dining. The dark wood panelling, cosseting atmosphere and white tablecloths speak to a luxurious level of old world glamour. It’s the most clearly New York-inspired spot on the list, and with a kitchen that stays open past 11pm, the zucchini fritti, lobster rolls and parmigiana Americanata should still be flying out the kitchen by the time the theatres empty.
Last booking: 11.30pm
Open until: 2am, Thursday-Saturday/Midnight, Tuesday and Wednesday
33 Dover Street, W1S 4NF, thedoverrestaurant.com
Sucre
Something of a gem, Sucre spans a South American-by-way-of-Europe culinary journey which, in its own words, “is a story of immigration”. Found on the north side of Soho, it’s situated conveniently for late night dining after West End nights, with a decadent interior and cocktail bar beneath open 'til 1am. The latest bookable table is 11pm, with the kitchen open till later and a very approachable post-theatre menu offered (three courses, £35). Sucre is a safe bet.
Last booking: 11pm
Open until: 1am
47b Great Marlborough Street, W1F 7JP, sucrerestaurant.com
Cafe Koha
A true theatre haunt, this late-night restaurant has for decades been a staple for many an actor, director and neck-craning celebrity spotter pouring out of the Wyndham or the Noël Coward theatre. A few doors down from J Sheekey (see below) the menu is an easy one, think roasted duck breast, lobster ravioli or goats cheese salad, making it an easy win and perfect for late-evening eating.
Last booking: 10:45pm
Open until: 12:30am
10-11, St Martin's Court, WC2N 4AJ, cafekoha.com
Meat Liquor
Meat Liquor long ago helped to inject a certain kind of punk attitude into late night dining, offering unapologetically dirty food which, frankly, is just what's needed at the witching hour. The kitchen remains open till the wee hours — 2.30am to be exact — with the bar open another 30 minutes after. The restaurant quietly introduced London to the smash burger, and with a cheeseburger coming in under £12, Meat Liquor still feels as good value as when it first opened in 2011.
Kitchen closes: 2:30am
Open until: 3am
37-38 Margaret Street, W1G 0JF, meatliquor.com
Max Halley at the Hippodrome
The food offering at the Hippodrome got a serious upgrade last year, taking it from mere drinking food to something resembling destination dining. Perhaps that’s too grand a title, but when Max Halley’s absurdly good sandwiches are on offer, at any hour of the day, it deserves attention. Halley treats sandwiches as seriously as any chef treats a signature dish and is obsessed with immaculate ingredients. The BLT is a true winner, as is the steak sandwich. At £12, both are the most expensive on the menu, too, which feels a bargain.
Last orders: walk in only, 3.30am
Open until: 4am
Hippodrome, Cranbourn Street, WC2H 7JH, hippodromecasino.com
Lanzhou Lamian Noodle Bar
Sometimes late at night, only a bowl of hand pulled noodles will do. Lanzhou Lamian is everything a Chinatown noodle bar should be: fast, cheap and open late. The hearty broth is a sumptuous, restorative one and starts from about £8. The restaurant is a small one with curt service, so don’t expect the levels of luxury found elsewhere in this list, but it’ll still be slinging out bowlfuls at 1.30am, and till 4.30am on Fridays and Saturdays, making it one of the latest open joints centrally.
Last orders: walk in only, 1.00am or 4:00am Friday and Saturday
Open until: Monday-Thursday until 1.30am, Friday and Saturday until 4.30am
33 Cranbourn Street, WC2H 7AD, restaurantguru.com
J Sheekey
At the other end of the restaurant spectrum, J Sheekey is a slightly gilded post-theatre dream. Perfectly tucked down St Martin's Court, Ms Jessica Parker should have no trouble securing a table at the last sitting of 10.45pm. The seafood-forward menu has been a mainstay of London's restaurant scene for a generation, and its fun to pop in and see the portraits of stars on the wall.
Last sitting: 10.45pm
Open until: the last guest has finished
28-32 St Martin's Court, WC2N 4AL, j-sheekey.co.uk
Isabel
The Mayfair follow up to Casa Cruz was always going to be something of a glamour palace, and Isabel lived up to the luxe when it opened back in 2017. The menu is possibly the splashiest on the list, with smaller starters starting at £19 and quickly lurching up into the £25-£30 region, but with tables bookable past 11pm and the glamour of the space feeling as luxuriously inviting as ever, it’s a beautiful spot for a long, long night.
Last booking: 11.15pm
Open until: 2am
26 Albemarle Street, W1S 4HY, isabelw1.london
Old Town 97
Chinatown is awash with some special restaurants, but as with the rest of town, many close before 11pm. Fortunately, Old Town 97 stays open well into the early hours, ensuring night owls can get a fix of gratifying Cantonese dishes, alongside a menu of slightly wider pan-Asian plates like Hainanese chicken rice, nasi goreng and Mongolian beef. It's a small cafe-style space and as ever, with some of the late night Chinese restaurants, the service will be curt in the wee hours. With food this good though, that'll soon be a distant memory. Beware they don't serve alcohol.
Last orders: walk in only, 3.30am
Open until: 4.00am
19 Wardour St, London W1D 6PL, chinatown.co.uk
Chop Chop
When the group suggests heading to the casino late at night, things normally don't turn out too well. Chop Chop, however, gives a far better reason to head to the Hippodrome, given the restaurant comes from the same family as renowned duck specialists Four Seasons. The menu offers excellent dim sum and dumplings, full soya chicken and, of course, the whole roast duck. Suggesting a visit to the casino after hours has never been so respectable.
Latest booking: midnight, walk-in available until 3:30am
Open until: 4am
Hippodrome, Cranbourn Street, WC2H 7JH, hippodromecasino.com
Bacchanalia
The famed Mayfair pleasure palace is not a place for doing things by half. Those that go, go all out. It's only bookable 'til about 10pm, but those in the know can walk in later, ideal for any actors hungry for hedonism just before midnight.
Latest booking: 10pm, walk-in available until midnight
Open until: 12.30am
