Christmas comes but once a year but Christmas lunch doesn’t have to: between now and New Year’s Eve it would be easy enough to have a different festive feast every day of the week in a London restaurant.
Of course, a Christmas lunch with friends is not the same as dinner with a loved one under the mistletoe and unless you’re exceptionally close to your colleagues then the annual knees-up with workmates is likely to have a rather different flavour to a festive family gathering. Below we’ve selected a range of places to celebrate, from gastropubs that are great for groups to Michelin-starred restaurants serving some of the finest food in London.
Here we’ve concentrated by-and-large on the more traditional turkey-with-all-the-trimmings places from, if not quite budget, then the reasonably priced to the blow-out. Do bear in mind that service charges and booze are likely to send the bill over our price brackets. Stay tuned, too, for our upcoming guide to the finest restaurants in the capital open on Christmas Day. Season’s eatings!
Under £50
Pastaio
Stevie Parle’s fresh pasta restaurant has teamed up with Hannah Crosbie and Sophie Wyburd from the I'll Have What She's Having podcast to create a pasta and wine pairing for Christmas. Festive specials include Brussels sprouts gnocchi, ’nduja devils on horseback and panettone bread and butter pudding, while for every one of Wyburd’s dishes sold, £1 will be donated to Refuge, which should make fresh mezze maniche pasta with sausage, pancetta and chestnut taste even nicer. To drink, Crosbie has chosen a Fontodi Chianti Classico for £11 per glass; otherwise, knock back mulled wine slushies and organic wines on tap.
How much? Set menus from £30 (for groups of 8-16); Christmas specials from £7 a plate
When? Until January 1
19 Ganton Street, W1F 9BN, pastaio.co.uk
Old Compton Brasserie
One might have marinated cured salmon followed by roast turkey with all the trimmings and Christmas pudding with rum custard at OCB this festive season but the Soho brasserie is too much of a crowd pleaser not to give the Crimbo-averse something to eat too: tempura prawns followed by roast sea bream with braised fennel, or celeriac soup and sauteed gnocchi with caponata for the veggies, plus Belgian chocolate cake, sticky toffee pudding and crème brûlée for afters. Probably not a meal to be savoured with one’s nearest and dearest but great fun with a group of mates, not least thanks to a trio of Perrier-Jouet Champagne cocktails.
How much? Three-course lunch/dinner, £39.95/£49.95
When? November 20-December 23
36-38 Old Compton Street, W1D 4TT, oldcomptonbrasserie.co.uk
Hoppers
Christmas doesn’t just mean turkey and mince pies and the Sri Lankan mini chain is offering its sharing menu with the odd festive twist along the lines of venison roll with cranberry ketchup. Mostly, though, it’s just the line-up of all the essential Hoppers classics so there’s no need to think about what to order: bone marrow varuval, hot butter squid, lamb kothu and the choice of a pork, chicken or lamb kari. Best of all, sides of hoppers and dosas, sambals and chutneys, rice and dhal come in unlimited quantities. There’s a veggie version, too.
How much? £48 (vegetarians £45)
When? Until December 31
King’s Cross, Marylebone and Soho, hopperslondon.com
Spring
Skye Gyngell’s eco-minded restaurant in Somerset House is offering a one-day-only Festive Scratch menu on the final Friday before Christmas. The three-course menu of ingredients that would otherwise have gone to waste won’t be revealed until the day itself, so this is not one for fussy eaters, but past dishes have included puntarelle outer leaves a la romana, braised lamb shanks with roasted vegetables and preservedlemon and basil dressing, and chestnut and chocolate cake with hazelnut praline. There’s a corker of a wine list to wash it all down with, too.
How much: Three courses, £30
When: December 22, 12-6pm
Somerset House, New Wing, Lancaster Place, WC2R 1LA, springrestaurant.co.uk
Casa do Frango
London’s quartet of the upmarket alternative to Nando’s is offering a festive Portuguese menu this Christmas. There’s the house-speciality Algarvian chicken (who needs turkey?), but also Iberico pork croquettes, salt cod fritters, grilled chorizo and piri-piri garlic prawns. Sides sound just as nice — house slaw; African rice made with Portuguese carolino rice, chorizo, crispy chicken skin and plantain; a salad of tomato, green pepper, cucumber, onion and wild oregano — and there’s almond cake made fresh in house each day for pud.
How much? Lunch £35, dinner £40
When? November 20-December 24
London Bridge, Piccadilly, Shoreditch and Victoria, casadofrango.co.uk
£50-£100
The Cadogan Arms
Christmas trees, mulled wine, mince pies and carols courtesy of the Chelsea Pensioners Choir: The Cadogan Arms might not just be the most Christmassy pub on the King’s Road but the whole capital (though prices are very much aimed at SW3 locals: Bob Cratchit, walk on by). A feast menu for the table to share brings Christmas stuffing Scotch eggs and lamb ribs, game pie and beef Wellington, fruit crumble and custard; there's a veggie feast menu, too, or à la carte options of turkey curry and Christmas pudding trifle.
How much? Three-course lunch/dinner, £75 (vegetarian, £70)
When? Until January 6
298 King’s Road, SW3 5UG, thecadoganarms.london
Boisdale
Should festive conversation begin to flag, there is live jazz to fill the silence at Ranald Macdonald’s pair of tartan-clad, Scottish-themed restaurants, where Frank Sinatra standards and Christmas classics will form the soundtrack to lunches throughout December. where the menu offers a tickbox of tarted-up Christmas classics alongside some decidedly non-festive dishes for the bah-humbug brigade. Dunkeld oak-smoked salmon can be followed by roast Norfolk Bronze turkey wrapped in Parma ham, and Christmas pudding with brandy custard, or crispy squid with chilli and Tellicherry pepper by roast fillet of sea trout and sticky toffee pudding. Decent veggie choice, too.
How much? From £59, includes two-course Christmas lunch and live music
When? December 5-22
15 Eccleston Street, SW1W 9LX and Cabot Place, E14 4QT, boisdale.co.uk
The Quality Chop House
Founded in 1869, this Farringdon classic is the place to indulge in a full Victorian Christmas fantasy. The “Festive Feasting Menu” is designed to share whether you’re a table of two or 10. Snacky starters of game terrine, smoked short-rib croquette and pastrami-cured salmon precede Highland beef prepared that day by the in-house butcher and served up with honey-roast parsnips, Brussels sprouts, bacon and chestnuts. Still hungry? Order an extra plate of chicken liver and foie gras parfait with winter black truffle (£24) and a Stichelton and fig cheese course (£15).
How much? Three-course lunch/dinner, £75
When? December 1-23
88-94 Farringdon Road, EC1R 3EA, thequalitychophouse.com
Forty Dean Street
This under-the-radar restaurant delivers everything one could wish for from a Soho Italian: stylish decor, killer Negronis, oodles of fresh pasta and whatever the Italian word for bonhomie is, served up by ever-present owner Nima Safei. The £59.90 Christmas price tag includes a glass of Prosecco upon arrival, followed by a three-course menu with plenty of choice for meat eaters, pescatarians and veggies alike: smoked chicken and leek tart, citrus-cured salmon or cream of mushroom and truffle soup too start; sous-vide stuffed turkey, lobster ravioli or porcini risotto to follow, then warm panettone pud, lemon tart or chocolate fondant for afters.
How much? Three courses, £59.90 (includes a glass of Prosecco); must be pre-booked
When? November 22-December 24
40 Dean Street, W1D 4PX, fortydeanstreet.com
Roast
This dining room in the former floral hall of Borough Market offers the opportunity to stock up on festive ingredients from London’s finest larder before sitting down to an à la carte Christmas lunch or dinner. One course of roast breast of Norfolk Bronze turkey with trimmings of (deep breath) red cabbage, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, sausage and onion stuffing, Brussels sprouts, root vegetables and — why the hell not? — Yorkshire pudding will probably suffice for most appetites, or go for a full three-course blow-out of turkey and sage Scotch egg, roast beef Wellington and Christmas pudding with brandy custard.
How much? Turkey with all the trimmings, £34; three-course lunch/dinner, approx £55
When? Until December 24
The Floral Hall, Stoney Street, SE1 1TL, roast-restaurant.com
St John Bread and Wine
The original St John in Smithfield is already booked solid for December but its Spitalfields offshoot is offering a trio of feasting menus to feed groups whether large or small (our tip? Go large). That might mean whole roast pig, grilled venison, roasted Dexter beef or roast goose with goose-fat mash. Wintry starters include roast celeriac with radicchio and quince, there’s twice-baked chocolate cake for pud and under no account should a round of the restaurant’s famous mince pies be ignored (buy some to takeaway, too).
How much? From £57
When? December 1-23
94-96 Commercial Street, E1 6LZ, stjohnrestaurant.com
Wilton's
London’s second-oldest restaurant is serving Norfolk Bronze turkey with all the trimmings from the trolley three times a week throughout December for £45, which means that by sticking to tap water and leaving a 10 per cent tip it would be possible to get out of one of the capital’s most fearsomely expensive dining rooms for under 50 quid. However, that hardly seems to be in the spirit of Christmas, so bookend the bird with native oysters and Stilton soufflé, plum crumble and chocolate fondant, and don’t stint on either the excellent martinis or something white or red from Burgundy on the resolutely Old World wine list.
How much? Turkey from the trolley, £45; starters and desserts approx. £20 each
When? Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings, November 27-December 22
55 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6LX, wiltons.co.uk
Over £100
The Foyer and Reading Room at Claridge’s
The new Claridge’s Restaurant might be the flagship dining room of the quintessential luxury London hotel but the smart money doesn’t get any further than the lobby. The Foyer and Reading Room is most famous for its afternoon tea but it also does a very nice line in British cooking so reassuring that the term “comfort food” feels woefully under-pampered. The three-course Christmas à la carte offers dishes that are no less accomplished for being so unchallenging — Severn and Wye smoked salmon with crème fraiche; roast turkey breast with stuffing and bread sauce, Christmas pudding with brandy Anglaise — though with four options per course, there’s plenty else besides.
How much? Three courses, £110
When? December 1-31
Brook Street, W1K 4HR, claridges.co.uk
Scott’s Mayfair
For a proper slap-up Christmas, ineffably glamorous Scott’s has come up with a starter every bit as suave as its most famous fictional patron, James Bond. Le Grand Ensemble involves 10g of oscietra caviar and three oysters served with a glass of one’s preferred prestige Champagne: Dom Pérignon 2013, Krug Grande Cuvée 171ème Édition or Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2015. Yours for £125, a price guaranteed to make anyone need a drink. Scott’s isn’t just about seafood, though: if oysters, Dover sole and sea bass don't float your boat, there’s also roast chicken and beef Rossini. The restaurant’s interiors have been festooned in gold and green to tie in with this year’s Crimbo theme of “A Partridge in a Pear Tree”, while a jewelled tree shimmers on the terrace.
How much? Le Grand Ensemble, £125; otherwise three courses approx. £70
When? Until December 31
20 Mount Street, W1K 2HE, scotts-mayfair.com
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
Britain’s most famous molecular gastronomist offers a re-telling of British food history at his London outpost. For Christmas that means smoked walnut mousse from 1600, but also sherried scallop from 1965, a definition of historic that may make older diners feel positively pre-historic. The four-course festive menu is basically a greatest hits of Dinner’s most famous dishes, with the signature meat fruit getting a plum treatment, and tipsy cake — buttery brioche soaked in brandy custard — for pudding, garnished with the pineapples spinning on spits in the glass-walled kitchen.
How much? Four courses, £160
When? November 20-December 30 (not Christmas Day)
Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, 66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA, dinnerbyheston.co.uk
