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When to Eat at London’s Essential Restaurants Over Christmas

Festive opening times for 38 of the city’s most worthy restaurants

Chicken efo at West African-inspired Ikoyi in London, a new Michelin star restaurant for 2019 Tomas Jivanda

Eating on Christmas Day in London normally means linen napkins, silverware, truffles, champagne, and pound signs. One notable exception is Christmas lahmacun on Green Lanes — there are others. If ritzy hotel dinners and north London rites of passage are not the vibe this year, then consider this: the festive period’s perpetual drowsiness, inspiration of misty, frost-kissed walks, and signal for Londoners to depart to familial obligations around the country leave a relative vacuum in the city’s most lauded restaurants.

If there’s a table that proved elusive for the duration of 2018, or a dish that’s been blowing up Instagram — or, more hopefully, the palates of trusted friends — this is the time to make the booking, arrange the walk-in, or, well, queue. Here are London’s 38 essential restaurants and their festive opening times, to assist in the glorious gazumping that can only happen for a few days a year — and to avoid any frustrations when rocking up unannounced. Diaries out, group chat at the ready: go.

This guide covers 23 December 2018 — 2 January 2019 inclusive, unless otherwise stated.


The Essentials

Xi’an Impression
Closed 25 December — 26 December

P Franco
Open 24 December 12 — 5pm, drinks only
Closed 25 December — 29 December
Open 30 December — 31 December, drinks only
Closed 1 January — 2 January

Mangal 2
Closed 25 December
Closed 1 January

Black Axe Mangal
Closed 23 December — 2 January

The Laughing Heart
Closed 23 December — 2 January, open New Year’s Eve with set menu “super late”

Marksman
Closed 25 December (open 12 — 3pm)
Closed 26 December — 30 December

Brawn
Closed 23 December — 4 January; 23 December will also be the last-ever Sunday lunch.

The Clove Club
Closed 23 December — 6 January

Moro
Closed 23 December — 1 January

Quality Chop House
Closed 23 December — 1 January

Lyle’s
Closed from dinner 22 December — 7 January

Honey and Co
Closed 24 December — 26 December
Closed 31 January

Sushi Tetsu
Closed 23 December — 14 January

Otto’s
Closed 23 December — 8 January

Noble Rot
Closed 23 December — 26 December, and 1 January

St John Bread and Wine
Breakfast and lunch 24 December
Closed 25 December — 26 December
Breakfast and lunch 31 December
Lunch and dinner 1 December

Quo Vadis
Closed 24 December — 26 December
Closed 30 December — 1 January

Koya Soho
Closed 25 December
Closed 1 January

Kiln
Closed 25 — 26 December

Gymkhana
Closed 23 — 26 December
Closed 1 — 2 January

Santa Maria Pizza Ealing
Closed 24 December — 25 December
31 December — last order 5pm
Closed 1 January

Padella Pasta
Closed 24 — 26 December
Lunch only 31 January
Closed 1 January

40 Maltby Street
Closed 23 December — 4 January

Bibendum
Closed 23 December — 26 December
Closed 1 January — 14 January

A. Wong
Closed 23 December — 2 January

The River Café
Closed 24 December — 2 January

Westerns Laundry
Closed 24 December — 28 December
Closed 1 January — 2 January

Oklava
Closed 24 December — 26 December
Closed 30 December — 2 January

Spring
Closed 22 December — 31 December

Etles
Closed 30 December — 8 January

Locanda Locatelli
Closed 24 December — 26 December
Closed 1 January

Core
Closed 24 December — 30 December
Closed 1 January

Ikoyi
Closed 23 December — 3 January

Singburi
Closed until March 2019 owing to unforeseen circumstances

Brat
Closed 25 December — 26 December
Closed 1 January

Bao Fitzrovia
Closed 24 December — 26 December
Ticketed event 31 December
Closed 1 January — 2 January

Sabor
Closed 24 December — 2 January

Gymkhana

42 Albemarle Street, , England W1S 4JH 020 3011 5900 Visit Website

Quo Vadis

26-29 Dean Street, , England W1D 3LL 020 7437 9585 Visit Website

Quality Chop House

94 Farringdon Rd, London, Greater London EC1R 3EA +44 20 3490 6228 Visit Website

Black Axe Mangal

156 Canonbury Road, , England N1 2UP Visit Website

Westerns Laundry

34 Drayton Park, , England N5 1PB 020 7700 3700 Visit Website

Sabor

35-37 Heddon Street, , England W1B 4BR 020 3319 8130 Visit Website

Spring

Lancaster Place, , England WC2R 1LA 020 3011 0115 Visit Website

The Clove Club

380 Old Street, , England EC1V 9LT 020 7729 6496 Visit Website

BRAT

4 Redchurch Street, , England E1 6JL Visit Website

Sunday

169 Hemingford Road, , England N1 1 020 7607 3868

Mangal 2

4 Stoke Newington Rd, London, Greater London N16 7XN +44 20 7254 7888 Visit Website

Kiln

53 Foy Lane, , NSW 2000 (02) 8099 8799 Visit Website

P Franco

107 Lower Clapton Road, , England E5 0NP Visit Website

The Laughing Heart

277 Hackney Road, , England E2 8NA 020 7686 9535 Visit Website

Etles

235 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, London , E17 9PP Visit Website

Brawn

49 Columbia Road, , England E2 7RG 020 7729 5692 Visit Website

Locanda Locatelli

8 Seymour Street, , England W1H 7JZ 020 7935 9088 Visit Website

The River Café

Rainville Road, , England W6 9HA 020 7386 4200 Visit Website

40 Maltby Street

40 Maltby Street, , England SE1 3PG 020 8076 9517 Visit Website

Moro

34-36 Exmouth Market, , England EC1R 4QE 020 7833 8336 Visit Website

A. Wong

70 Wilton Road, , England SW1V 1DE 020 7828 8931 Visit Website

Sushi Tetsu

12 Jerusalem Passage, , England EC1V 4JP 020 3217 0090

Koya Soho

50 Frith Street, , England W1D 4SQ 020 7434 4463 Visit Website

Padella

6 Southwark Street, , England SE1 1TQ Visit Website

Marksman

254 Hackney Rd, London, Greater London E2 7SJ +44 20 7739 7393 Visit Website

Noble Rot

51 Lamb’s Conduit St, London, Greater London WC1N 3NB +44 20 7242 8963 Visit Website

St John Bread and Wine

94-96 Commercial Street, , England E1 6LZ 020 7251 0848 Visit Website

Santa Maria

11 Bond Street, , England W5 5AP 020 8840 4998 Visit Website

Bibendum

81 Fulham Rd, London, Greater London SW3 6RD +44 20 7590 1189 Visit Website

Ikoyi

1 Saint James's Market, , England SW1Y 4AH 020 3583 4660 Visit Website

Oklava

74 Luke St, , England EC2A 4PY 020 7729 3032 Visit Website

Singburi

593 High Road Leytonstone, , England E11 4PA 020 8281 4801 Visit Website

BAO Fitzrovia

31 Windmill Street, , England W1T 2JN Visit Website