Sharing a meal is one of life’s greatest joys – but trying to share it in a London restaurant with more than five people can be a logistical nightmare. If you don't fancy private dining, you need a restaurant that is not just going to accommodate your party of eight to ten, but positively welcome it. From swanky hotel dining rooms to BYOB kebab restaurants, here's our pick of the best restaurants for groups in London.
Brigadiers
City - Bloomberg Arcade, 3 Queen Street, London, EC4N 8BN
Beer, the big game and those BBQ butter chicken wings – Indian restaurant Brigadiers has it all for those looking for a riotously good meal. Sports fans won’t miss a thing with live sports playing across its lofty TV screens, with up to nine able to book together in the main restaurant, while its multiple private rooms host parties (viewing or otherwise) of up to 18.
Maximum booking: 9
Dumplings Legend
Chinatown - 15-16 Gerrard Street, London W1D 6JE
Who doesn’t love a lazy Susan? Not only will this much-loved Chinatown restaurant take bookings well into the teens, parties of around eight to ten can park themselves at its spinning circular tables, which put the obligatory order of handmade xiao long bao within easy reach at all times.
Maximum booking: 15 people on one table, more across multiple tables
Bocca di Lupo
Soho - 12 Archer St, London W1D 7BB
The true pleasure of Italian food comes when enjoying it family-style, and Bocca di Lupo will feed both the stomach and the soul of up to ten of your nearest and dearest in its dining room. Pass around plates of courgette flower fritti, rabbit orzotto with wild garlic, beef tagliata, and more among elegant surroundings.
Maximum booking: 10
Acme Fire Cult
Dalston - Abbot Street Car Park, London, E8 3DP
With Andrew Clarke and Daniel Watkins serving thrilling vegetable-led dishes off its live-fire grill, dishes of coal roast celeriac with mushroom-kelp XO and aubergine steak with sourdough mole will keep both the carnivores and vegans at the table happy. On its heated terrace, long tables seat up to eight, with larger parties able to line up across multiple tables.
Maximum booking: 8 on one table, more across multiple tables
Lahore Kebab House
Whitechapel - 2-10 Umberston Street, E1 1PY
As long as glamour isn’t high up your list of priorities, there are few better spots in London for a ‘big night out’ dinner than this legendary BYOB haunt. School canteen styling meets some of the best lamb chops in town and curries that come out sizzling. Obviously we'd give an honourable mention to Tayyabs, of course, but Lahore’s chops tip the balance for us.
Maximum booking: 36 on one table, more across multiple tables
Lahpet
Covent Garden - 21 Slingsby Pl, London WC2H 9JP, United Kingdom
Not everyone in your party may be familiar with Burmese food, but convince them to put their trust in Lahpet and they won’t be disappointed. Along its long tables, groups are invited to dive into salads – including the eponymous tea leaf lahpet thohk – and slurp on chicken coconut noodles to discover new favourites.
Maximum booking: 24 people
Brunswick House
Vauxhall - 30 Wandsworth Road, SW8 2LG
Brunswick House’s glittering, antique-drenched dining room is enough to level up any birthday lunch, but throw Jackson Boxer’s food into the mix and it all gets pretty special. Groups of up to 24 can be seated in the restaurant to feast on devilled eggs and Tamworth pork chop with pickled rhubarb, so the more the merrier.
Maximum booking: 24
JOIA
Battersea - 15th Floor, 1 Electric Boulevard, Nine Elms, SW11 8BJ
Want that Chef’s Table experience without losing the restaurant buzz? Henrique Sa Pessoa’s Iberian restaurant JOIA can seat up to 12 on its pass-adjacent table in the main dining room, allowing diners to enjoy views of both the kitchen and neighbouring Battersea Power Station, while feasting on sharing dishes of carabineros prawns with orzo and bacalhau à brás.
Maximum booking: 12
Parrillan
King's Cross and Borough Yards
Alfresco rarely feels as good as it does at Parrillan – when the weather’s right, these little corners of London become inextricable from southern Spain. Line up the tabletop parrilla grills, sizzle your own top-quality meat and fish, and enjoy alongside ‘para picar’ dishes such as pa amb tomàquet de penjar from Barrafina chef Angel Zapata Martin.
Maximum booking: 8 at Coal Drops Yard, 20 at Borough.
The Counter
Notting Hill - 108 Golborne Road, W10 5PS
Kemal Demirasal – one of Turkey’s top chefs – has arrived in London to offer ocakbasi dining up to 11, with diligently sourced ingredients and contemporary twists. Mezes of white chocolate baba ganoush, lamb tartare, and kibbeh with tahini cream are ideal for sharing among large parties, followed by similarly divisible kofta kebabs, lamb chops and more from the charcoal-fired grill.
Maximum booking: 10
Limin’ Beach Club
South Bank - 56 Upper Ground, SE1 9PP
For long summer afternoons spent with a rum punch (or two) in hand, Londoners can’t beat a table on Limin’ Beach Club’s South Bank terrace. Pass around plates of Trinidadian doubles, smoked haddock fritters and curry crab to soak up with soft roti – indulge in sharing cocktails served in watermelons, and a party awaits every time.
Maximum booking: 20
Voodoo Ray’s
Dalston and Peckham
Thought pizza parties were confined to your childhood? Think again. Voodoo Ray’s takes bookings for up to 30 people to share in its love of supersized, 22-inch, NY-style pizza pies. Porky’s (Cumberland sausage, stilton, red onion) and Queen Vegan (artichoke, sunblushed tomatoes, green sauce) are the big winners, but don’t sleep on the classic Pepperoni.
Maximum booking: 30
Singburi
593 High Road Leytonstone, London E11 4PA
Its ever-so-slightly erratic opening days and distinct lack of a website don’t make this the easiest table to pin down, but boy is this Thai spot worth it. The blackboard positively sizzles with the likes of moo krob (crispy pork belly with chilli and basil), whole curried crabs and gang gati pla (yellow fish curries). Bring a group, order everything, regret nothing.
Hawksmoor Seven Dials
City - 11 Langley Street, WC2H 9JG
For the ultimate team power lunch, Hawksmoor sets a tone of success. The great hall-like expanse of Seven Dials is readymade for big bookings, while a menu of colossal porterhouse and prime rib steaks, with bone marrow and triple-cooked chips on the side is perfect for sharing – although ordering a portion of its excellent anchovy hollandaise to yourself is perfectly acceptable.
Maximum booking: 12
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Gökyüzü
26-28 Grand Parade, Green Lanes, London N4 1LG
Green Lanes’ Little Istanbul is awash with excellent Turkish group dining options, with Gökyüzü such a beloved choice it has spawned siblings well beyond its Harringay origins. Order platters packed with kebab classics to share or go luxe with entire grilled quails, and enjoy alongside manti, pide and endless fresh breads.
Maximum booking: 16 on one table, more across multiple tables
Passyunk Avenue
Waterloo - Leake St, London SE1 7NN, United Kingdom
It’s always sunny at Passyunk Avenue, particularly if you and a group of (good) friends want to eat Philly cheesesteaks, buffalo chicken wings and eggplant parm like nobody’s watching. With baseball on the screens and Sam Adams on tap, these Philadelphia-inspired dive bars are a one-stop shop for a slice of east coast Americana.
Maximum booking: 10 on one table, more across multiple tables
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Gold
Notting Hill - 95-97 Portobello Road, W11 2QB
Consummately encapsulating Notting Hill’s recent boho chic renaissance, Gold’s thrumming amber maze of low-lit tables and greenery festooned terrace makes it a solid hangout for cool-folk birthdays. More importantly, the food is great too – wood-fired cooking turns out must-order roasted chicken with nduja and parma ham, chargrilled hispi cabbage with bagna cauda and more.
Maximum booking: 8
Sông Qué Café
Dalston - 134 Kingsland Road, E2 8DY
A much-loved doyenne of Dalston’s Pho Mile, Sông Qué Café’s unassuming (if unmissably green) dining room is home to some of the best Vietnamese food in London. For more than 20 years, this family-run spot has served warming bowls of pho and bun vermicelli noodles topped with fresh, fragrant ingredients.
Maximum booking: 40 across multiple tables
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Coal Rooms
Peckham - 11a Station Way, SE15 4RX
For a big family Sunday, settling into the sleek but welcoming surroundings of Coal Rooms for one of its famous roasts is a joy. Choose from the likes of smoked hogget shoulder, venison Wellington or a glistening portion of ex-dairy cow sirloin, and while away the afternoon with good company and even better Yorkshire puddings.
Maximum booking: Up to 14
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