Looking for somewhere to have a private celebration? We've wandered the length and breadth of London to find the city's most extraordinary private dining rooms.
Best for wine aficionados
Lisboeta
30 Charlotte St., London W1T 2NG
Seats: Up to 10
Nuno Mendes' Lisboeta has been a huge hit and if you fancy a more private affair at this Fitzrovia restaurant, its Adega private room is perfect. There's a changing sharing-style menu on offer (and that amazing olive oil cake, of course) and it's right by their beautiful wine cellar so you're in a prime position to cheese the best to go with your meal.
Maison Francois
34 Duke Street St James's, Greater, St. James's, London SW1Y 6DF
Seats: Up to 18
The Wine Room at Frank's, the underground bar á vin at Maison Francois is a glass-fronted private space, if you want people to see what a great time you’re all having (but there’s also a curtain you can draw over the festivities too). It would make a particularly good spot for a wine-paired lunch or dinner.
See also: The Sommelier’s Room at Benares seats 10 for wine-matched fine Indian dining.
The Wine Room at Gloria can be booked as a private dining space for 17-25 people and is surrounded by Barolos from the best winemakers of Piemonte.
Best for Soho nights
L’Escargot
48 Greek St, London W1D 4EF
Seats: Up to 36
As green as the garlic butter that adorns the restaurant’s signature dish, L’Escargot’s Salon Vert is a gorgeous room complete with 18th century panelling. It would be the perfect spot for a bacchanalian night in the heart of Soho.
See also: Noble Rot Soho’s upstairs dining room can be booked out for a private hire complete with large murals by Soho cartoonist Martin Rowson.
Andrew Edmunds has a cosy panelled dining room that seats 23 upstairs.
Quo Vadis has a range of private dining spaces - the best known of which is The Marx Room named after the building’s most famous previous inhabitant
Best for fine art
Scott's
20 Mount Street London W1K 2HE
Seats: 6-8
Scott's Platinum Arowana Room has had £6m lavished on it with paintings by Renoir, Miró, Chagall, Pissarro and more adorning the walls. There’s also a semi-precious agate stone floor, Lalique lighting to make diners look amazing and all the glasses are from Baccarat.
See also: Wild Honey St James's PDR features a selection of art from Glasgow collective ARTPISTOL.
Best for the views
Fenchurch Restaurant at the Sky Garden
1 Sky Garden Walk, London EC3M 8AF
Seats: Up to 16
The Vinoly Room is the private dining room at the highest restaurant at the Sky Garden, up on the 35th floor of the Walkie Talkie. So yes, you can take it as read that it has amazing views over the City of London. A great place to bring visitors to London to play spot-your-home from this height.
More about Fenchurch Restaurant at the Sky Garden
See also: Duck and Waffle has London’s highest private dining room with room for 18 on the 40th floor of the Heron Tower, Hutong at The Shard has two PDRs with views over Tower Bridge, or St Paul’s Cathedral depending on the size of your party.
Getting your own chef
Kol
9 Seymour St, London W1H 7BA
Seats: Up to 22 people
The Chef’s Table at Kol is a private dining space with its own kitchen where chef Santiago Lastro and his team will cook an extended tasting menu with bespoke options for you and your guests.
See also: Kerridge’s Bar & Grill has a private dining room, just behind the bar, complete with its own kitchen area seating up to 14.
The Library dining room at Frog by Adam Handling includes your own chef, sommelier and waiting team and has room for up to 20.
Best for underground fun
The Stafford
16-18 St James's Pl, St. James's, London SW1A 1NJ
Seats: Up to 32 people
Head downstairs at this St James hotel to find their 380-year-old Wine Cellar. Used as an air raid shelter during WWII, there are over 8,000 bottles of amazing wine down here and you can book it for wine tasting and wine pairing dinners hosted by Master Sommelier, Gino Nardella, who’s been in residence here for over 40 years.
Hoppers Marylebone
77 Wigmore St, London W1U 1QE
Seats: Room for: 6-8
There are four semi-private vaults tucked in under Wigmore Street at Hoppers’ Marylebone location. So if you’re after your own space, but don’t want to miss out on the vibes of the main restaurant, these are a good in-between option for private dining.
See also: Downstairs at Cubé there’s a vaulted PDR next to their Kakurega bar which seats up to 8.
Best for river views
Sam’s Riverside
1 Crisp Walk, London W6 9DN
Seats: Up to 18
With floor-to-ceiling glass that frames the river views at Sam’s Riverside, you couldn’t do much better for a view over the Thames, and Hammersmith Bridge to boot. The private dining room here is a lovely bright space, perfect for enjoying crab toasts as you watch rowers zip past.
See also: Ivy Tower Bridge saves the room with the best view of the river and bridge for private dining. The River View room is huge and can seat up to 50.
In the Docklands, The Gun Docklands’ River Room seats up to 16, on a lovely oval oak table that's looking out over the river.
Best for almost alfresco
Luca
88 St John St, London EC1M 4EH
Seats: Up to 20
Although their Pasta Room is a PDR favourite, we think Luca’s Terrace space is their real USP. The new cover will keep you dry even if the weather bails and it’s a lovely rustic space to enjoy their Italian food and good company.
See also: The Club Room at Fredericks in Islington has its own terrace looking out over their gorgeous garden
Best for next-level glamour
Brunswick House
30 Wandsworth Rd, London SW8 2LG
Seats: Up to 28
Pretty much every part of this Georgian mansion in Vauxhall is a treat for the eyes, but it’s The Library which is the real drop-dead private dining space. Surrounded by cabinets filled with gorgeous objets d’art and festooned with chandeliers it serves up a super menu from Jackson Boxer and his team.
Sexy Fish
Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, London W1J 6BR
Seats: Up to 48 seated or 60 standing.
For a private dining venue that 100% screams this won't be a boring event The Coral Room at Sexy Fish is what you're after. Not only are the floors made of illuminated amber onyx but the room also features two of the largest live coral reef tanks in the world. So that's the small talk taken care of...
Park Chinois
17 Berkeley St, London W1J 8EA
Seats: Up to 12
The Salon Rouge at Park Chinois really does have the wow factor with its knock ‘em dead red and gold design scheme. Located off their Club Chinois floor, it’s a great room to book if you fancy dressing up to the nines and enjoying a spot of live entertainment.
See also: The private dining room at Bob Bob Ricard was modelled on the royal dining carriage and has room for 16 guests wanting to be treated like royalty.
There's a very louche glamour to Kudu's private dining space in Peckham. Curiously Kudu is next door to the restaurant and can seat up to 14 guests.
A Wong’s Madam Wong’s Lounge seats up to 10 and takes its design influence from Shanghai in the 20s and 30s
Best for privacy nuts
Hide
85 Piccadilly, London W1J 7NB
Seats: 10-20
The Hide & Seek first-floor party space here at Hide has one very special talking point - the car lift. That means that you can drive your car right to the door of your private dining room. It’s the kind of USP that numerous stars have already taken advantage of and guarantees no pap snaps.
See also: Hide Downstairs which has three beautifully individual private dining rooms seating from 4-8 people.
Best board room vibes
Hawksmoor Guildhall
10 Basinghall St, London EC2V 5BQ
Seats: Up to 22
Right in the heart of the City, Hawksmoor Guildhall’s private dining room is the kind of dark panelled room you could imagine guilds of old having their meetings in. It’s the perfect spot to soak up the atmosphere of medieval London while watching platters of steak being brought in.
More about Hawksmoor Guildhall
See also: The Boardroom at the Guinea Grill is an aptly named space that’s as good for board dinners as it is for general celebrations. It seats up to 22 at one table
Best for lording it on high
The Wolseley
160 Piccadilly, St. James's, London W1J 9EB
Seats: Up to 15
Merely securing a table at The Wolseley feels like cause for celebration, but the best one of all can be found up the private staircase to the right as you go in. With glass windows all round looking out on to the main dining room, the private dining room here provides an excellent star-spotting vantage point - unless you are the A-listers, of course.
See also: Galvin La Chapelle’s The Gallery is suspended above the dining room of this Victorian building with glass and steel - it seats up to 16.
The Prince of Wales Room at Quaglino’s has a wall of glass looking out over the bustling main room and seats between 18 and 40.
In King's Cross, Cafe BAO has a very stylish PDR with a view, which seats between 6 and 12 serving up a set menu of their classic baos and more. Book by emailing cafebao.bookings@baolondon.com
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