If you want to go somewhere that can't fail to give even the most Grinchiest Londoner all the festive feels, these London restaurants and pubs really understood the assignment this Christmas (and yes, they're all very Instagrammable).
Miracle at Henrietta
Covent Garden- 10 Henrietta St, London WC2E 8PS
The hugely popular Christmas pop-up from the Experimental team, behind nearby hotel Henrietta, are back for another year. But for Christmas 2025 they've moved down the street to their own premises. Expect festive cocktails, lots of Christmas music and decorations on steroids for the next few weeks. Booking is very hard, but it's worth persisting for cancellations.
Daphne's
Kensington - 112 Draycott Ave, London SW3 3AE
You can always rely on South Kensington restaurant Daphne's to go big on the decorations at this time of year. For this winter, the theme is Daphne’s Silent Night. Most of the attention is usually focused on the main conservatory restaurant with its open fires and OTT display, but we must say we rather fancy heading to the bar which is looking particularly festive this year.
34
Mayfair- 34 Grosvenor Sq, S Audley St, London W1K 2HD
Always one of London's most spectacularly decorated dining rooms come Christmas, 34 has pulled out all the stops with their Miracle at 34 installation this year. We're not sure just how long it took someone to put all those baubles up across the ceiling, but one thing we can say from having seen it in person is that the end result is fabulous.
Rules
Covent Garden - 35 Maiden Lane, London WC2E 7LB
For a spectacularly traditional Christmas, you can't go wrong with one of London's oldest restaurants, Rules. It's giving Downton, it's giving Edwardian country house and we are very much down with that.
Annabel's
Mayfair - 46 Berkeley Square, London W1J 5AT
OK, so you can't actually go into Annabel's unless you're a member, but what you can do (which is what we and a crowd of others were doing on the night we swung by) is stand outside on Berkeley Square and wonder at this year's festive installation. The Wardrobe: A World of Wonder has taken over the building's facade with a Narnia-esque wardrobe door, winter landscape and massive lion. It's apparently celebrating the magic of childhood and there are charity events all through Christmas to raise funds to combat child hunger and food insecurity in the UK and Brazil, which does feel very on-message.
SushiSamba Covent Garden
Covent Garden - 35 The Market, London WC2E 8RF
The living ceiling at SushiSamba's Covent Garden restaurant has been given a festive season makeover with the addition of an absolutely enormous amount of giant metallic baubles. It's super Christmassy as a result.
The Churchill Arms
Kensington - 119 Kensington Church St, London W8 7LN
Why go with one paltry Christmas tree when you can strap almost a hundred to the outside of your pub instead and cover the whole thing with thousands of fairy lights? Very much of the 'more is more' school of design, this Kensington pub is on everyone's FYP come Christmas and this year's installation is no exception.
Hideaway
Mayfair- 100 Mount St, London W1K 2TG
We were wandering down Mount Street recently when we got completely sidetracked by this gorgeous display at Hideaway, the Mayfair cafe that's owned by the same group as Hide and Hedonism Wines. The entire ceiling is festooned with intricate paper decorations and the effect is impressive in a Nordic winter wonderland kind of way. Enjoy over a cup of one of their exclusive roasted coffees.
The Hot Dinners guide to Christmas in London
Hamper guides, cookery book shopping, Christmas specials and more. Yes, we really do have everything you need for Christmas right here on Hot Dinners.
Subscribe to hear the latest from Hot Dinners
