LDNGuide
9 Restaurants For New Year's Eve Where You’ll Actually Have A Good Time
photo credit: The Midland Grand Dining Room
A lot of the time New Year’s Eve is actually not that fun. The club you paid £70 to get into is crowded, the kiss at midnight was a sambuca-sponsored mess, and restaurants churn out set menus that cost about the same as a down payment on a house. Opt out of all that and go to a spot on this guide. You’ll be guaranteed to eat good food and have a fun time, and not waste all your money on a night out that’s essentially a turd covered in sequins.
If you’re looking for a spot for a group Christmas dinner, we’ve got a guide for that too.
All places on the guide had availability at the time of publishing, but spots are going fast so we recommend booking quickly.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Llama Inn London
A couple of sledgehammer sips of Llama Inn’s pisco sour is all you need to forget that you didn’t tick off any resolution in 2023. The Peruvian restaurant is perfectly positioned—on top of The Hoxton hotel in Shoreditch, looking out towards the river—to peek at fireworks without freezing in the process. Bookings include a welcome drink, a DJ playing all night, and decadent specials like lobster and wagyu beef on the set menus.
photo credit: Michael Sinclair
POWERED BY
For those who want the last thing they do in 2023 to be licking champagne sorbet off the kind of spoon you’ll be tempted to take home with you, head to The Midland Grand Dining Room. This King’s Cross spot has one of the most regal rooms in London and for New Year’s Eve it’ll be serving turbot with caviar and other decadent French dishes. There are two bookings, and the later one gets you your table for the night. If you want to keep the party going, there are cocktails and a DJ playing until 3am at Gothic Bar next door.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Between bites of tender, sweet and spicy glazed pork ribs and sips of refreshing mango cider, we soon realised how great Kokum, an Indian restaurant in Dulwich, is. Laughter rings around the room, because it’s impossible to be unhappy eating 12-hour slow-cooked lamb in a rice pancake and warm naans glistening with ghee. Just book a table towards the back, where the low ceilings and even lower lighting lend themselves to long celebratory meals.
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch
Marksman have covered all bases with a New Year’s Eve three-course Sunday lunch option for early birds—think curried lamb bun, roast Hereford rump, brown butter and honey tart. Plus, for night owls feeling a little delicate on New Year’s Day, the Shoreditch pub will be serving brunch from 12pm-4pm.
For those who simply cannot spend another NYE dodging dancefloor creepers and pretending to enjoy the music of Calvin Harris, escape to the warm embrace of a pub. The extroverts can’t hurt you here. The Cadogan Arms is a jaw-dropping Chelsea pub that channels the sophistication of a Julian Fellowes dame, while still being quintessentially cosy. Food ranges from the classic—ham, egg, and chips—to the celebratory—oysters and rhubarb trifle. Order at the bar, complete with stained glass windows, and snuggle into an ivy velvet upholstered armchair with something bubbly.
A food hall for New Year’s Eve might sound like a particularly basic way to ring in 2024, but don’t judge Arcade Food Hall by its shiny exterior. It opens until 1am on 31st December, which makes it the perfect jumping off point for a night in Soho. Plus, there’s a distinct lack of neon signs and you don’t have to eat standing up. Instead you can sample merry little momos and unmissable North Indian food from the comfort of a chic high stool, with a tom yam mojito in hand.
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
If we’re honest, all we want to do for NYE is have a dinner party. But who has the complete triple threat package of being a great cook, owning a fabulous house, and having lots of wine? No one in London, that’s who. So you should just go to Levan instead. The European sharing plates spot in Peckham has a bustling open kitchen, records stacked haphazardly, and glamorous, midnight blue walls—ideal for tipsy 12am selfies. But instead of the chips and dips you’d rustle up, they serve Jenga-style stacks of comté fries and smoked burrata tortellini.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that pre-drinks are the most fun part of any NYE night out. And at Sporting Clube De Londres, that kind of raucous sing-a-long energy is kept going all night long. The Portuguese canteen is a fun-loving escape in Notting Hill where Frankie Valli is belted out over the mic and sardines are grilled. The atmosphere is best described as the peak hours of a wedding you’ve just crashed—with Respect being murdered by someone’s uncle, disco lights orbiting the room, and groups of all ages tucking into freshly grilled chouriço and hearty bowls of cataplana bobbing with squid, fish, prawns, and mussels.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
For sheepskin throws, live-fire BBQ cooking, and a whiff of ashy hair the next morning, you can’t do much better than Acme Fire Cult in Dalston. Evening service is all booked up but there's still availability at lunch. The terrace is heated and the long picnic benches are ideal for big groups whose perfect afternoon includes hefty slabs of tender Tamworth pork and tangy fermented squash.
