LDNGuide
Where To Eat In London After Midnight
From Soho to Shoreditch, here are the best late-night restaurants in London.
There are few things Londoners are better at doing than going hard, eating, and then going home. A box of hot wings or a pizza duvet aren’t your only options late at night though, even if they often seem to be. London has got plenty of post-12am sit-down restaurants dotted across the city, offering everything from hand-pulled noodles, to pizza by the slice, to small plates and wine. This is the late-night guide you and your desperate stomach have been waiting for.
THE SPOTS
Until 1am on Friday and Saturday
Wolfable curries, self-pour three-litre Singha beer towers, and one of London’s best desserts—Speedboat Bar in Chinatown is the stuff of late-night dreams. You can keep pinching yourself but the cartoon cats, pool table, and deep-fried pineapple pie with taro ice cream aren’t going anywhere. And neither are you, until 1am when you sadly have to leave this good-time Thai spot.
Until 3.30am daily
Everyone has that one friend. You know, the helpful one who actually stops drinking after their third glass and who lovingly butters a piece of toast for you while saying, “eat this, you’ll feel better for it in the morning”. For us, that friend is Old Town 97. This converted townhouse is one of the best spots in Chinatown for big group tables, a quick turnaround, and a 3.30am closing time. They serve lots of Cantonese classics, but what you’ll really want to get involved in is the duck section of the menu. Everything from the stir-fried duck in black bean sauce to the fried udon with shredded duck are go-to winners.
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Until 2am Monday to Thursday, until 2.30am Friday to Sunday
When it’s late at night, it’s essential to know where to go for a meal that’s warm and buttery in both feeling and flavour. Haringey Corbacisi is one of those places. The no-menu restaurant specialises in soups and stews—just wander up to the counter and see what’s on offer. Sade paca—a lamb and yoghurt soup made up of tender meat, a paddling pool of butter, and enough minced garlic to slay a vampire via soliloquy—is a favourite. The space is also extremely comfortable, with cushioned dining chairs and plenty of table paraphernalia for you to balance a phone on if you're head down in a nourishing solo soup.
Until 1am daily
Cafe TPT, a classic Chinatown canteen, has a range of delicious dishes, from sweet and moist char siu pork on a bed of rice, to beef flank curry, to hot and sour soup. But the Macau-style pork chop on rice—chilli oil-fried pork strips on top of steamed rice, covered in a coconut-flaked, curry-tasting, cheesy béchamel sauce—is most likely what you’re looking for to soak everything up in the early hours of the morning.
Until 1am on Friday and Saturday
This cosy Sager + Wilde outpost on Hackney Road is a great spot to know about when you want to be led astray by the smell of crispy, gooey, melted cheese toasties. It’s an intoxicating scent, particularly when half-cut, but once you’ve wolfed one of them down, you should check out the wine list. They’ve got everything from natural to fortified covered, or get a cocktail. Small, cool, and reliable.
Until 1:30am on Friday and Saturday
Though we’d recommend siding more with the booze than the bites at Buster Mantis, the Jamaican-leaning spot is useful to know about in Deptford. There’s crispy squid and oxtail croquettes, and plenty more to please those in need of sustenance. If you’re looking for somewhere dimly lit and open post-midnight on the weekend, it’s a decent shout.
Sömine Restaurant
Until 2am on Friday and Saturday, 1am all other days
Somine is a restaurant with patience. Specifically, patience for people like us. Yes, we have been walking into this late-night Turkish restaurant in Dalston for going on a decade to ask if they do lahmacuns. And no, their refusal to do so has never stopped us from sitting down. Everything you could possibly want is here: tender homemade köfte, warm flatbreads to soak everything up, another beer that you don’t really want.
Until 2am on Friday and Saturday
Decimo is an HBO restaurant. It's part Sex And The City, part Succession, a bit Ballers, and excessively Entourage. Think classy tequila shots mixed with rooftop cigarettes, leading to actions that you will no doubt regret. The best thing about this shiny Mexican and Spanish-inspired spot is that it's open until 2am on Friday and Saturday, and serves food late. Sure, it’s a limited bar menu but who cares when you’re flying up to the top of The Standard hotel in King’s Cross with cocktails and tacos in hand.
Until 1am Friday and Saturday
Midnight in Dalston. You’re starving. You need something quick, filling, and delicious. This is where a couple of slices of Voodoo Ray’s pizza come in. The New York-style pizza is as tasty as it is big. A slice of margherita is £3.90, but options with meat, vegetarian, and vegan toppings are just 40p more. If you’re with friends, split a whole pie and regret nothing.
Until 3am on Friday and Saturday
Cecconi’s is the Soho pizza bar you need in your life, if what your life is lacking in is a straightforward Italian spot where late-night meals are encouraged. There’s a very nice counter to sit at or, if being up high would be a dangerous decision, there’s also plenty of seating that will make sure your feet are firmly on the ground. The pizzas are decent—the thin kind with a fat doughy crust—and there’s a short list of options, which is a good thing at this time in the morning.
Until 3am daily for drinks, 2am for food
Meatliquor W1 is a loud and proud diner meets bar, just off Oxford Circus. This place serves their classic burgers, dirty fries, and wings until 2am and strong cocktails until 3am every day. Just don’t expect it to quieten down the later you’re there. This place stays rowdy all night.
Until 1am on Friday and Saturday
Your flat smells of damp, your roommate left their underwear on the shower rail again, and you’re going to be renting for the rest… of… your… life. When London life gets you down, remember that you can get a posh sausage roll, or eat ham, egg, and chips with proper silverware, while reclining in Scrooge McDuck’s own armchair past midnight in Soho. Dean Street Townhouse is a go-to for British comfort food that always hits the spot, served in an upmarket but relaxed restaurant.
Until 4:30am on Friday and Saturday
Lanzhou Lamian Noodle Bar does tasty Chinese hand-pulled noodles (la mian) until 1.30am most nights and until 4.30am on Fridays and Saturdays. It’s basic in setup—cheap and cheerful cafe interiors, cash-only—but if you just want a delicious, satisfying bowl of noodles, it’s a good call late at night when your options involve either a lamb doner or a night bus. Go for the roast pork or beef brisket noodle soup.
Until 3am daily
Bar Italia is a legendary institution, mostly because it attracts the entire spectrum of Soho on any given day. It’s an old-school Italian cafe by day, serving strong espresso and sandwiches, but at night it turns into a magnet for everyone who’s up way past their bedtime. The food’s totally fine—you’re looking at snacks, Italian desserts, and so on—but you’re really here to watch the mix of people come and go, from actors finishing for the night at local theatres, to eccentric artsy types and career lushes. It’s about 100% better than stumbling around looking for a kebab.
Open 24 hours
Posh cider ads might have you believe that the best nights end with you and your mates hugging it out, emerging in the light of a new day after a night involving festival stage dives and photo booths. They’re wrong. The best nights end with a few of you standing around a bollard on the street, eating cream cheese bagels or salt beef sarnies, and ripping into your mate’s new online dating profile. Beigel Bake on Brick Lane has set the scene for this countless times, not only because it’s open 24/7, but also because the bagels and salt beef are brilliant. It’s a classic go-to if you’ve been drinking in Shoreditch and just want something cheap and delicious.
Open 24 hours every day
Making the decision to head to Duck & Waffle isn’t one you should make lightly. On paper, it sounds barely believable—an actual 24-hour restaurant that happens to be perched at the top of the Heron Tower in the City. The views are impressive and catching the sunrise is worth cancelling your brunch plans for. The downside is that it’s absolute bedlam once you reach the bar at the top. The restaurant, where it’s much more civilised but still upbeat, serves food until 5am.
