LDNGuide

London’s Best Private Dining Rooms

Here’s our complete guide to the best private dining rooms in the city, with capacity from 10 to over 80.
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photo credit: Decimo

There you are, just living your life, when your mum declares you need to book a private dining room because your aunt’s schnauzer finally bagged a podium place at Crufts. Just us? OK, well, there are many reasons you might need a private dining room. Whether it’s a family celebration, a big birthday, or your boss has tasked you with scouting out a location for your work party, here are the best private dining rooms in London.


For 8-15ish

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

Italian

Bermondsey

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Maximum capacity: 14

Minimum spend: set menu starts at £55 per person

Bermondsey’s Cafe Murano nails the fine balance of being fancy but not uptight, and classy but not too polished. The Italian spot has a discreet private dining room that feels separate to the restaurant. Tucked away in here—getting into a huge pork chop bathing in salty anchovy butter sauce—is a great place to be. The warm and attentive staff will look after you well too.

Maximum capacity: 10 

Minimum spend: none, just need credit card details to secure booking 

Mere’s chef proprietor is kind of a big deal. You might recognise her from all that MasterChef you watch when you’re hungover. Mere—pronounced Mary—is a slick operation from Monica Galetti that serves creative, white tablecloth-type French and South Pacific-influenced food and excellent wines. As you’d expect from this fancy part of Fitzrovia, the private dining room is just as polished as the main restaurant and the bespoke six-course menu will be a big old tick for any business meet-up.

Maximum capacity: The Garden Room 8 / The Pasta Room 10 / The Terrace 20

Minimum spend: The Garden Room from £95pp / The Pasta Room from £95pp / The Terrace from £250pp

We’ve had dreams about a place called The Pasta Room, but they mostly involved Jeff Goldblum hand-feeding us tagliatelle. Sadly, Jeff isn’t part of the private dining package at upmarket Italian spot Luca in Farringdon. But they do have a room that’s designed to look and feel like a rustic Italian home kitchen, where chefs make fresh pasta. There’s also The Garden Room that overlooks the open kitchen, with enough foliage and warm lighting to make it London’s most romantic private dining room.

Maximum capacity: 10

Minimum spend: £500, and a £250 deposit on reservation 

Noble Rot serves some of the best bread in London. Technically, they actually do a whole lot more than that—please see, award-winning wine lists, delightful slip soles, deeply sexy leather banquette seating. You’ll find the private dining area on the second floor of the exceptional Soho spot, adjacent to the self-proclaimed ‘wine cellar of dreams’. For smaller groups you can kick it a la carte, or if you’re rolling with more than six people, choose a set menu of its modern European dishes, or a reduced a la carte menu.

Maximum capacity: 10

Minimum spend: £1000, with a set menu of £95pp

Your boss keeps calling you the name of someone they fired six months ago. Booking Holborn Dining Room’s private dining space in Holborn for that work dinner is exactly the kind of power move that might get them to remember your real name. The Pie Room gives you easy access to curried mutton pie as well as other British classics like roast Suffolk pork belly and sticky toffee pudding. Between the simple candelabras, red leather setting, and metal pie moulds on the walls, this place is a proper charmer.

Maximum capacity: KTV Room 14 / Entertainment Room 15

Minimum spend: Two hours in the evening £199 / matinee £99 / off-peak £69

Bao are great at everything they do. If they were a person we’d find this wildly annoying, but when it comes to moreish buns, signature umeshu negronis, and achingly cool branding, you can’t beat them. The low-key Taiwanese noodle shop is a short walk away from Shoreditch High Street station, and has two downstairs entertainment rooms for hire. Whether you opt for the large private dining table room or the space with the karaoke system is up to you and how tolerant you are of your mate’s attempt to hit Whitney Houston’s high notes.

Maximum capacity: 12

Minimum spend: £500

With a big wooden oval table, wild flowers in old milk bottles, and a vintage rug, Soho’s 10 Greek Street is basically like entertaining at home. But with chefs who can cook much better than you, a decadent feasting menu, and an interior designer’s touch. To feel like the top host you are (kind of), ask for their ‘little black book’—a handwritten list of rare wines to match the seasonal French food.

Maximum capacity: 10

Minimum spend: Varies on the day, time, and season.

The private dining options at Mayfair’s Gymkhana aren’t rooms, they’re vaults. Which is perfect if you’re James Bond, allergic to sunlight, or just need a truly memorable, intimate space for a private dinner. There’s red leather banquette seating, a range of excellent contemporary Indian set menus, recommended florists, music options, and their cocktail lounge, 42, is open until 2am.

Maximum capacity: 12

Minimum spend: none but set menu starts at £45 per person for dinner. 

Bancone in Covent Garden is all about handmade, fresh pasta. Their private dining room has distressed wood, rustic walls, and that rural Italian look. And the four-course £45 feasting menu features everything from whipped cod roe and grilled artichoke with romesco, to their must-order silk handkerchief dish (think deconstructed lasagne with walnut butter). It’s a very decent, affordable PDR option, but the intimate space is probably better suited to an engagement party, birthday, or family celebration than an outing with colleagues.

Maximum capacity: The Bidi Room 16 / The Kukri Room 10 / The Pot Luck Room 22 / The Tap Room 16

Minimum spend: The Bidi Room from £1200 at dinner / The Kukri Room from £600 at dinner / The Pot Luck Room from £1800 at dinner

Grown-up Indian playground Brigadiers, in the City, has four sit-down private dining rooms. The Kukri Room has a bespoke table that can transform into a games table. The Bidi Room is more intimate with vintage cigarette card silk wallpaper. The Tap Room is a moody, tavern-style space. And The Pot Luck Room has old-school ceiling fans and a help-yourself drink station. There’s also The Pool Room which is standing and stools-only—but does have a pool table and whisky vending machine.

Maximum capacity: 14

Minimum spend: none but the feasting-style menu starts at £75 per person

The time has finally come. After eight years of hard work, your mate has finally been promoted to Chief Nail Polish Naming Officer. A day this proud deserves the private dining room at old-school British spot Quality Chop House. The Clerkenwell space is sophisticated in a deep grey, brooding way, with candelabras, flowers, and dainty crockery. Expect a sharing menu with an excellent cut of meat as the centrepiece, plus snacks like pork and prune terrine and mangalitza croquettes.

Maximum capacity: Semi Private Vaults 8 / Private lower ground floor 60

Minimum spend: Semi Private Vaults £150 at lunch, £200 at dinner  / Private lower ground floor up to £5300 at lunch, up to £8500 at dinner 

Hoppers, an excellent Sri Lankan spot in Marylebone, has two private dining options. There’s their downstairs semi-private candlelit vaults that almost made us say that word “booth-tastic” out loud, or the option to rent the whole lower ground floor for 65 people. Whether you go for a birthday party involving the 42-hour roast lamb shoulder or a cool, original engagement party, their signature hoppers are a must-order, as is the bone marrow varuval.


For 15-25ish

Maximum Capacity: 16

Minimum spend: £1000 at lunch / £1500 at dinner

French and British classics meet upscale Russian touches at Soho spot, Bob Bob Ricard. The restaurant has quite the private dining room—think The Last Supper but inside Elton John’s crib, all designed by an oligarch with a passion for royal blue. The look is basically ‘I breathe wealth, eat money for breakfast, and really bloody love mahogany’. But, what else would you expect from a restaurant with a press-for-champagne button? 

Maximum capacity: 24

Minimum spend: Vegan set menus from £55 per person, from £65pp for other menus

Barrafina’s trademark sleek stool seating and counter eating aren’t usually conducive to big groups. But some locations of the Spanish tapas mini-empire have a secret weapon in the form of private dining rooms for big birthdays, team dinners, or just bringing a crew together to toast over pan con tomate. Our favourite is the basement space at Drury Lane. It’s warm, intimate, and classy, with an open kitchen where chefs will prepare your group’s set feasting menu of Barrafina classics.

Maximum capacity: 18 

Minimum spend: £1500 at dinner  / £500 at breakfast

There are few things more sensual than the words “salon privé”. However, a close runner-up is “comté gougères”. You’ll find both at Maison François, a warm, stylish French restaurant in Mayfair where the private dining room is a glass-fronted wine cellar. From our experience, the service here tends to be exceptional without ever teetering into stuffiness and your private dining experience comes with complimentary place cards, wifi, and your own sound system.

Maximum Capacity: 18

Minimum spend: £100 per person

Cicchetti is home to a private dining room with a table that is so spectacularly long that it has “plonk your annoying brother-in-law down the end” written all over it. In case the hint hint, nudge nudge location next to Harrods doesn’t give it away, this is an Italian restaurant with a rich plush look and even richer gorgonzola gnocchi. Did we mention the chandeliers? It’s private dining in Knightsbridge baby, of course there are chandeliers.

Maximum capacity: 20 

Minimum Spend: none

Mangal II is a cool and casual Turkish restaurant in Dalston that mixes the old with the new. Expect superb grilled meats, sourdough pide, low-intervention wines, and more. You can hire out the basement for a warm evening of fun with your own pre-arranged menu of things like mackerel pide and must-order ocakbasi-grilled razor clams.

Maximum capacity: 25 

Minimum Spend: £2200 plus 12.5% service charge

Café Deco is a grown-up place for grown-up people who have a deep appreciation for polite portions of grilled meat, borlotti bean stews, and mussels served with hefty chips. If that sounds like something you’d rightfully be very into, then you should book the basement of this excellent British restaurant in Bloomsbury. It’s a sophisticated but low-key space. Think white tablecloths, white walls, lovely little candles, and moody lighting. FYI they have a great wine list too.

photo credit: Min Jiang

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Maximum Capacity: 20 

Minimum Spend: £78 lunchtime set menu / £98 dinner set menu

This upmarket Chinese spot’s PDR has mirrored walls that reflect the restaurant’s views across Hyde Park and allow you to simultaneously eat while checking out your own outfit. In case you’re not already sold, know that the legendary wood-fired Beijing duck at Min Jiang is really pretty great and the dim sum is worth getting involved in too.

Maximum capacity: 25 

Minimum spend: from £1500 for the whole evening. There are two sittings that don’t have any minimum spend.  

You’ve been put in charge of your sister's engagement party and the only direction you got from her was a lot of head nodding and her repeating “nice but casual” over and over again. Go ahead and book the private dining area at Sager + Wilde. This Bethnal Green railway arch spot is romantic but not overly fussy, has good wine but isn’t too expensive, and serves simple Italian food. The cool, candlelit upper mezzanine dining area is a proper charmer.

Maximum Capacity: 16

Minimum spend: £450 for lunch / £750 for dinner

St John is effectively Disneyland, but with meat. Imagine Thunder Mountain but entirely made out of bone marrow and you’ve got a pretty clear idea of how much grown-up fun you’ll have at London’s original nose-to-tail dining spot in Farringdon. Much like the rest of the British restaurant, the private dining room has white walls, white tablecloths, and a simple, classic look.

Maximum capacity: Shanghai 18 (across two tables) / Beijing 24 (across two tables)

Minimum spend: Shanghai from £750 / Beijing from £1000

Hutong is an ultra-swish Chinese restaurant on the 33rd level of the Shard, with two incredibly extra private dining rooms. Both the Shanghai and Beijing private dining rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows with views of St Paul’s Cathedral, as well as hand-carved wooden doors and a whole lot of red lanterns. Come here when you’re really looking to impress. Or just when you’ve got a spare few grand knocking about your bank account and a penchant for people hand-carving peking duck at your table.


For 25-35ish

Maximum capacity: 34

Minimum spend: £1800 

Spending your night in an old public toilet might sound more like the birthdays of your student years than the sophisticated private dining experience you’re looking for these days. But that’s exactly what Coal Rooms has to offer. The converted Peckham station toilets is a moody, candlelit private dining room perfect for a grown-up birthday. Or to get drunk with some of your work crew while working your way through the modern European feasting menu. There’s also a semi-private dining experience available for groups of 10-16 using a room divider, with no minimum spend.

Maximum capacity: 35 

Minimum spend: dependent on number of guests, night of the week, and time of year but approximately £150 per head

Here’s a sentence that will make you feel like you’ve just entered the Rolex realm: The Rose Room at The Cadogan Arms on the King’s Road is available for private hire. This jaw-dropper of a pub in Chelsea is one of London’s most charming spots, and the upmarket takes on gastropub classics—like the beef and Guinness pie—definitely don’t hurt either. With your own private horseshoe bar, multiple hidden-art TV screens, and access to the  huge rhubarb trifle, it’s a great shout if you’re after somewhere fancy that still feels warm and comfy.

Maximum capacity: 38 

Minimum spend: £3000 for up to 15 people (half of the semi-private dining area), or £6000 for 50 people standing 

Decimo is a sexy restaurant. Partially because there’s a lot of mahogany, strong margaritas, and enough foliage to feed an army of Roger Rabbits. But also because this place also has some pretty spectacular views across London. The private dining space is more of a semi-private, secluded, curtain situation but it’s right next to the floor-to-ceiling windows, and much more importantly, has its own private bar. You should know that this Spanish and Mexican-inspired restaurant is very much built for blow-out, mortgage-to-the-wind meals.


For 40+

Maximum Capacity: 40 seated 

Minimum spend: £1200 minimum spend, set menus start at £75

If you want your private event to be all about mezze, convincing plastic foliage, and friendly people smiling like they just encountered their first ever labradoodle, then look no further than Lemonia. This old-school Greek restaurant in Primrose Hill never fails to make us happy and has sharing and set menus that are both around the £45 mark. Expect lots of lamb, grilled fish, halloumi, baklava, and plenty of vegetarian options.

Maximum capacity: 36 

Minimum spend: lunch £2000 plus £250 hire fee / dinner £3500 plus £250 hire fee

It’s happened. After years of saying you’d rather invest in an army of dogs than marry, you’re engaged. But if your friends think you’re about to spend the weekend before the wedding burping the alphabet in Amsterdam they are wrong. Upmarket tapas spot Lurra in Marylebone is an airy, grown-up space that feels right for a classy special occasion. The room’s available for lunch or dinner, and there are several set menus available starting at £80 per person.

Maximum Capacity: 14 or 60 for exclusive, private hire of the first floor

Minimum spend: Dinner set menu starting from £75

Your colleague who has spent the last two years taking every single one of your pens and accusing you of stealing their Splenda, is finally leaving. And bloody hell, you’re excited. Can you book Buckingham Palace? Maybe Versailles has a private dining room? When you’re looking for a big-deal private dining space, there’s Scott’s Richmond, a glamorous seafood restaurant in Richmond overlooking the river. Their group booking space (still set within the restaurant) seats up to 14, but you can also go all out with exclusive, private use of the first floor which seats 60. Seasonal flowers, place cards, and tea lights are all provided.

Maximum capacity: 60 

Minimum spend: from £4000 

Sometimes booking a private dining space is about getting together with your mates or colleagues. And sometimes, booking a private dining space is just about showing people that you’re really bloody cool. Bistrotheque in Bethnal Green is a neighbourhood bistro inside an old warehouse and their private dining room, The Cockatoo, includes a sound system, projector, bar, private kitchen, and a 1930s baby grand piano. See, cool.

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