Where to Dine Out in London This Christmas Day (So You Don't Have to Cook)
There's a particular kind of relief in walking into a restaurant on Christmas Day and knowing someone else is doing the washing up. No basting a turkey at 6am, no fighting for oven space between the roasties and the pigs in blankets, no collapsing into the sofa too knackered to actually enjoy the day. Just you, good company, and a set of restaurant doors someone else has to close at the end of it.
If you're London-based and weighing up booking a table instead of hosting this year, here's your shortlist — five spots taking bookings for Christmas lunch and dinner, from cosy pub classics to skyline views.
Christmas Day Restaurants in London that should be on your radar
The Prince Albert, Notting Hill
Freshly refurbished and opening for Christmas Day for the first time, The Prince Albert is doing a proper five-course feast. Starters include chicken liver and brandy parfait or prawn cocktail, and for mains you're choosing between hand-carved turkey breast, blade of beef, root vegetable Wellington, pan-roasted duck breast, or Scottish sea trout — so there's genuinely something for everyone at the table. Dessert is a decadent trio, with mini mince pies to finish.
Price: £90pp for five courses
Sittings: 12–1pm or 3–4pm, from 12pm
Address: 11 Pembridge Rd, London W11 3HQ
Book: the-prince-albert.co.uk
RAILS Restaurant, King's Cross
A glass of Nyetimber sparkling to start, then crab ravioli or confit duck and pistachio terrine before mains of traditional turkey with all the trimmings, roast sirloin, or black cod for something different. The signature Kaya Great Northern Hotel Christmas pudding is the one to watch for at dessert.
Price: £115pp for three courses, includes welcome fizz, amuse bouche, mince pies and tea or coffee
Sittings: 12pm or 3pm
Address: Pancras Rd, London N1C 4TB
Book: railslondon.com
The Windmill, Mayfair
Traditional flavours with an elevated twist — think caramelised onion and ale soup with rarebit sourdough, or brisket croquettes to start, then West Country rump beef or turbot with salmon caviar for mains. Finish with sticky fig pudding or a British cheese plate.
Price: £110pp for three courses
Available: 12pm–4pm
Address: 6-8 Mill Street, Mayfair, W1S 2AZ
Book: windmillmayfair.co.uk
The Guinea Grill, Mayfair
London's oldest steakhouse and about as traditional as Christmas lunch gets. Champagne and an amuse bouche to open, then Highland smoked salmon or game paté en croute, followed by butter-poached turkey ballotine, dry-aged rib of beef with lamb cutlet, or wild mushroom Wellington. The Guinness Christmas pudding is worth saving room for.
Price: £175pp for three courses plus amuse bouche, mince pies and a glass of Champagne
Available: 12pm–4pm
Address: 30 Bruton Pl, London W1J 6NL
Book: theguinea.co.uk
Bōkan, Canary Wharf
For skyline views with your roast potatoes, Bōkan does both lunch and dinner. The buffet lunch at Bōkan 37 covers charcuterie, smoked salmon, roasted chestnut soup and more to start, then traditional turkey, roast sirloin or Josper-grilled salmon for mains — vegetarians are looked after with marinated tofu alongside the usual trimmings. Bōkan 38 does a separate dinner sitting if lunch doesn't work for your day.
Price: £59pp lunch buffet (£35 under-12s), 12pm–5pm at Bōkan 37; £35pp dinner, 5pm–9pm at Bōkan 38
Address: 40 Marsh Wall, London E14 9TP
Book: bokanlondon.co.uk
Not Your Usual Christmas Dinner
If a traditional turkey lunch isn't calling you this year, these two swap the trimmings for something a little different.
TOZI Restaurant & Bar, Victoria
Named after the Venetian slang for a close-knit group of friends, TOZI does Christmas the Italian way — sharing plates and all. Start with burrata and fritto misto, or buffalo ricotta ravioli with winter black truffle, then move on to roasted duck breast or grilled red mullet, finishing with warm panettone. Across the river, sister restaurant TOZI Pizzeria and Cicchetti Bar in Battersea is also open on the day, serving its cicchetti, pizzas and à la carte larger plates if you fancy something more relaxed.
Price: £95pp for four courses, optional wine pairing £69pp
Available: 12.30pm–5.30pm
Address: 8 Gillingham St, Pimlico, London SW1V 1HJ
Book: tozirestaurant.co.uk
The Cinnamon Club, Westminster
Set inside the Grade II listed former Westminster Library, The Cinnamon Club swaps traditional trimmings for Executive Chef Vivek Singh's take on Christmas — bold Indian flavours and aromatic spices woven through the finest seasonal British ingredients. The four-course celebration ends, fittingly, with his famous garam masala spiced Christmas pudding.
Price: £150pp for four courses
Available: 12pm–4pm
Address: The Old Westminster Library, Great Smith Street, Westminster, London SW1 3BU
Michelin Star
And if you're treating yourself properly this year, this one's worth the splurge.
Pavyllon London (Four Seasons Park Lane), Mayfair
For a Christmas Day that leans French and thoroughly indulgent, Michelin-starred Pavyllon London has chef Yannick Alléno and Executive Chef Benjamin Ferra y Castell behind a six-course menu built for the occasion. Expect a Niçoise-style chirachi tartlet, a steamed Comté cheese soufflé with celeriac, yellow wine and black truffle, and pan-fried langoustines 'au grand bain' with curry mayonnaise. The main event — beef Rossini, pairing aged beef fillet with seared foie gras and winter truffle — is the one to save your appetite for, before pear and yuzu sorbet and a Montblanc close things out.
Price: £360pp for six courses, wine pairing £175pp
Available: 12pm–3.30pm & 6pm–10pm
Address: Hamilton Pl, Park Lane, London W1J 7DR
Book: pavyllonlondon.com
However you spend it, Christmas Day is meant to feel like a break, not another job on your to-do list. Let someone else carve the turkey this year.
Top Tip: Christmas Day tables go fast, especially the 12–1pm slots at the pub-style venues. If you're set on somewhere specific, book now rather than "getting round to it". You'll thank yourself on the day.
