There are numerous great restaurants in London, but not all restaurants are for group dining. Whether you are planning a family gathering or a birthday party, you want to make sure that the restaurant you choose has the resources to accommodate your plans.
For those planning a gathering of one to twenty people, I have put together five of the top group dining options in London. Here they are.
1. Berners Tavern
Located inside Edition Hotel in Fitzrovia, this classy London restaurant has a lot going for it.
With its ornate chandeliers hanging from an elaborately decorated ceiling in a vast and stylish dining room, with walls covered in beautiful framed artworks, the first thought that crossed my mind on entering the place was, “Restaurateur Jason Atherton has done it again.” Why? Because the restaurateur had already experienced huge success with his two other restaurants in West End, ‘Little Social’ and ‘Social Eating House’.
If you are looking for a group dining option in London and have not yet considered this spectacular paradise, then you are missing out on the tantalising food it offers. Whether you are three, six, or twelve in a group, you are sure to find the perfect table.
Although the dishes are quite pricy, the dishes that garnish them are arty and mouth-watering enough to counter the prices.
2. Blixen
I once said that any restaurant that can give me great food and a great setting at a great price will win my heart. This European brasserie in Spitalfields does that every time I go there with my friends. With niftily layered interior (or should I say rooms within a room?) and appetising menus, from breakfast to late-night cocktails, it offers everything you could ever want in order to fall in love with a restaurant.
The bar is elegantly designed, the sitting arrangements are perfect for an amazing group dining experience, and if you ever order their courgette and goat cheese fritter with kohlrabi slaw, you may end up wondering at the amount of time it takes to design food like they do.
3. Riding House Cafe
There is something homely about the place. Maybe it is the cushioned seats in the lounge or the fact that a family of twelve would not have a problem finding a place to sit and dine together in the restaurant.
The size of your group does not matter here. There are various seating options ranging from individual settings to the communal dining table that can host up to 20 guests, and you have the option of an isolated dining room or a busy bar.
While the food here (such soft-shell crabs, cheeseburger, Moorish lamb, bar snacks…) and drinks (cocktails, diverse wine list, beer, coffee…) are great, the place, with its beautiful conical lamps and colourful seats, is more about the ambience. Even so, there is no doubt that you will enjoy every bit of it.
4. The Shed
Call it a shed. Call it a barn (well there is a yard behind the bar). All I know is that there is a wheel, tractor parts, and an old yellow sign that says ‘Colman’s Mustard’ on the walls.
Unique and quirky with rustic space and barrel tables, this modern British restaurant in Palace Gardens Terrace, London, is managed by the Gladwin brothers, whose parents own the Nutbourne Vineyards in Sussex. This means that the wine and some of the ingredients that garnish their dishes are sourced from their family farm.
The Shed is where you will enjoy fresh food, as if it was harvested a minute ago and prepared by your mother who happens to be an excellent cook. So if your group wants quality food in a cool atmosphere, the Shed is where to go.
Instead of the starters and mains that make up the regular menu, you are offered delicious seasonal food divided into four sections: Mouthfuls (mackerel pate, beetroot, pickled shallot…), slow cooking (lamb chops, lemon parsley, harissa…), fast cooking (wood pigeon, heritage carrot tarte tatin, girlolles, walnut), and puds (strawberries, lemon balm, baked white chocolate meringue…).
5. Pizza East Shoreditch
One thing about Italians is that they know how to pour their heart and soul into food, fun, and fine art.
This pizzeria and bar on Battersea Bridge Rd in London, with its moreish pizza, live performances and karaoke, and the many great artworks that adorn its interior walls does not fail to accentuate those Italian qualities. As a popular joint among celebrities in London, it is the go-to place for group dining for a group that does not mind crowd and noise, the party kind of group.
The group dining is about being together, eating and drinking together, partying together and chatting without having to shout from a table at the other end of the dining room. The above-mentioned restaurants in London will definitely offer you this.