London’s top private dining rooms for family gatherings
With the Easter holidays fast approaching, many Londoners are looking for more than just a basket of chocolate bunnies to add a special touch to their family gathering. The capital’s finest restaurants are here to help with stunning private dining rooms, from Michelin-starred legends to sky-high locations in cloud-scraping landmarks. As James Bainbridge discovered, the following private dining rooms can offer set menus to complement their bespoke decor and conversation-starting views.
Mount St. Restaurant
This Mayfair go-to for modern British cuisine has turned the first floor of local landmark The Audley into a colourful space, with contemporary design, eclectic artworks, and an eye-catching mosaic floor. Upstairs, the four private Mount St. Rooms amplify the creativity and provide plenty of talking points. Treat your family to a mini-Venetian palazzo with a separate bar, a Swiss room with a geometric stained oak floor, a wood-panelled Scottish room, or a surreal games room inspired by artist Louise Bourgeois.
• 41-43 Mount Street, Mayfair
Broadwick Soho
As well as four restaurants and bars, this boutique hotel inspired by Jazz Age glamour, Italian travels, English eccentricity, and disco flamboyance has an eighth-floor private dining room. Given the diverse cultural influences, it’s, perhaps, no surprise that the space brings to mind a quirky Wes Anderson film, with pink wooden borders, rosy block print wallpaper, and delicate lampshades above a table for 28. Additional private nooks and a rooftop cocktail bar offer plenty of after-dinner destinations. A prefect private dining room.
• 20 Broadwick Street, Soho
Hide Restaurant
Ollie Dabbous’ three Scandi-chic levels overlooking Green Park offer several private dining rooms, including three intimate subterranean vaults for two to eight diners, next to cocktail-mixing The Bar Below. If The Broken Room and The Shadow Room aren’t to gran’s taste, head upstairs to mezzanine-set The Nest or the interlinking Hide and Seek Rooms for floor-to-ceiling windows and flowery plaster-cast walls. Throughout, you’ll enjoy Michelin-starred modern European cuisine and one of Europe’s longest wine lists in the comfort of a stellar private dining room.
• 85 Piccadilly, Mayfair
Duck & Waffle
Not content with offering sweeping views from the 40th floor of the 110 Bishopsgate tower, this playful Square Mile haunt has a menu of ‘gastro diner’ British classics with a global twist. Check gramps doesn’t suffer from vertigo, as the private dining room is the UK’s highest, looking down on neighbouring The Gherkin through floor-to-ceiling windows. You can also spot the Tower of London as your family enjoys a set menu of sharing plates or individual meals, including the eponymous signature dish.
• 110 Bishopsgate, Canada
Il Gattopardo
This chic Italian restaurant brings la dolce vita to Central London with its many spaces, including the discreet al fresco spot The Terrazza. Hire this trellis-wrapped lounge for your Easter gathering or choose between the warmly stylish Sofia and Gina private dining rooms, respectively, named after Italian Hollywood icons Sophia (born Sofia) Loren and Gina Lollobrigida. Executive chef Massimo Pasquarelli offers group menus of inventive antipasti, delicate crudos, homemade pastas, and more – most enjoyable with Il Gattopardo’s signature aperitivos and cocktails.
• 27 Albemarle Street, Mayfair
Aqua Shard
You won’t need an Easter egg hunt to keep the family happy in the incredible setting of Western Europe’s tallest building, where this glitzy 31st-floor restaurant gives an inventive twist to seasonal local produce. The private dining room’s shiny cocoon of floor-to-ceiling mirrors and windows overlooking the Thames will lend glamour to any clan gathering. And if more than 12 of you turn up to experience The Shard with your nearest and dearest, a set menu will be provided.
• 31 St Thomas Street, Southwark
Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill
If you missed oysters and Guinness on St Patrick’s Day, make up for it with a visit to this century-old grande dame off Piccadilly Circus, where chef Richard Corrigan oversees a menu of native and rock oysters, sustainable seafood dishes, and British classics. Accommodating groups of 15 to 100 diners, the five elegant private dining rooms include a library with a gold gilded ceiling and backlit bookshelves, and the intimate Crustacea Room (yes, crab is on the menu) facing Swallow Street.
•11-15 Swallow Street, Mayfair
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