21 brilliant restaurants for group dining
The Christmas frenzy may be about to begin, but why cram all your gatherings into the packed “festive season” when diaries and restaurants are under the most pressure? Get into the seasonal swing early, or use those autumn birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, new jobs, or retirements as perfect reasons to share a table laden with delicious food. Here are 21 restaurants with a private space or a big table in the dining room that’s party-perfect, whatever your reason for getting together.
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London
Jikoni, Marylebone
Gather round the 12-seat “pantry table” at delightful Jikoni. It’s by the pass, surrounded by boxes of spices and right at the heart of the kitchen action. Chef-owner Ravinder Bhogal’s “no borders” cooking melds flavours of India, the Middle East, Africa and the UK so expect the likes of kuku paka (an east African chicken-coconut curry) or fish moilee (south Indian) using hake and Shetland mussels. There’s space for bigger parties too. Party menus cost from £68.
Best for: Deliciously boundary-crossing food
Lisboeta, Fitzrovia
Let chef Nuno Mendes transport your party of 12 to Lisbon in his adega (”wine cellar” in Portuguese), the private dining room beneath charming Lisboeta. A £75 six-course menu includes his take on a classic bacalhau à brás (confit cod, caramelised onions, egg and shoestring fries), or a rib of beef with a tangy pica pau sauce, finishing with cloud-like farófias (poached meringue with orange and cinnamon). Let your sommelier guide you to Portuguese wine gems.
Best for: Sunny flavours to brighten any party
Roe, Canary Wharf
One of the biggest – literally – openings of 2024, Roe has been an urban smash-hit since its April debut. It’s all about contemporary cooking with a side of sustainability, reflecting the ethos of sister restaurants, Fallow and Fowl. There’s a table for up to 18 in the main dining room. Push the boat out with a £110 menu that will serve up the likes of cuttlefish fried toast (cult status incoming), charcoal-grilled devils on horseback, turkey leg ballotine, and Black Forest gateau.
Best for: Lively vibes, and food with a conscience
Trullo, Islington
They know how to do convivial in Italy, and where better to feel it than at Trullo, the much-loved neighbourhood restaurant in Islington where the downstairs private room seats up to 34. Feasting menus (from £40) celebrate regional cuisines, so choose one for the table and dive into hearty Tuscan porchetta with potatoes and slow-cooked greens, or head to Venice – via the plate at least – for meatballs followed by seafood risotto, then tiramisu. Midweek lunchtime offers the best deals.
Best for: The warm embrace of delicious Italy
Zedel, Piccadilly
Just off Piccadilly, Zedel is big, fun, glittery, great value – perfect for a central London party. Groups of up to 10 are welcome in the main brasserie where a £27.95 three-course menu of French bistro classics such as celeriac salad, coq au vin and lemon meringue tart includes a glass of wine to get the party started. There are private-hire options for bigger groups.
Best for: Art Deco glamour and a central London location
South East England
Boys Hall, Ashford, Kent
A swift 35 minutes from St Pancras by train and you could be at Boys Hall, a renovated 17th-century manor house set in glorious gardens and with all the beams, open fires and candlelight you need for a truly atmospheric festive setting. The Drawing Room seats 18 for a three-course menu (£48) that could include the likes of Eridge Park venison with celeriac and blackberries, or ginger-glazed butternut squash with yoghurt and tenderstem broccoli. Wine from Kentish vineyards leads to a strong English wine offer.
Best for: Manor house character in the garden of England
Dipna Anand Kitchen & Bar, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
Head to Milton Keynes for a feast of Punjabi and southern Indian cooking from chef, author and TV regular, Dipna Anand. Her airy, plant-filled restaurant in the town’s new work-community hub, Unity Place, offers excellent value à la carte for parties up to 20 – think classic samosas, generous meat and vegetarian thalis, tandoori lamb chops with main courses averaging £15 – or a £45 set menu for larger groups.
Best for: Indian flavour in a bright, contemporary setting
The Harcourt Arms, Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire
There’s room for 10 around the convivial table by the kitchen pass at this village pub run by two brothers. A three-course feast of pub classics might fit the party bill (£32) or push the boat out with the Josper grill menu (£42) where star main courses might be rump cap with confit roscoff onion and Café de Paris butter, or whole fish of the day such as skate wing with cauliflower velouté, pickled kohlrabi and brown shrimp butter.
Best for: Refined pub grub on the edge of the Cotswolds
South West England
The Pig at Harlyn Bay, Harlyn, Cornwall
The Old Dining Room in this 15th-century manor house-turned-hotel near Padstow is a characterful place for a winter gathering of 14. Expect dishes packed with Cornish flavour, such as Duchy venison with preserved garden currants or day-boat fish with herb butter sauce, on a three-course feasting menu (from £65). Toast the season with a glass of the first vintage of the Pig Hotels’ Alpaca Block chardonnay and field blend rosé from the group’s South Downs vineyards.
Best for: A feast of Cornish produce and stunning beach walks
The Terrace Rooms & Wine, Ventnor, Isle of Wight
The Wine Room’s spectacular sea view doubles as the 14-seat private dining space at this stylish family-run hotel in Ventnor. Floor-to-ceiling bottles – over 800 at last count – set the tone for a memorable dinner with menus from £70. Expect plates brim full of Isle of Wight flavour – think Ventnor crab-lobster consommé with crab toast, and ex-dairy beef from Briddlesford Farm with braised padron peppers – and expert but relaxed wine guidance.
Best for: Wine – so maybe check out the six bedrooms too
The Three Horseshoes, Batcombe
Gather your party midweek to get the best value at Margot Henderson OBE’s gorgeous country pub by the village church in deepest Somerset where a private room seats 26 with ease. Bespoke menus are based on seasonal local supplies and a sharing format that might include an array of starters – think anchovy toasts and mackerel pate and pickled red cabbage – before slow-braised lamb shoulder and a fruit pavlova to finish. The minimum midweek food spend works out at around £70.
Best for: unfussy generosity and five glorious rooms to extend your stay
thethreehorseshoesbatcombe.co.uk
The Tivoli, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Head upstairs at The Tivoli in Cheltenham where two private dining rooms will seat 10 or 18 people respectively, and tables will be laden with festive classics. Up the seasonal cheer with sharing platters of roast turkey or beef sirloin with everything else besides, and a classic Christmas pudding with brandy butter to finish from the £50 feasting menu. The Tivoli is the latest opening from Cotswolds-based publicans Peter Creed and Tom Noest, the pair behind another four inns, including The Bell Inn, Langford.
Best for: Rural charm in town-centre setting
East England
The Maltings, Weybourne, Norfolk
North Norfolk light floods the high-ceilinged 26-seat private dining room at The Maltings, the striking renovation – it opened last month – of flint buildings once central to the local brewing industry. Pre-order from The Grain Store restaurant’s a la carte where you might find Brancaster Staithe smoked salmon with dill mayonnaise (£9), and Gressingham duck with sweet-sour beetroot (£26), or work with head chef Scott Taylor on a bespoke menu. Dogs are welcome, and breezy beach walks are a must.
Best for: A relaxed “big house” welcome in a coastal village setting
The Unruly Pig, Woodbridge, Suffolk
One to know for your next East Suffolk gathering. There’s a hire fee at certain times for the private room, but the art-filled main restaurant can accommodate up to 14 at a single table, and semi-private spaces up to 28 at no extra cost. The £75 Be Unruly menu shows this talented kitchen at its generous best: open with Mersea oysters and build up deliciously to a magnificent chateaubriand with lardo & pancetta dressing, finishing with chocolate-hazelnut tart with blackberry sorbet.
Best for: Robust “britalian” flavours and a cracking wine list
Midlands
Hampton Manor, Solihull
Self-styled as a “foodie estate”, Hampton Manor ticks plenty of delicious boxes with its on-site bakery and cookery school, but to gather friends and family – there’s room for 40 – in relaxed grandeur, book the panelled Dining Room in the main house. Have drinks in the lounge before settling in around gorgeous oak tables for a £65 three-course lunch (midweek) that might include smoked Chalk Stream trout, then beef fillet with barbecue maitake mushrooms, and chocolate delice with raspberry sorbet.
Best for: Lingering overnight to explore the whole estate
North West England
The Art School, Liverpool
Christmas is taken seriously at The Art School and has been ever since this city-centre restaurant opened 10 years ago. Expect glamour and refined classical cooking from chef-patron Paul Askew and his team whether you’re filling the Moriarty Room (up to 32 people) or the intimate Art School Cellars (10). A £65 three-course festive menu might start with twice-baked smoked haddock and cheese soufflé, before roast pheasant with an Armagnac sauce, and your own sommelier will keep the wine flowing.
Best for: Classical gastronomy and plenty of sparkle
Higher Ground, Manchester
Venison haunch roasted over coals, Marfona potatoes with smoked butter and a winter salad from the restaurant’s Cinderwood market garden might be the centrepiece of a Christmas feast at this central Manchester bistro. Menus are decided daily and are led by the farm, but you’re guaranteed hearty fare. The dining room’s high-top table seats 12 (larger parties by arrangement), and the feast costs £40 at lunch (four courses) and £58 at dinner (six courses).
Best for: Contemporary style meets robust flavours
North East England
The Star Inn the City, York
York is resplendent in the festive season, and the city gets into the mood early with the Christmas Market opening mid-November. Make the most of sparkly winter vibes at the riverside Star Inn brasserie, sibling of the celebrated Star at Harome pub, and relaxed York Minster Refectory. Various spaces accommodate groups comfortably, a three-course menu through December (£65) promising eight-hour braised ox cheek with truffled potatoes, or a carrot and spiced marmalade wellington, followed by mulled pear and berry crumble.
Best for: The festive charm of York
Wales
Beach House, Oxwich Bay, Gower
Set by the spectacular curve of sand that edges Oxwich Bay, chef Hywel Griffiths’ stone-built ocean-side restaurant is a truly special spot. Wales shines on the £110 menu served in the private dining room (seats 12) with six refined courses using luxurious local ingredients such as Gower salt-marsh lamb and Oxwich Bay lobster. Wines from White Castle Vineyard, Abergavenny, could complete the Welsh experience.
Best for: Refined food either before or after a blustery beach walk
Scotland
Hawksmoor, Edinburgh
The McLellan room (there’s room for 13) in this refurbished former Bank of Scotland building is a polished setting for some of the juiciest grass-fed steak and freshest seafood in town. Add those beef-dripping chips, generous sides, and a finale of sticky toffee pudding, and what better party food is there? Menus designed for sharing open at £67 for three courses, guaranteed to fuel exploration of Scotland’s striking capital city.
Best for: Steak and chips, and the festive flavour of Edinburgh
The Kinneuchar Inn, Kilconquhar, Fife
House-smoked Loch Etive sea trout with celeriac remoulade, or duck rillettes with house pickles could get your party going in the private dining room at this East Neuk gem. The table seats 20 (it has its own bar too), and food served family-style (menus from £55) could include line-caught hake with Shetland mussels, or beef shin pie with swede mash, and hearty steamed puddings, tarts and trifles.
Best for: Generous, unfussy food and a warm welcome
Prices are per head and correct at the time of going to press. Drinks and service are charged extra. Some venues expect a minimum spend.
