If you want to book one of London's best private dining venues, you've come to the right place. Whether you've got an important anniversary coming up or need to organise a leaving party for a beloved colleague, Zipcube provides an extensive selection of the best restaurants with private rooms London has to offer. If you want a small room for an intimate, friendly gathering or a grand venue to host a dining experience London will be talking about for years to come: Zipcube has it all, all in one place.
So, wherever you sit on the culinary scale of gourmand to vegan health food lover, whether you're more into Anna Jones and Ottolenghi or elBulli inspired experimenters such as Heston Blumenthal and Hervé This: we can find the private dining rooms to match all your foodie dreams.
Private Dining Tips and Ideas
- When you're on the hunt for restaurants with private dining rooms, London has an amazing amount of choice and variety. You might want to choose a type of cuisine first, to help whittle things down.
- Remember to think about the location of your event, do you want to be somewhere in central London – enjoying the private dining Mayfair has to offer, for example – or would you rather be somewhere with a riverside view over the Thames, such as Canary Wharf?
- Do you know how many guests will be attending your dinner? Make sure to get RSVPs so that the restaurant knows what to expect.
- Are you happy to have a set menu for your guests or would you prefer to choose from a full range of a la carte options? Check with the restaurant whilst making your booking, as some restaurants only provide a set menu for group dining arrangements.
- How long do you expect the meal to last? If you're hoping to enjoy a three course meal (perhaps a few after dinner speeches...), make sure the timings will work with your chosen restaurant.
- Coming up with carefully laid out seating plans and ensuring that everyone enjoys a relaxed, memorable meal is no small feat. Even the best of us can use a little advice on how to plan a perfect dinner party.
- If you want to hire your personal dream team of outside caterers, then you might consider the dry hire of a garden party venue, conservatory venues or private party venues.
Private Dining Trends To Consider
You might be the sort to gorge yourself on the latest season of Chef's Table on Netflix, or you might be more comfortable making your way around a takeaway pizza menu: we all have different expectations of deliciousness. It doesn't matter how big a foodie you are, when it comes to private dining it's worth thinking about some of the hottest trends in restaurant fashion if you want a culinary experience London's hippest crowds might envy.
- Delicious food isn't the only thing that matters. Vegetarian and vegan cuisine are becoming more and more popular, thanks to intiatives like Meat Free Monday which encourage flexitarians as well as hardcore carnivores to consider how their intake of steak, sausages, bacon and cold cuts are impacting the planet.
- Food waste is becoming a big issue among socially conscious diners. As well as embracing seasonal menus and locally sourced produce, the need to keep reusable ingredients and leftovers from going in the bin will play a big part in shaping the plans of London's hipster food scene.
- Instagram is having a big effect on the way people approach eating out. Restaurants are feeling the pressure to produce colourful plates which satisfy the eyes as well as the tastebuds. Don't be surprised by rainbow salads, glowing pomegranate seeds and glittery unicorn milkshakes.
- Although no one much likes thinking about gut bacteria, pickles and preserves are becoming popular thanks to an interest in probiotic foods (such as kimchi and kefir) and prebiotics (such as cooked onions and raw bananas).
- This article on private dining in Singapore from Vogue, explores the goings on in another world-leading culinary city.
- If you are a restaurateur yourself, perhaps interested in researching the possibilities of having such a space in your restaurant: check out this article on the power of a private dining room for brand purposes.
Mouth-watering Food Themes for Your Group Dining Event
- When it comes to enjoying a Chinese meal, Cantonese dishes such as Sweet and Sour pork are very popular, but have you tried Schezuan style dishes such as Mapo tofu or Tea-smoked duck? The southwestern region of China, Schezuan, is famous for its pungent, peppery cooking style and delicious hand-pulled noodles.
- We all enjoy Mexican-style burritos and tacos, but South American cuisine has a lot more to offer than nachos and margaritas. From Peruvian Chalona to Venezuelan Chicharrón – unless you're discovering new dishes with amazing spices and unique food combinations, you're not making the most of all the great dining experience London has to offer.
- Italian cooking is popular all over the world thanks to classic dishes such as margarita pizza and spaghetti carbonara, but there is a lot more local variety in Italian cuisine than you might realise. Sicilian food gives us deep-fried delights such as arancini and desserts like their sugary sweet cannoli, whilst Italy's northern-most regions often make greater use of risotto and polenta as well as game and wild fowl such as rabbit and quail.
- Unusual fusion cuisine recipes are all the rage, from sushi burritos to Mexican ravioli, Filipino-style fried chicken biryani to kimchi quesadillas – mixing and matching different styles of cooking generates some amazing flavours.
Different Approaches to Private Dining
- Street food is more than just a culinary fad. Why not add a bit of variety to your event by arranging some food trucks? You can enjoy everything from vegan bao buns with pulled jackfruit to Dominican chimichurri burgers, Vietnamese banh mi (don't forget the sriracha) to tiny salted pretzel bites.
- Tasting menus might seem a bit out-of-reach, but a six-course meal doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive. Taking the lead from innovative chefs like Phil Fanning at Paris House or the Indo Burmese restaurateurs at Gymkhana, many modern restaurants will offer indulgent tasting menus from £35-50 per head.
- Vegan and vegetarian food is no longer just for the health-conscious, adventurous foodies are keen to sample pan-fried seitan and beetroot houmous with sprinklings of za'atar and lemon juice. If you're a veal and venison lover, why not push yourself to try a fully plant-based meal with big helpings of quinoa and edamame salad, or jerk rubbed cauliflower steaks?