How busy is London at the moment?

[Letsleepingdogslie8]

DH and I like to go to London each August and generally mooch and eat. He’s reticent but I’m keen. How busy are restaurants in central London at the moment?

Not very ! Been to London twice this week just to mooch about , once
Round St Paul's other time
On South Bank. There are very few foreign tourists and lots of offices are shut so far fewer people about . To be honest we only got snacks in chain places but there were no queues. Lots of cafes etc are still shut.

I went last Friday with my son and I’d say it’s definitely a good time to go. No crowds, no queues. Not everywhere is open but there was plenty of restaurants and eateries with availability.

I was in Soho last night and it was great! Really good vibes and felt busy, but noticeably less busy than it would on a normal August Thursday. All the bars and restaurants have tables in the street so it doesn’t feel crowded (though obviously this is weather dependant!)

I’ve found that the areas where people actually live (Clapham, Battersea etc) are much busier.

Restaurants in “neighbourhood” areas are busy (on Wednesday every single restaurant on our substantial local high street was booked out), not sure about central but would definitely advise booking!

I’ve just been out in Canary Wharf for lunch (appreciate probably one of the quietest areas to go at the moment) and it was dead. I think anywhere residential will be busy. It may quieten down once eat out to help out ends.

We were there for a couple days last week and it was lovely. Not too busy but also not too quiet that there was no atmosphere. It was really nice to be able to see it without the usual massive crowds. Avoid rush hours on the tube and you will be fine.

If you’re planning on going on eat out to help out days definitely start booking your restaurants now though! They’re all very busy on those nights, almost on par with what they’re like at Christmas so nearly impossible to get a table