Any London restaurants open on Christmas Day?

[bendmeoverbackwards]

Not expensive big affairs but more casual dining?

I read somewhere that some Chinatown restaurants are open but I’ve phoned two and both shut.

Any suggestions please?

Some Indian and Lebanese restaurants might be open. Probably more likely to be in the suburbs rather than central, seeing as there won't be any tubes running.

I just searched and came up with this.

www.squaremeal.co.uk/christmas-parties/christmas-party-ideas/restaurants-open-on-christmas-day-london_6361

A lot of hotel restaurants will be open but many of them will be pricey. You might find something suitable on the link attached though.

londonist.com/london/christmas-in-london/what-open-london-christmas-day-restaurants-cafes-pubs-museums

Jw3 was a good bet but Saturday so not this year

Thanks @DialSquare think most of those look lovely but over budget. Not sure I want 3 courses for £90 each!

There's a few pubs that are open near me and still have tables but they're charging £100+ for lunch.

Bloody hell! There must be some cheaper options in central London surely??

Christmas Day is always expensive, pubs in the suburbs charge £70+

I'd have thought some brick lane/Whitechapel Indian places will be open.

london.eater.com/platform/amp/maps/restaurants-open-christmas-day-london

If you go on Opentable and put time and location in you can see there are places with slots still. Eg. Hard Rock Cafe

Middle Eastern and Indian are best cheaper options. Edgware Rd/Paddington area has a lot of Middle Eastern places and usually open on Christmas Day.

I think the main problem is going to be staff availability because of Covid rather than anything.

Hmmm dc not keen on Indian. Was hoping to drive into central London, see the lights and get something to eat that doesn’t cost the earth. Maybe we should pack sandwiches 🤷‍♀️😂

It should be expensive. Staff need paying really well to be working on Christmas Day.

You can sometimes find Pret A Mangers that are open - there was one by London Bridge that we went to on Christmas Day a few years ago. Not massively festive though!

You want a cheap meal on Christmas Day in central London?

Chinese would normally be the best bet as they serve Jewish customers largely on Christmas Day. But Christmas is on the sabbath, which I suspect is why you are having problems.

I think you’re being a bit naive to expect to book somewhere cheap for lunch on Christmas Day with less than a week to go...

Places that are open will have been booked up for weeks and be priced at a premium.

You need a Jewish friend to tell you. Mine always know where to go on Christmas Day. Without costing the earth I think it's either Middle Eastern/Indian/Chinese but even then you'll be lucky this close to the day.

I have read people on Trip Advisor say the cheapest places don't take bookings and just wander around Chinatown and nearby and find somewhere.
You can get cheap places.

Most of the restaurants around me will be open, head out of central and to an area with a large Arab or Asian population. Around here 25th Dec is just another day

@aliceca

I have read people on Trip Advisor say the cheapest places don't take bookings and just wander around Chinatown and nearby and find somewhere. You can get cheap places.

Yes that’s the sort of thing I had in mind.

This article has 4 chinese restaurants that are open on Xmas day. Three are cheap.

chinatown.co.uk/en/news/christmas-day-chinatown/

Oooh thank you @aliceca

Update - I couldn’t believe how busy it was! Chinatown was great, about half the restaurants were open. Menu was more expensive than usual which was expected but set menu was ok.

If anyone is interested, there were lots of other restaurants open, steak places, Italian etc around Leicester Square. Quite a few Starbucks and Prets were open too. Had a great time and saw all the lights.