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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Original poster

Christmas in Central London

16 replies

LighthouseSouth · 20/08/2018 12:58

hello Xmas experts

we don't do xmas and find it all a bit depressing

Is anything open in Central London and not horrendously expensive e.g. Pizza Express type places?

If London is really quiet at Xmas it's about the one day I'd be happy to go in and have a lovely wander round in peace! But just wondering if there's anywhere we can go and eat. Not an expensive xmas meal - veggie anyway. But if it's quiet, walking along looking at lights and so on sounds quite appealing, or walking along the river etc.

thanks.

OP posts:
Original poster
LighthouseSouth · 20/08/2018 19:59

bump in case evening crowd have advice. thanks!

OP posts:
FrancesHaHa · 20/08/2018 21:13

I'm sure someone will come along in a minute with more knowledge than me but my immediate thought would be to see if restaurants are open which serve food from countries which don't celebrate Christmas.

Lots of the little shops near me are open on Christmas Day and run by people from North Africa.

Might also work well if you're veggie. I'd look up Indian/ Parkistani/ North African places

FrancesHaHa · 20/08/2018 21:14

*Pakistani

smeerf · 20/08/2018 21:19

There are some pubs that are open on Christmas day - the White Lion in Covent Garden used to be. It's part of a chain called Nicholsons - they'd be where I'd start as there are loads of them in Central, they're targeted towards tourists (so likely to be open) and they do cheapish food. I think it's at the manager's discretion whether they do or not.

butlerswharf · 20/08/2018 21:28

Lots of Starbucks in London are open on Xmas day... just in case you need coffee and cake too Smile

timeisnotaline · 20/08/2018 21:29

Pubs will have Xmas menus online. So even though you don’t want to Christmas it up you could book and enjoy a 4 course meal !

ThinkingCat · 20/08/2018 21:32

Do you mean actual Christmas Day? Because lots of places will be open all the other days around Christmas.

D0do · 20/08/2018 21:33

I think I'd look to see what might be open in Chinatown, which is about as central as you can get.

A friend of mine always goes into central London at some point on Christmas Day and enjoys the peace and quiet. I think they go down Oxford Street and Regent Street to look at the lights and maybe over to the river too.

Hope you have a lovely time!

Lulu2106 · 20/08/2018 21:35

All the restaurants on Edgware Road (if you don't mind Lebanese cuisine) are open on Christmas Day but Oxford St is closed obviously. A lot of pubs do Christmas Day lunch too. I'm not sure about pizza express but I'm sure the restaurants on St Christopher's place will be open, there's more of a variety of cuisine there.

Original poster
LighthouseSouth · 20/08/2018 21:38

Thanks everyone
Yes I did mean actually Christmas Day
Just thought a quiet day would be about the only day we'd enjoy a potter around! Completely forgot about Chinatown, I think there is somewhere there quite well known for good veggie food.

What we don't fancy is paying £80 for a meal so actually if Starbucks type places are open, that will do really.
Excited to see London without crowds. Thanks everyone.

OP posts:
D0do · 20/08/2018 21:43

Lebanese cuisine is wonderful and excellent for vegetarians, so that's a great suggestion. A good selection of meze would be a lovely non-traditional festive meal.

Rosevi · 20/08/2018 21:46

Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens and most of the parks are open Christmas Day for a festive stroll. Hotels are always open and I know that plenty of pubs in Bayswater, Paddington do Christmas Lunch (you will need to book though).
St Paul’s Cathedral (other religions are available) have a morning service on Christmas Day etc, which really is rather festive.

Lottapianos · 20/08/2018 21:46

This is a lovely idea OP. I hate Christmas too and try to avoid the traditional stuff as much as possible. A wander around town sounds fab. Hope you find some nice plans and enjoy yourself

Original poster
LighthouseSouth · 20/08/2018 22:36

Can't find it online but before we go, I must find out which Covent Garden pub had the Christmas Day haunting....I heard about on a history programme but of course Covent Garden is so full of ghost stories, it's going to take a while to find it....it was a pub that was closed, the owners went for a walk after lunch I think, then found the ghost in daylight when they returned. I think it was the 80s but I'm not sure.

Sorry, total digression there! I hope I've got it right and it was Covent Garden....maybe it was Soho....

OP posts:
FelicityLemon · 31/08/2018 18:11

Bit late to this but the Conran restaurants at Shad Thames are open. I had a great Xmas dinner there a couple of years ago. St Katharine Docks has a few chain places open. Look at venues near major tourist spots and big hotels.

GorgonLondon · 31/08/2018 18:13

It's not really without crowds. Loads of tourists around. I've gone for Xmas day wanders in town a few times.

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