London restaurants open on Christmas Day

This evergreen (and ever-so-popular) Hampstead Italian is eschewing the regular set menu approach taken by most restaurants open on Christmas Day. Instead, they’ll be offering their standard à la carte menu of Mediterranean grills, salads, pastas (plus a few seasonal specials) and so on. Which means you can get into the spirit of the day by scoffing down lasagne and wood-fired pizza. And that really is a welcome Christmas gift.

Enjoy a reasonably priced but still suitably festive set menu (£42.95) at this welcoming Bloomsbury Indian restaurant. In a nod to the occasion, there are two turkey dishes on offer (tikka or Mangalorean curry), but why not free yourself from tradition with hearty Rajasthan spiced lamb.

If the cast of Made in Chelsea aren’t partying in the country, some of them might be seen lapping up Christmas lunch with the locals at this long-serving King’s Road hotspot. There’s plenty of excitement here, from venison carpaccio to aquafaba pavlova – plus luxe twists on classics like turkey and Christmas pud to keep traditionalists happy. Four courses £150.

Inject some spice into your Christmas with this high-end Chelsea restaurant's luxe take on tradition. Its five course menu (£110) includes turkey that comes vindaloo-style with accompanying string hoppers, with Rasmalai chocolate mousse for afters.

Cosily luxe Chelsea gastropub The Cadogan Arms is pulling out all the stops this Christmas, with festivities including carol singing, festive flowers and a seven foot fir tree. Their special menu for the 25th is a lavish six course affair for £200 per head, including bubbles on arrival and Christmas crackers.  

This historic Highgate pub makes the perfect place for a hearty lunch in pleasingly quaint surroundings. Its very British set menu (£95) takes in crab thermidor, roasted cauliflower soup, beef wellington and traditional turkey. Walk it all off with a turn around Hampstead Heath for afters.

Sink your teeth into a Christmas meal with a Spanish-Mexican twist at this artfully designed tenth floor restaurant at The Standard. Priced at around £120 (ring for exact price) its menu will offer Spanish-accented takes on traditional favourites, in an undeniably chic '70s inspired setting.

A popular neighbourhood bistro, with its retro prints and mirrors, Le Vacherin is filled with Chiswick’s smartest locals, and offers an extensive French-accented menu for Christmas Day. Splash out on the full menu at £115 for foie gras terrine plus British favourites like roast turkey breast - and this joint isn't too chic to offer pigs in blankets to go along with it. 

Want to escape all things Christmas, but still fancy eating well on December 25? Head to Tayyabs. It’s business as usual at this Whitechapel stalwart – the owners aren’t Christian, so there’s not a whiff of turkey in sight, just their regular, extensive menu of Punjabi dishes to pick from. The kebabs are fiendishly good, as is the chilli-spiked lamb served simmering in a karahi. Remember to bring your own booze as it’s unlicensed.

Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton's restaurant offers a seriously classy Christmas menu in a room that's full of Victorian splendour. Priced at £160 per head, it's a lavish feast served family style, including turkey and pork neck 'ham', and abundance of sides, and a festively snowy Christmas pudding baked alaska for after. 

Riding House Café offers Christmas dinner in a quirky Fitzrovia setting (think architectural salvage and wall lamps made from stuffed squirrels, for instance). At £95 a head, its chic approach includes five generous courses, including delights such as Earl Grey-cured trout, roast turkey, and a festive cheeseboard for the whole table. 

On the fortieth floor of the Heron Tower, D&W offers stupendous views 24/7, so of course it's open for business on Christmas Day – at least from 11.30am to 5pm. This year, it's offering a witty, delicious-sounding menu (£130) that kicks off with black cherry cocktails, proceeds through champagne and canapes to turkey with all the trimmings, and then lives up to its name with an xmas pudding waffle for afters.

Christmas lunch in a snazzy jet-setting hotel down by the South Bank waterfront is something a bit different, so enjoy the glitz and take full advantage of the Mondrian’s exclusive hospitality. Their hearty four-course menu (£115) begins with a complimentary class of Laurent Perrier bubbly, before serving up rarified delights including venison carpaccio, rabbit terrine, and stem ginger parfait.

As you might expect from a restaurant that champions all things British, this self-styled ‘chop house’ from D&D London makes a big splash at Christmas. Drop by for some festive victuals on the big day and you’ll be offered a three-course spread (£95) taking in everything from Dorset snails and bone marrow to traditional Christmas pud via brined turkey, halibut or beetroot and mushroom en croute. Cheers!

Sighing with art deco elegance, this upmarket hotel is another addition to Corbin & King’s business interests, which include The Wolseley and The Delaunay among others. Push the boat out with the full £195 Christmas menu, which includes lobster and tarragon dumpling and cured foie gras alongside your classic turkey and pud. There's also an impressively well thought-through offering for vegetarians, with a menu boasting salt-baked celeriac and beetroot wellington. 

Nostalgic, patriotic and a haven for tourists, Skylon takes its name from one of the original structures built for the 1951 Festival of Britain. This year's Christmas Day menu is an extravagant five-course affair (£155) offering the likes of lobster bisque and roast turkey, plus Christmas pud for after.