London events in January

Every year, New Contemporaries brings together the UK’s best young artists and recent graduates and whacks them all under one roof (or two roofs, in the case of South London Gallery and its adjacent Fire Station space). It acts as a sort of state-of-play for young art in this country, a way to take the pulse of creativity in the UK. And this year’s showing is as good as ever. There’s a bunch of painting, loads of installation, plenty of cleverness and oodles of ideas.

You know what your January might need? Endless baskets of dim sum. Preferably at a very popular Chinatown stalwart that wants to feed you to the gills with things like Taiwanese pork buns, pork and prawn soup dumplings and ‘supreme’ crab meat xiao long bao. Sounds good right? Well we can go one further by giving you all that – plus a glass of prosecco – for just £23. Your 2023 just got off to a very strong start indeed.  

Bottomless dim sum and a glass of prosecco for £23, only through Time Out Offers.

This Covent Garden restaurant is the more informal sibling of the lauded and laurelled Lima, over in Fitzrovia. We’d recommend a visit anytime but when it comes with the chance to sample six courses plus a drink for just £29? We’ll get quite excited and throw a ‘heartily’ before our recommendation. Basically, this is a fantastic opportunity to sample the exceptional Peruvian cooking from Virgilio Martinez, at a banging price point.

£29 for a six-course menu and a drink, only through Time Out Offers.

In a city brimming with bars, breweries and prosecco-based pop-ups, it would seem that drinking in London without actually, erm, drinking is an impossibility. Leave your beer goggles at home for one night, however, and you’ll see the selection of non-alcoholic cocktails and booze-less blends available in the capital is pretty extensive. In some venues, the alcohol-free offerings are even more creative and tastebud-seducing than their liquor-rich counterparts. Don’t believe us? Have a sip on one of these teetotal tipples...

Headed up by Atul Kochhar (the first Indian chef to receive a Michelin star), this swish Mayfair spot is all about culinary goodness so you can assure the food here is going to be top-notch. The restaurant celebrates Indian culture and cuisine to the highest degree and throughout January you can try four signature dishes for just £19.95 each, exclusively through Time Out. This offer is designed to be enjoyed with someone else, so put your next date night in the diary and get yourself down to Kanishka.

Four courses for £19.95, only through Time Out Offers.

Ever been to the ME London hotel? It’s pretty swanky. It’s also home to a very popular bar and restaurant ten floors up, with some stonking views of London. And if that sounds like your cup of tea then you should totally check it out. But wait! You’ll want to do so via Time Out Offers because we’ve got eight dishes for you and a pal to share (plus a glass of cava each) for just £30. And if you don’t want the cava? You can have a mocktail. God you’re so pure – congrats. 

£30 for an eight-course sharing menu plus a drink, only through Time Out Offers.

Burns Night always falls on January 25 (which is a Tuesday in 2022) and gives London an excuse to celebrate Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, with lots of food, whisky and partying. No events have been announced yet for 2022 but we will most definitely update you as soon as we hear more. 

Sea Containers houses the kind of restaurant that really knocks your socks off. Boasting some pretty gag-worthy views of the Thames and surrounding cityscape, this is one swish spot within the fancy hotel on the Southbank. Throughout January you can get stuck into mouth-watering European food while watching over the capital like royalty and only pay £30 for three dishes with Time Out’s exclusive offer. Then head upstairs to the rooftop bar, 12th Knot, for an apéritif with even more impressive panoramas. Go ahead and indulge yourself, you deserve it. 

£30 for three courses and a cocktail upstairs at 12th Knott, with Time Out Offers.

If you’ve ever walked around one of London’s museums and wished you had the talent of those proudly on display – here’s an experience you’re sure to love. Taking place in the gorgeous setting of the V&A in South Kensington, this course is accessible to complete beginners, so you can put pen to paper with confidence. Learn handy techniques for getting the most out of your drawing, with jargon-free, down-to-earth tuition. It’s sure to be a fun, sociable evening in which you’ll be able to channel your inner Beatrix Potter, Pablo Picasso or Michelangelo. In January you can also take up Time Out’s exclusive offer and get the two-hour beginners’ class down from £70 to £29. 

£70 down to £29, through Time Out Offers.

If we said there was a Kensington health club where you could choose from three massages for just £27 you might think we’d necked too much Christmas sherry but hey, we’ve carried out due diligence and we’re totally not wrong. Hit the London Health Hub and choose from a deep tissue massage, a sports massage, or a Swedish massage, and then laugh yourself silly at the fact you’re getting more than 70 percent off. 

Your choice of massage at London Health Club for £27, only through Time Out Offers.

The Covent Garden Comedy Club is well within its right to boast about its comedy chops. Having welcomed the likes of Michael McIntyre, Alan Carr, Noel Fielding, Stephen K Amos, Mickey Flanagan, Zoe Lyons, and Romesh Ranganathan on its stage, it affirmed its place as a stalwart in the scene for 20 years. Now, we’ve sorted your Friday nights with discounted tickets to the venue throughout autumn and winter. Pay just £12 and you’ll get access to some of the best comedy shows in the city, at Freemasons Arms plus the bar in the Comedy room is open all night from 7.30 pm. 

£12 tickets down from £20, through Time Out Offers.

Yes, it's cold out. It's also quite wet. The leaves have fallen from the trees and turned the pavements into a slimy, slippery ice rink. But we're lucky to have some amazing, huge, parks in London, and walking around in them on a crisp winter's day is genuinely one of life’s great joys. Whether you're a Royal Parks stan or a fiend for Hampstead Heath, there are loads of parks to choose from. So, get out there.