London Restaurant Festival 2026: October menus and events to book
October is London Restaurant Festival month. The festival, which has been celebrating the capital's dining scene for 17 years and now runs in June and October, returns for its autumn edition on Thursday 1 October. American Express cardmembers have had presale access since early September, and there is still plenty left to book across the month.
How the festival works
There are two halves to it. First, the Festival Menus: set menus and offers at restaurants across London's neighbourhoods and hotels, available from 1 to 31 October, each with its own terms. Second, a programme of one-off ticketed events, grouped into strands:
- Top Ten Cuisines: ten restaurants, ten cuisines and ten chefs.
- London's Latest: exclusive menus from new openings.
- In Residence: one-off menus at restaurants inside hotels.
- Neighbourhood Nights: independent local restaurants.
- On the Grapevine: wine bars pairing bottles with small plates.
- Masterclasses, Discover Tours and Fine Fusion: from cocktail and chocolate classes to multi-restaurant evenings.
The Knightsbridge and Chelsea picks
The festival is spread across the city, but there are dates close to home:
- International Sake Day at Ivy Asia Chelsea, Thursday 1 October: five sakes from Akashi-Tai, each paired with a small plate, at £80 per person.
- CLAP, Thursday 8 October: a contemporary Japanese dinner with an exclusive four-course menu in Knightsbridge, at £85 per person, as part of the Top Ten Cuisines strand.
Both are the kind of intimate, limited-capacity evenings that sell out, so book promptly through the festival's events page.
Elsewhere worth the trip
- Brunch Club, Sunday 4 October: a central London celebration of brunch with dishes from some of London's best food vendors, music, Bloody Marys and Grind coffee, at £5 per person.
- Scully, Friday 2 October: a global fusion dinner drawing on chef Ramael Scully's family heritage, at £85.
- Temaki, Thursday 8 October: a Japanese-inspired counter dinner on Maddox Street in Mayfair, at £94.
- Restaurant 45 at St Martin's Lane London, Thursday 29 October: an In Residence evening of French cooking, at £50.
Why it suits Knightsbridge diners
For locals, the festival is a nudge to try somewhere new without committing to a full à la carte bill, and for visitors staying in the area it is a ready-made itinerary of one-off evenings. A Japanese dinner at CLAP on a Thursday, a sake pairing in Chelsea and a cheap Sunday brunch would make a well-rounded week.
How to approach it
The trick with a month-long festival is to treat the events as the headline and the set menus as the everyday dividend. Pick one or two ticketed dinners now, while availability lasts, then use the Festival Menus for spontaneous lunches through the month. Some offers have specific booking methods or require payment with an American Express card, so read the terms before you book.
Plan your month
The full programme, including competitions and partner offers, is on the festival website, and new events are added through the season. For permanent favourites close to Brompton Road when the festival ends, see our Knightsbridge restaurant guide.
Lead image: whatsthatpicture via Flickr, Public domain.
