Where to Eat Before or After the Proms: Knightsbridge Dinner Guide
The Proms are now in their second week at the Royal Albert Hall, with concerts almost every night until 12 September, and the question every concertgoer faces is the same: eat before, or eat after? Knightsbridge sits conveniently between the Hall and the rest of London, and its restaurants handle both options well. Here is how to plan a Proms evening around dinner, with tables that suit each approach.
Eating before: early and efficient
An early dinner works best when you want to arrive relaxed and take your seat without rushing. The key is a kitchen that can serve two courses well in an hour or so, close enough to the Hall to walk.
- Hawksmoor Knightsbridge, 3 Yeoman's Row: the steakhouse's subterranean site just off Brompton Road is on the walking route towards South Kensington. Steaks and seafood are the draw, and the cocktails make a good start to the evening.
- Tom Brown at The Capital, 22 to 24 Basil Street: the Michelin-starred seafood restaurant serves dinner from 6pm, Tuesday to Saturday, which suits an early sitting before an evening concert. Lunch, Thursday to Saturday, is an option too if you are making a whole day of it.
- Cantinetta Antinori, 4 Harriet Street: Tuscan cooking from the wine family, with pasta and carpaccio that are well suited to a lighter pre-concert meal.
Eating after: the late supper
If the concert finishes after nine, a late table can be the more civilised choice, and it gives you time to talk about what you have just heard. Zuma on Raphael Street is the obvious answer: dinner runs until 11pm from Monday to Saturday and until 10.30pm on Sundays, the bar serves all day and welcomes walk-ins, and there are more than 40 sakes to choose from, according to the restaurant's own site. Ask for the counters if you want to watch the robata grill and sushi chefs at work.
For something less familiar, Vatavaran on Beauchamp Place, from the Michelin-starred chef Rohit Ghai, cooks Indian food over live fire across four floors of a townhouse, with a cocktail bar at the very top. It suits a celebratory late dinner, especially after one of the bigger symphonic Proms, and the top-floor bar is a good place to finish the night if you are not ready to go home.
Late Night Proms
The season's Late Night Proms change the calculation entirely. On 5 August, for example, Under African Skies: The Songs of Graceland takes the late slot, so a proper dinner beforehand makes far more sense. Book for around 7pm, eat without hurrying and walk to the Hall afterwards.
Practical notes
From Brompton Road the Hall is a pleasant walk via Exhibition Road, or a short hop on the Piccadilly line to South Kensington. Always check your concert's start time first, and book ahead for Friday and Saturday evenings. Hot Dinners' Knightsbridge guide has further options across the neighbourhood.
