Where to eat late in London
London restaurants that serve properly past 22:30: Koya Ko, Bocca di Lupo, Jose Tapas Bar, Zelman Meats, the Wolseley. A working late-diner's list from Vivi.
London closes early. This has been an increasingly-felt problem since the pandemic, when many kitchens quietly pulled last orders back to 21:30. Here are the ones who have not.
Till midnight or later
- The Wolseley, Piccadilly - open till 23:30 every night. Eggs Benedict at 22:45, correctly.
- Bocca di Lupo, Soho - Italian small plates until 22:30, often later on a Saturday.
- Koya Ko, Soho - udon till very late, counter only.
- Jose Tapas Bar, Bermondsey - Spanish, small, till 23:00 most nights.
Weekends only
- Brasserie Zedel, Piccadilly - late Saturday, very French, cheap at the pre-theatre price.
Until 22:30
- Zelman Meats, Soho - steaks.
- Rochelle Canteen bar, Shoreditch - short menu at the bar.
How to find a late meal
Phone ahead. Websites lie. Most kitchens will take a walk-in if you arrive ten minutes before the kitchen stops.
Nathaniel Ashford
Senior contributing editor
Nathaniel Ashford writes about bars, cocktails, pubs and the London neighbourhoods that hold them together. A former drinks-trade journalist, he now contributes a weekly cocktail column for Vivi and leads the Vivi Neighbourhoods series.
He knows more about vermouth than is strictly respectable. Based in Fitzrovia; generally found two doors down from wherever he is supposed to be.