Organizing a dinner with lots of friends is an absolute mare. You’ve got a lot of people with a lot of different criteria prepared to do a lot of moaning and not much else.
Finding a restaurant that has its own mixologist, live cooking, beautiful ambiance, private dining rooms, big tables, and a jazz fusion band, is pretty much difficult.
Whether you are looking for huge dinners or big spaces with beautiful ambiance at the biggest restaurants in the city, we’ve rounded up the most legendary places that are known around the world.
1. Acme Fire Cult
Acme Fire Cult is a live-fire concept created by chefs Andrew Clarke and Daniel Watkins. Its successful location at Hackney’s “London Fields Courtyard” led to its spring 2021 launch.
Perhaps they were at the right place at the right time, but word quickly spread, and the duo was soon cooking for up to 1200 guests every weekend, including many industry colleagues and friends.
This restaurant specializes in cooking large portions of meat on a large outdoor grill as well as inventive vegetarian meals.
Long picnic tables on the heated and covered terrace can accommodate your entire friendship group.
Website: https://www.acmefirecult.com/
Address: Abbot St, London E8 3DP, United Kingdom
2. Berners Tavern
Berners Tavern is one of three West End restaurants that Jason Atherton opened in 2013; the other two, Little Social and Social Eating House, were praised for their imaginative and appetizing meals.
This new endeavor is similar to previous ones but in a much grander venue.
It is located in the new Edition hotel in Fitzrovia, which resembles the Sanderson hotel across the street but is older and more refined.
The restaurant has a slick metropolitan style, with lavish chandeliers, framed art by the yard covering entire walls, and a staff that is unimaginably refined.
The enormous lobby bar is impressive, but the enormous dining room with its magnificent plaster ceiling, dim lighting, and busy bar area is much more so.
There is a table for 12 in the main restaurant, in addition to a number of private dining alternatives.
Address: 10 Berners Street, London W1T 3NP
3. Ave Mario
Ave Mario is a huge restaurant with a beautiful ambiance. It’s like a large, ancient stracciatella gelato cake that is rolled around the Dolce & Gabbana meets Italian church bottom floor.
Ave Mario is a restaurant that comprehends the enthusiasm of large parties.
On Henrietta Street in Covent Garden, a lovely limoncello-sponsored hangover is as likely to cause a smile as it is to induce a smile.
Whether your friends desire pizza with 24-hour fermentation or spaghetti with truffles, the menu has you covered. Obtain a slice of that enormous cake and, presumably, request extra caramel.
Website: https://www.bigmammagroup.com/en/trattorias/ave-mario
Address: 15 Henrietta St, London WC2E 8QG, United Kingdom
4. Blacklock City
Blacklock City is a gigantic beast occupying a 100-person industrial-style basement, so large group reservations are never an issue.
There is a selection of beverages for £5 each, a set menu for £20 per person, and high-quality chops for £4 each.
The atmosphere is laid-back and hip: the post-industrial atmosphere of the basement displays Nike Air-clad employees hand jiving to the funky background music.
It’s almost too fashionable and too economical for the well-dressed expense-account class.
But this modern take on a British chop house is still a cut above when it comes to smokey meats with a superb crust, herb-flecked flatbreads, and jazzy cocktails.
Website: https://theblacklock.com/
Address: 13 Philpot Lane, Monument, London, EC3M 8AA
5. Brigadiers
Brigadiers include 140 indoor seating areas and 28 outdoor seating areas. It was designed in the same way as the army mess bars of India.
In certain rooms, live sports can be shown on demand, and pool and classic card games are available for those who desire to play while dining and drinking.
The restaurant is designed to keep everyone present happy, with a variety of rooms, a vast selection of drinks, and fantastic Indian BBQ cuisine.
We would not argue that this is the best restaurant for large groups in London.
The menu emphasizes various Indian barbecue techniques, employing tandoors, charcoal grills, rotisseries, wood ovens, and traditional Indian smokers.
With beer, whisky, cocktails on tap, and huge portions, the restaurant’s drinks menu complements both the food and sociable atmosphere.
There is also a private dining room named after the preferred knife of the Gurka regiments. The Kukri Room exhibits meticulously chosen Gurka relics and can accommodate up to ten guests.
A custom-made dining table in the room’s center converts into a gaming table, offering the ultimate after-dinner games area.
Guests who reserve this space will also have the opportunity to request a croupier to host their event.
Website: https://brigadierslondon.com/
Address: 1-5 Bloomberg Arcade, London EC4N 8AR, United Kingdom