Rather than endure the stress of cooking Christmas lunch, why not take the whole family for a day out in London? Lots of restaurants are offering tasty traditional menus and festive surprises on 25 December – not to mention the guarantee of a washing-up free day! Many places will sell out, so don’t forget to book in advance.

Christmas Day Lunch Cruise
Explore London at its most peaceful on this fun day out, which includes a sightseeing tour, river cruise and Christmas lunch. Participants will be driven past London landmarks with a professional tour guide, then board a boat to enjoy a traditional Christmas lunch alongside spectacular views from the river. Don’t forget your camera!

Napa at The Chiswick Moran Hotel
Not only can guests enjoy a four-course menu and welcome drink at the hotel‘s restaurant for just £45, but they can also take a post-lunch nap in style thanks to a special meal and accommodation offer. A one-night stay on a bed & breakfast basis, plus the Christmas lunch, is £169 for two people.

Boundary, Shoreditch
New head chef Frederick Forster will be cooking up a storm at this Conran restaurant on Christmas Day. From 12pm-3.30pm you can indulge in champagne and canapés followed by a tantalising lunch menu, washed down with great wines from their extensive cellar.

The Summerhouse, Warwick Avenue
Don’t let the name fool you, this restaurant is just as good during the winter months! On Christmas Day they will be offering a four-course menu for £75, starting with delights such as a trio of Cornish crab and ending with a traditional port-soaked stilton.

Tompkins, Canary Wharf
Enjoy Christmas lunch on the water at Tompkins, whose menu is comprised of delights such as wild stone sea bass and sea salt butterscotch fondant with hot Amedei chocolate. Their three-course set menu is £55 and can be viewed here.

The Only Running Footman, Mayfair
This popular gastropub serves great food 365 days a year, and on Christmas Day you can tuck into a traditional three-course meal for £69.95. Highlights include game terrine, traditional turkey, baked vanilla cheesecake and, of course, Christmas crackers!

Asia De Cuba, Covent Garden
Diners can enjoy the best of both worlds at Asia de Cuba on Christmas Day, as it is offering both a set menu at lunch and an a la carte service at dinner. Located in the St Martin’s Lane hotel, this chic restaurant is a great base for a festive exploration of London, particularly as it’s just yards from the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square.

The Hilton, Park Lane
If you’re not in the mood for Christmas lunch but are looking for a sweet festive treat, the Park Lane Hilton‘s afternoon tea should definitely hit the spot. Their Christmas afternoon tea is served on a solid chocolate plate and includes a variety of Christmas-themed delicacies including snow-topped chocolate Christmas trees and miniature Christmas pudding parfait. Tea is served from 2pm-6pm and is £32.50, or £39.50 with a glass of champagne.

Alyn Willams at The Westbury, Mayfair
Follow the Michelin star to this sumptuous Mayfair restaurant, where you can indulge in a nine-course Christmas feast for £160. (£40 for children) The menu features everything from sweet onion mouse and pumpernickel crisps to the traditional turkey.

Cinnamon Club, Westminster
Spice up your Christmas lunch at this acclaimed Indian restaurant, which is offering a three course meal for £75 on Christmas Day. Feast on dishes such as clove-roasted goose breast and garam masala Christmas pudding with nutmeg custard before heading to the downstairs bar for festive cocktails and DJ music until the early hours.

The Kings Head, Roehampton
There are few things as festive as an open fire, and you can snuggle in its warm glow at this popular pub, which is offering a four-course lunch for £75. Highlights include venison carpaccio, wild mushroom, spinach and chestnut wellington and a range of decadent puddings.

Min Jiang at the Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington
This luxury Chinese restaurant is offering a variety of set menus, starting from £60 per head. These offer a delicious alternative to traditional festive fare – why have turkey when you could have “grilled drunken chicken”?

Bumpkin, Notting Hill and South Kensington
Enjoy a four course feast, a glass of English sparkling wine and traditional crackers at two of the Bumpkin branches, which also offer a smaller menu for children. Lunch is £75 for adults, or £14.95 for children.

Dean Street Townhouse, Soho
Snuggle up in the cosy dining room of this Georgian townhouse for a festive set menu, which features all the traditional favourites. The meal is priced at £95 and the menu can  be viewed here.

The Hoxton Grill, Shoreditch
This popular neighbourhood restaurant is open for both lunch and dinner on Christmas Day. There’s even an outdoor space, so you might be able to play in the snow!

Almeida, Islington
Both turkey and goose with all the trimmings are on the menu at this north London restaurant, which offers four traditional courses for £65.

The Blueprint Café, Bermondsey
The Blueprint Café at the design museum is offering a four-course lunch, accompanied  by spectacular views of the Thames, on Christmas Day. Highlights include braised oxtail ravioli, fallow venison and a wedge of Stilton served family-style to finish.

Spice Market at the W Hotel, Leicester Square
The south-east Asian restaurant at this trendy hotel is offering a four course menu plus a Christmas treat for £40. Dishes include spicy chicken samosas, miso sour with shrimp dumplings, and duck a l’orange with carrot and crystallised tamarind.

Orrery, Marylebone
Enjoy an indulgent French take on Christmas lunch at Orrery, whose six-course tasting menu includes foie gras terrine, grilled lobster, turkey and Christmas pudding. The meal costs £80 per person.

Paradise at Kensal Green
This popular Kensal Green gastropub is offering a five-course feasting menu on Christmas Day, with a focus on British ingredients. Guests start off with mulled cider or champagne, before munching their way through a traditional menu that features Severn & Wye smoked salmon, Goosnargh turkey and home-made Christmas pudding. The meal costs £85, or £35 for children.

Koffmann’s at the Berkeley, Knightsbridge
Renowned chef Pierre Koffman’s Knightsbridge restaurant will be serving a four-course menu that features signature dishes such as scallops with squid ink, braised hare with foie gras, and pistachio souffle. Tickets are £110.

Looking for more festive activities in London? Check out our Christmas page.

Thanksgiving Dinners

Thanksgiving Feast in Aid of Benjamin Franklin House at the Butcher’s Hall
For a spectacular Thanksgiving feast in London, head to the Butcher’s Hall where a traditional meal is served in high style. All of the proceeds from the event go towards the work of Benjamin Franklin House, which is fitting as Franklin not only suggested that the turkey become an American national symbol, but also practised cooking it as part of his early work on electricity. Tickets are £68, or £28 for children and include a reception, Thanksgiving meal and drinks.

Ffiona’s, Kensington
This popular British restaurant has (perhaps unexpectedly) been serving an acclaimed Thanksgiving dinner for 19 years. If you’d like to celebrate at home but don’t have space to cook, they’ll prepare a takeaway feast for you!

Christopher’s, Covent Garden
The grill’s Thanksgiving dinner is always popular and it’s easy to see why: £45 gets you three courses from a tantalising menu that features delights such as Maryland crab cake and pumpkin pie with honey bourbon crème chantilly.

Le Caprice, Piccadilly
The restaurant’s traditional menu features crab and sweetcorn chowder, roast turkey with all the trimmings and a chocolate and pumpkin pie. Unlike many other menus, you can order the courses here individually.

Bodeans BBQ, Various Venues
With four branches around London, these laid back American diners are a great option for a relaxed Thanksgiving. Their special menu offers three traditional courses for £20.95.

Thanksgiving Drinks

The Big Easy, Chelsea
Thanksgiving tipples grace the menuwith a special Pumpkin Martini, Apple and Cinnamon Margarita; classic Egg Nogg; or Black Fig Sidecar. All £7.95 each. Plus a live band will be playing to cheer you on with toe-tapping music from 8.30pm.

The American Bar at the Stafford Hotel, St James’s
One of only two remaining American Bars in London (the other is at The Savoy), this is a great place for a post-Thanksgiving dinner cocktail. Select from a range of traditional favourites, or go for the special Thanksgiving Cognac Sparkler, which mixes Cognac with sparkling cider.

Bar 45, 45 Park Lane
If you can’t make the CUT restaurant‘s Thanksgiving dinner on 22 November, you can still sample their cranberry Thanksgiving cocktail 1863 (named after the year the holiday began in America) and Thanksgiving Pie Sliders at the hotel bar between 19-25 November.

The Rubens at the Palace Hotel, Victoria
For the duration of November you can enjoy Thanksgiving inspired cocktails in the hotels’ bars.

Thanksgiving Entertainment

Jetlag Bar, Warren Street
Their Thanksgiving menu is accompanied by an all-day programme of entertainment that includes a film screening, American Football coverage and live music from Mr Lee.

The Blues Kitchen, Camden
Be thankful for late opening hours at this popular live music venue, where the Thanksgiving party carries on until 1am. Live music will be provided by Mike Newsham, the Astrojets and Miraculous Mule from 9pm. The bar is also offering traditional food as well as a chance to win a Fender Telecaster – see their website for full details.

The Sports Cafe, Piccadilly
Watch NFL all night as part of this bar’s all-American celebration.

More Thanksgiving celebrations in London

For our World in London blog post for Turkey, I spent a sunny Friday afternoon creating a photographic essay of Green Lanes in Harringay, a heavily Turkish-influenced area in North London. (Harringay is a locality in the borough of Haringey).

From restaurants serving up lamachun, pide and kebabs, to travel agents, to supermarkets, to Turkish barbers, Green Lanes is a lively mix of Turkish treats (you’ll also find plenty of Greek and Polish shops, a Bulgarian restaurant and a Somalian cafe!)

You can see these photos and more, plus add your own to Visit London’s flickrpool.

And please tell us about about anything Turkish in London, in Green Lanes or elsewhere, you’ve come across in the comments below.