Here are some of our favourite restaurants with live entertainment in London. Call us for full details of what’s on at the below venues, to make bookings, or for more ideas on where to dine out with a musical note in the capital.
The Bathhouse
7-8 Bishopsgate Churchyard, City, London EC2M 3TJ
With its bands of aquamarine brick and domed steeple, this Victorian Turkish bathhouse is a conspicuous anachronism among the skyscrapers of Bishopsgate. It looks deceptively small, but once you step through its doors there’s a spiral staircase that descends to a cavernous, candle-lit hideaway of velvet curtains and fragile lace.
The modern European menu changes seasonally, usually featuring dishes such as confit of pork belly, lamb chops and crab cakes. The entertainment, meanwhile, ranges from club nights to riotous cabaret performances. 'The mood is City meets Shoreditch, and you can just pop in for drinks too,' says Hernan Castro-Vidal, one of our restaurant experts.
Call us to make bookings or find out what’s on.
Sarastro
126 Drury Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2B 5SU
True to its operatic inspiration, this Covent Garden Turkish restaurant doesn’t skimp on the spectacle. Named after the powerful high priest in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, this extraordinary locale is clad in enough gold and royal reds to make La Scala look like a study in minimalism. Look out for the erotic art in the loos, too. There’s Motown on Thursdays and opera on Sundays and Mondays, and its flamboyant style is just the thing to get you in the mood for the theatre.
'The food is just an excuse to discover this Covent Garden gem,' Hernan says. 'It’s great for group or celebratory evenings with friends and family. Ask us and we’ll try to book one of the boxes on the first floor overlooking the restaurant.'
Ronnie Scott’s
47 Frith Street, Soho, London W1D 4H
Launched in 1959, this is one of the most important jazz bars in the UK. Its stage has played host to Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Rollins, Jimmy Hendrix and countless other legends of jazz, rock and blues, and it continues to draw heavyweight performers today.
Ronnie’s offers a modern European menu with a grill selection of burgers and steaks, but the cooking takes second billing to the music. 'Arrive early to get one of the tables around the stage,' recommends Hernan. 'Ronnie Scott’s is an intimate venue, so it feels as if you're part of something clandestine.'
Ask your lifestyle manager for full details of what’s on.
Circus
27-29 Endell Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9BA
This Tom Dixon-designed venue is more Buck Rogers than big top, with a retro space age theme that features giant glitter balls and shimmering walls. And fun is the focus here. Acrobats and fire-eaters provide spontaneous bursts of entertainment through the evening, and DJs keep the dancefloor lively on weekends.
The food is classic American – think mac and cheese, slow-roasted short ribs and jambalaya – and pre-theatre menus make Circus a good option before catching a show. ‘Just make sure you don’t get too enthralled by its performers and miss curtain-up,’ Hernan advises.
Supperclub
12 Acklam Road, Notting Hill, London W10 5QZ
There are no chairs at Supperclub’s tables. Instead, diners recline on beds that line the perimeter of a stark, searingly white space. There’s no à la carte menu, either. Each night the chefs create a five-course tasting menu that seems to fuse flavours from supperclub’s various global outposts, from Singapore to San Francisco. Masseuses flit between the beds to help diners unwind, and performance artists stage impromptu, and occasionally bewildering, entertainment.
Hernan says: 'It’s quite a lusty affair, where a man in a cat costume walks you to your table; so be warned if you’re taking a first date, your parents or trying to close a business deal.' It’s all part of the experience – lie back and take it in before hitting the dancefloor after dinner.
Bistrotheque
23-27 Wadeson Street, Bethnal Green, London E2 9DR
This East End brasserie serves up a satisfyingly traditional menu of British and French fare, but it’s Bistrotheque’s outlandish entertainment that’s kept us coming back. Hernan says: ‘The food is good and well presented, but the atmosphere and cabaret show are the main event.’ Expect sharp-witted drag queens, foot-stomping rock songs and satirical singalongs while you’re tucking into fish and chips or steak tartare.
There's also an inexpensive early bird menu, and a laid-back brunch, during which resident pianist Xavior serenades diners on his baby grand with a selection of pop covers.
Call us to book a table at one of our favourite offbeat restaurants in London.
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