It’s that time of year again when you can eat in igloos whilst skating to a Santa Claus DJ. Or something.
We’ve rounded up all of London’s Best Christmas Pop-Up’s so you can get your festive on. We’ll be updating this with new goings-on as and when they get announced!
Where: Old Street
When: Launches Friday 20th October
Price: Free
What: The Magic Roundabout has raised the bar once more and transformed for winter, into a tented, heated, ‘Decades’ inspired wonderland. Stepping through Old Street tube station attendees will take the stairs through Time and Space and pop up into a homage to the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. The brand new themed areas include a slightly bonkers version of Woodstock with some serious flower power, and a 1970s Playboy lounge, complete with sheepskins and log fire. The Main Bar will be an all-out 80s disco with futuristic art and palm trees and finally, the VIP Area will take you right back to the early 90s – think Fresh Prince!
Food: BBQ from Smokin’ Lotus (voted no 42 in Time Out’s top 50 street food traders 2017), loaded jacket potato skins from, er Skins and juicy burgers from Burger Bear.
Drinks: 3 bars serving all the classics and some basic cocktails.
Where: Mercato Metropolitano in Borough
When: Open now until the New Year.
Price: Tickets from £17.00 for an adult, £9.50 for under 12s. Date night packages from £69 for two, with snacks, Prosecco and blankets included.
What: Backyard Cinema’s Snow Kingdom is set in an enchanted castle, deep in the snowy mountains in a magical land. Adventurers will enter through a secret entrance at the foot of the mountain and venture though an ice cave across a frozen lake! Once inside the grand ballroom, relax on giant beanbags before settling under a blanket to watch a favourite movie. Think Harry Potter, Beauty & the Beast, Titanic, Tangled & The Princess Bride, alongside new blockbusters including Baby Driver, Wonder Woman, The Revenant & Guardians of The Galaxy 2.
Food: Popcorn, etc or go to Mercato Metropolitano (the Italian street food market) right outside.
Drink: Potion themed cocktails (Toxic Apple, Bluebarb & Custard and Bubblegum Whizzbang) mulled wine, alcoholic hot chocolate & prosecco.
Queen of Hoxton’s Moroccan Medina
Where: Shoreditch
When: Open now until end of March 2018
Price: Free entry
What: Whilst everyone else is going alpine/ski themed, the QOH’s rooftop WigWam has been transformed into a Moroccan inspired hideaway. There’s a giant Moroccan lantern snug you can climb into, with rich carpets, cushions and low tables to recline around. Outside on the roof is inspired by the Majorelle Gardens in Marrakech with giant cacti set against dusty cobalt blue walls with canopies of fairy lights and cast iron fire pits.
Food: Middle Eastern delights such as Halloumi fries, Tagine and Shawarma Chicken Burger
Drinks: Hot espresso martinis, Boozy mint tea, and spiced hot buttered rum.
Where: Tobacco Dock
When: Launches 2nd November
Price: Free Entry but skating starts at £10 for 45 minutes
What: Themed around an urban après skate bar, the new winter season will feature a neon-lit winter playground with London’s only rooftop skating rink. We’re promised cutting edge DJs, ice hockey shooting, indoor and outdoor heated areas, and the some of the best views in the city.
Food: Fondue & Street Food
Drink: Seasonal Cocktails & Mulled Wine
Where: Roof East Stratford
When: Launches November 2nd
Price: Free Entry, curling from £10. Igloos are subject to a £40 minimum spend.
What: Rooftop curling. There’ll be six neon-lit, synthetic ice curling lanes, accompanied by an ice-cool soundtrack.
Food: Igloo dining dens with Jimmy’s Lodge on hand to deliver sharing boards direct to each dining dome.
Drink: Lane-side hot cocktails or warm up in the 80’s neon retro-chic ski lodge bar with cocktails and ski shots (yup – that’s a row of shots lined up on a ski)
Where: Fulham
When: Launches 9th November right up until Christmas from Thursday to Saturday.
Price: Entry starts at £5 (Curling £40 (8 people) 30 min slot, Sofa hire: £85, Heated Winter Lodge hire: £60 per head, Heated Secret Dining room hire: £80 per head)
What: Fulham’s first Thameside beach freezes over this winter – expect heated lodges, igloos, a snow-clad adult playground (four neon lit curling lanes, mini golf, ping pong and prosecco pong), plenty of fondue, and much more.
Food: Expect alpine favourites such as fondues & raclette burgers courtesy of Jimmy Garcia of Jimmy’s Lodge
Drink: BYOB during the week, whilst a full bar will be operating on Saturday.
South Pole Saloon returns to Brixton Rooftop
Where: Brixton
When: from Thursday 23rd November 2017 – 1st January 2018
Price: Free entry (unless there’s a dedicated event on which will usually take place on Saturdays)
What: This winter, break free from Bad Santa’s shackles and join a band of rebels in the frozen south for festive frolics from Thursday 23rd November 2017 – 1st January 2018. Guests are invited to escape the dark winter nights by climbing the stairs to this South London rooftop. Guests will be greeted by candy caners before being led through the swinging saloon doors and into a heated and covered wonderland, complete with woodland lodges, multiple bars, Candy Caner Cabins and themed private rooms, where creative cocktails are shaken, festive street food is prepared and live music plays.
Food: Vudu Food (slow smoked pulled pork, smoked chicken and grilled veg stacks), Mac to the Future, Fancy Funkin Chicken, and lamb burgers and wraps from new kids on the block The Lambassadors.
Drink: Multiple Bars
Where: Clapham Common
When: 23rd November 2017 – 1st January
Price: Free entry except Friday & Saturday nights
What: Featuring Street Feast, Backyard Cinema, Plonk Golf, Clapham’s first-ever Ice Rink, Twisted Wheels Roller Disco and Wasted Chic Christmas Market, plus a huge entertainment programme featuring Sink The Pink, Mexican Wrestling, Guilty Pleasures, South London Soul Train and more.
Food: Street food from Street Feast including Up In My Grill, Mother Clucker, Petare, SE Cakery and more TBA.
Drink: Every town needs at least one pub and Winterville is no exception. There’ll be a warm, wooden lodge looking out across the Town Square, serving craft beer, Christmas cocktails and, of course, mulled wine. It has an outdoor heated terrace and a mezzanine area with its own bar that groups can hire out. Plus various other themed bars spread across the site with drinks available near every attraction.
Christmess in Nicky’s Imaginarium
Where: Borough
When: Launches 15th November for a six-week run.
Price: £55 for dinner, other events individually priced.
What: A colourful foray into Nicky’s Imaginarium, the naughty and anarchistic world inhabited by St Nicky and his revolutionary theatrical entourage. Prepare to enter a mesmeric world, visit Mama Claus’ hidden parlour-come-blues room, peruse the independent makers market and get up to all sorts of mischief. Open throughout the day, craftspeople from across the capital will be making and selling an abundant trove of stocking fillers and makers will also be offering present making classes such as a Floral Wreath weaving and Beeswax candle making.
Food: A 12 dish festive feasts by Slap Ya Papa with plentiful platters of Cajun roasted turkey and candied yams, along with a bonanza of sweet things and other surprise treats. At this unique festive residency, Ps & Qs are replaced with Gs & Ts, table etiquette consists of dancing on them, and everyone’s in the mood for mischief.
Drink: Santa’s Whiskey Grotto and the glittering Green Fairy’s Absinthe bar – you’ve been warned.
Where: West India Quay
When:
Price:
What: Six giant pop-up igloos accommodating up to eight people, which come fully furnished with electric heaters, sheepskin throws and Drake & Morgan’s signature hot water bottles and Aran jumpers.
Food: Seasonal canapés and sharing plates, think pigs in blankets, stilton & walnut tarts and aubergine sliders with winter slaw & wasabi mayonnaise.
Drink: Festive cocktails & hot toddies such as the ‘Mistletoe Spritz’ (Courvoisier VSOP, prosecco, home-made grenadine, brown sugar, cranberry bitters and orange zest) and ‘Down the Chimney’ (Tanqueray gin, Graham’s port, cinnamon syrup, lemon, mint and blackberry).
Where: Greenwich
When: Saturday 16th December // 3pm – 3am (
Due to popular demand The Giant Cheeseboard Festival will now run across multiple days between 16th December and Saturday 23rd
Price: £30 + b/fee
What: We got a bit excited and wrote about this back in October.
Food: UNLIMITED cheese & biscuits.
Drink: UNLIMITED Mulled Wine.
Last Days of Shoreditch Winter La La Land
Where: Old Street
When: open every Thursday, 5:00pm – 11:30pm, Friday 5:00pm until midnight, Saturday 5:00pm until midnight, and selected Sundays.
Price: Entry is free with limited £5 tickets offering queue jump and a complimentary winter cocktail.
What: Roaring fire pits, Lucky Voice karaoke room and a DJ sets on the covered dance floor.
Food: Street food from Smokey Tails, Biff’s Jack Shack and Cheeky Burger
Drinks: Ernest Hemingway inspired cocktails
Where: The City
When: from 21st November until the end of February 2018
Price: The cost of a meal
What: City restaurant Coq d’Argent will once again be creating a winter wonderland on its rooftop for the festive season, this time with an Arctic inspiration. Two igloo tents will be installed on the heated ring terraces with festive lighting, furs and snowy decorations. Furthermore, an ‘Aurora Borealis Cube’ will be fitted in the restaurant’s lift, allowing guests to step inside for a simulated visual experience of the Northern Lights.
Food: Comfort-food classics
Drinks: A cocktail menu has been created to reflect the colours of the Northern Lights.
Where: Battersea Park
When: 2nd & 3rd of December
Price: Free Entry
What: A market set on Pear Tree Cafe’s charming terrace, amongst twinkling trees, overlooking the frosted boating lake, with carol singing.
Food: Over 30 food & drink vendors including Alpages Swiss Alpine Cheese, Rococo Chocolate, British cured meats from Cannon & Cannon, relishes and chutney from Rubies in the Rubble, loose leaf tea and ware from Good and Proper Tea and sparkling wines from Wiston Estate.
Drinks: Hot chocolate and mulled cider.
Sanderson welcomes a White Christmas with ‘Let it Snow’ at the Long Bar
Where: Fitzrovia (near Oxford Street – perfect for post-shopping drinks!)
When: Monday 11 December until Christmas Eve
Price: Free entry
What: The infamous long bar will be transformed into a winter alpine forest, complete with dangling birches, leaf covered floors, and falling snow.
Food: Festive bites (all £6) such as Crispy Braised Beef Cheek with Kimchi Dip, Turkey Mushroom Fritter with Candy Chestnut and Red Currant Hash, and Maple Roasted Brussel Sprout Skewers with Turmeric Bacon and Hazelnuts.
Drinks: Four new cocktails from Bombay Sapphire including the signature French 75 (£14), a mix of Star of Bombay Gin, Champagne, lemon juice, a sweet sugar syrup and citrus garnish.
The Bruichladdich Winter Lodge
Where: Smithfield
When: from 1st November until the end of January
Price: Free Entry (£15 for the tasting trio).
What: Hebridean distiller, Bruichladdich® have transformed the Birdcage at Bird of Smithfield into a cosy winter lodge.
Food: –
Drinks: Warming whisky cocktails, including the Islay of Laddie cocktail with plum bitters and blackcurrant foam and The Stinging Scot with nettle reductions, vanilla bitters and kumquats. Guests can also try out the tasting trio of Bruichladdich’s malts, discovering the three different peating levels of Classic Laddie, Port Charlotte and Octomore, for £15.
Time Out Loves Christmas Movies
Where: Elephant and Castle
When: November 23 – December 16
Price: Tickets from £17
What: A series of Christmas classics, ranging from blockbuster Die Hard, to the more traditional Miracle on 34th Street. These will be followed by a Winter Wonderland themed party, with music and performers.
Food: Stone-baked pizzas, pigs in blankets, bratwurst, baked Camembert’s with breadsticks and chutney, mince pies, gingerbread men and of course, popcorn.
Drinks: Beer Stein, Mulled Wine, Hot Cider, Hot chocolate with Marshmallows.
Where: Dalston
When: Open now until April!
Price: From free to £10 depending on what’s going on.
What: Opening its doors in the winter for the first time ever, the charity owned Dalston Roof Park will throw parties with special guest DJs, an array of movie nights, screenings and talks. Every Wednesday there’ll be the Winter Rooftop Cinema, screening winter classics with comfy cushions, seating, pillows and duvets keeping all attendees snug and entertained.
Food: No set menu but expect winter warmers, Christmas lunches, and cheese dishes.
Drinks: Mulled Wine
Where: A secret location on Regent’s Canal
When: launching on Saturday 16th December for a limited time.
Price: £15
What: Feeling stressed about Christmas shopping? Already fed up with Christmas music? Dreading the family dispute over what to watch? Well, fear not…
Londoners already stressed out with the pre-Christmas rush can now experience the world’s first ever dedicated Christmas ‘rage room’. The unique pop-up allows those with pre-Christmas angst the chance to don a red jumpsuit, put on a hard hat, grab a baseball bat and let out their inner turmoil on a range of Christmas themed paraphernalia. Choose your most/least favourite Christmas track while you take aim at baubles, dancing Santa’s and Christmas trees for the ultimate cathartic Christmas stress management experience.
Food: No food – sounds like you’ll be too busy smashing the place up.
Drinks: Tickets include a glass of prosecco but you can add on unlimited wine or prosecco as well.
