13 London restaurants putting on the best Halloween show

Halloween in London used to mean a costume, a club and a sore head. These days the city's restaurants have joined in properly, and the best of them treat 31 October as an excuse for theatre: actors at the next table, a film on the roof, a cabaret between courses. With the date landing on a Saturday in 2026, many venues are running events across the whole weekend, and several start well before. The common thread is that most of them sell out. Book early, check the dress code and, if in doubt, wear the cape.

1. The Witching Hour at ROAST, Borough Market

The most elegant way into the season. Throughout October, ROAST's Butterfly Meadow in the Floral Hall has been taken over by witches, candlelight and mysterious potions for a Halloween afternoon tea. Expect finger sandwiches, the restaurant's pork and sage Scotch egg, jet-black charcoal scones with jam and clotted cream, and sweets with names like the Midnight Bat, the Pumpkin Charm and the Red Velvet Curse. Don Julio has created a set of Halloween cocktails to go with it, or there is Veuve Clicquot for the less adventurous.

When: daily, 1 October to 1 November

Address: The Floral Hall, Stoney Street, Borough Market, London SE1 1TL

Telephone: 020 3371 3120

Website: roast-restaurant.com

2. Rooftop Halloween Movies at JOIA, art'otel Battersea Power Station

Dinner and a film, raised to rooftop level. Guests begin with a multi-course dinner at JOIA, or the more relaxed TOZI Pizzeria, before heading up for an open-air Halloween screening above Battersea Power Station. The organisers have thought about the October chill: there is heated seating, hot water bottles are handed out free and the popcorn is fresh. It is one of the more romantic options on the list.

When: 29 October and two further dates Tickets: from £79.50

Address: Floors 14–16, art'otel London Battersea Power Station, 1 Electric Boulevard, London SW11 8BJ

Telephone: 020 3833 8333

Website: joiabattersea.co.uk

3. Halloween Immersive Brunch at Archer Street, Soho and Northcote Road

Archer Street's singing brunches are already a London institution, and the Halloween edition goes all in. For 90 minutes the pizza, prosecco and beer are bottomless, while the house's West End-trained performers work through spooky classics and cult favourites, with The Rocky Horror Picture Show high on the setlist. Come in costume, because everyone ends up on the floor for the Thriller zombie dance. In Soho the party carries on into the evening with Los Muertos, a free-entry Day of the Dead night with a bar tab for the best-dressed corpse.

When: 31 October, 2pm to 5pm Tickets: from £55

Address: Archer Street Soho, 3–4 Archer Street, London W1D 7AP; Archer Street SW11, 3–7 Northcote Road, London SW11 1NG

Telephone: Soho 020 7734 3342; SW11 020 3887 4435

Website: archerstreet.co.uk

4. Lost Souls Halloween Extravaganza, Camden

Camden's moody little pizzeria was always going to take this night seriously. Lost Souls is serving a two-course dinner with a cocktail, before the tables give way to a disco of 80s, rock'n'roll and indie hits that runs until one in the morning. There is a costume contest, and the winner walks away with a £300 bar tab, which should concentrate minds when it comes to the fake blood.

When: 31 October, 8.30pm to 1am

Address: Lost Souls Pizza, 245 Eversholt Street, London NW1 1BA

Telephone: 020 3062 3387

Website: lostsoulspizza.com

5. Taste Film presents Hocus Pocus, The Refinery Citypoint

Taste Film has built a following for its cinematic dinners, in which each course is inspired by a scene on the screen. This year the Sanderson sisters get the treatment, with a screening of the 1993 family favourite and a menu that follows the action. It is a gentler kind of Halloween dinner, more broomstick than chainsaw, and ideal for groups who want the theme without the terror.

When: 16 October and one further date Tickets: from £88

Address: The Refinery Citypoint, 1 Ropemaker Street, London EC2Y 9HT

Telephone: 020 7382 0606

Website: tastefilm.co.uk and drakeandmorgan.co.uk/the-refinery-citypoint

6. Dinner in total darkness at Dans le Noir?, Clerkenwell

For a genuinely unnerving evening, nothing beats eating in pitch black. Dans le Noir? serves its meals in complete darkness, guided by visually impaired hosts, and on Halloween the kitchen sends out a surprise menu of bold flavours and unexpected textures. Not knowing what is on your fork turns out to be scarier than any mask.

When: 31 October

Address: 69–73 St John Street, London EC1M 4AN

Telephone: 020 7253 1100

Website: london.danslenoir.com

7. The Candlelight Club Halloween Ball, south London

The long-running 1920s speakeasy party returns for an elegantly eerie Halloween ball at a secret location in south London, an old ballroom dressed with cobwebs and guttering jack-o'-lanterns. The dress code is Jazz Age with a ghostly twist, think vampish witches and dapper devils, and there is live jazz and cabaret throughout. The three-course dinner option reserves a table for the whole night, which is the civilised way to do it.

When: 31 October, 7pm to 1am

Address: Secret location in London, revealed to ticket holders by email two days before the event

Telephone: no telephone listed; book online

Website: thecandlelightclub.com

8. Murder Mystery Dinner at the Lord Northbrook, south London

A proper pub supper with a body count. Actors bring a crime to life around the dining room and draw guests into the investigation, while the kitchen serves three courses, among them maple-roasted squash hummus with flatbread, fish and chips, and blueberry cheesecake. It is cosy, local and very good value for a night of sleuthing.

When: 30 October, 7pm to 10pm Tickets: from £64.80

Address: 116 Burnt Ash Road, Lee, London SE12 8PU

Telephone: 020 8318 1127

Website: thelordnorthbrook.co.uk

9. Spooky Brunch Socials at Flight Club

Darts and pizza, with a Halloween costume prize. At its Shoreditch, Bloomsbury, Islington and Victoria branches, Flight Club is running Spooky Brunch Socials: a cocktail on arrival, an hour of its social darts, then pizza paddles, with a whole bottle of prosecco each or four beers. Fancy dress is encouraged, and the best outfit wins.

When: selected dates through October

Address: Shoreditch, 2a Worship Street, EC2A 2AH; Bloomsbury, 55 New Oxford Street, WC1A 1BS; Islington, 56 Upper Street, N1 0NY; Victoria, 6 Sir Simon Milton Square, SW1E 5DJ

Telephone: Bloomsbury 020 3019 3093; other branches via the website

Website: flightclubdarts.com

10. The Abandoned Toy House at L'oscar, Holborn

The boutique hotel on Southampton Row hands itself over to The Toymaker for the night. After a welcome cocktail, roaming performers, hanging puppets and broken dolls take over the lavish interiors, while the bar serves toy-themed drinks. VIP tickets bring a private table and champagne for those who would rather watch the horror unfold from a banquette.

When: 31 October, 7.30pm to 1am Tickets: from £63.72

Address: L'oscar, 2–6 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4AA

Telephone: 020 7405 5555

Website: loscar.com

11. Murder, Mayhem & Mystery at the Lucky Pig, Fitzrovia

The Lucky Pig's low-lit basement makes a natural crime scene. Guests are handed a welcome drink and canapés before interrogating a cast of unhinged Victorian characters, and once the case is solved a DJ turns the evening into an afterparty. The best-dressed detective takes home a bottle of whisky.

When: 29 October, 7pm to 2am Tickets: from £33

Address: The Lucky Pig, 5 Clipstone Street, London W1W 6BB

Telephone: 020 7436 0035

Website: theluckypig.co.uk

12. Mr Fogg's Halloween Murder Mystery, Mayfair

The Victorian explorer's Mayfair residence turns into the scene of a crime. Guests have one hour to question a houseful of suspects, each with something to hide, and two of the bar's elaborate cocktails are included to steady the nerves. It is short, sharp and very Mr Fogg.

When: 31 October Tickets: from £62.64

Address: Mr Fogg's Residence, 15 Bruton Lane, London W1J 6JD

Telephone: 020 7036 0608

Website: mr-foggs.com

13. Théâtre des Vampires by Nude Noir, secret location

The most grown-up entry on the list. Nude Noir, the London collective known for its salacious, seductive evenings, stages Théâtre des Vampires, an immersive, cinematic and sensual show inspired by Interview with the Vampire. Guests are invited to choose eternal life, and are drawn into a candlelit world of blood, desire and decadence at a secret London venue, with just 100 places for one night only. The dress code is strict and the palette is black and blood red: dark, decadent and seductive, with no casualwear, no trainers and no costumes. It falls on the eve of Halloween, for anyone who would rather keep 31 October itself free.

When: Friday 30 October, 8pm to 11.45pm Tickets: from £74.20

Address: Secret location in London, revealed to ticket holders