Private dining rooms in London, by party size
The guest count will narrow a private dining search quickly. Scott’s has an eight-person oval table, while Hide offers a room for forty overlooking Piccadilly and Green Park. Gymkhana’s vault bookings open three months ahead, earlier than its main dining room.
Up to eight: Scott's and Hide's small rooms
Scott’s Platinum Arowana Room takes eight around one oval table. Lit glass, green agate and Lalique lights accompany works by Renoir, Miró, Chagall and Braque. The à la carte menu focuses on fish and shellfish; service charge needs to be included in the budget.
Hide’s smaller downstairs rooms accommodate four in The Broken Room, six in The Nest and eight each in The Reading Room and The Shadow Room. The restaurant has a Michelin star and a wine selection supplied by Hedonism Wines.
Ten to 18: the business dinner
The Wolseley’s upstairs room takes fifteen at an oval table, reached by a private staircase. Weekday breakfast starts at 7am, lunch at noon and dinner at 7pm. The arrangement uses a food-and-drink minimum rather than a room-hire fee.
Bob Bob Ricard’s Soho dining room draws on a royal railway carriage and seats eighteen. Set menus start at £95 per person, with à la carte also offered. The no-under-15s rule matters for family occasions; ties are not required.
Gymkhana on Albemarle Street has two Michelin stars and private dining vaults. Its upstairs lounge, 42, seats around sixteen and stays open until 2am Thursday to Saturday, with hire available alongside a restaurant booking.
Twenty to 45: birthdays, launches, team dinners
For bigger parties at Hide, Hide & Seek accommodates twenty-four with its own entrance and lift. The Piccadilly View takes forty along the front of the building, with daylight and views over Piccadilly.
Scott’s Private Room seats forty at four round tables or twenty-four at one long table. Gilded ceilings and underwater panels surround a bar with tropical fish beneath it. Canapés, seafood platters, caviar and celebration cakes can accompany the à la carte selection.
At Somerset House on the Strand, Spring’s Salon seats thirty-six among plants and olive trees. Claridge’s offers six hire spaces, including L’Epicerie’s fourteen-person kitchen table and the Art Deco Painter’s Room for up to forty-five.
Dalloway Terrace’s Coral Garden at The Bloomsbury hotel, Great Russell Street, takes about twenty. Greenery and a canopy give it an outdoor setting, with heating in winter. Dinner is listed from 5pm to 10pm daily, and the British Museum is two minutes away.
Before signing, establish the room’s contractual terms in writing as well as choosing the menu:
- The minimum spend, and whether service charge counts towards it
- Set menu or à la carte, and the deadline for choosing dishes
- When final numbers are due and what happens if three people drop out
- The deposit and cancellation terms
- Age limits and dress code, especially for family events
- What time the room must be cleared
Food hygiene ratings for the places in this guide
Official fact Food Standards Agency Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, checked 23 September 2026. 5 is the top rating.
| Name | Registered address | Rating | Inspected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hide | 85-87 Piccadilly, W1J 7NB | 4 | Aug 2026 |
| The Wolseley | 157-160 Piccadilly, W1J 9EA | 5 | May 2025 |
| Bob Bob Ricard | 1 Upper James Street, W1F 9DE | 5 | Oct 2025 |
| Gymkhana | 42 Albemarle Street, W1S 4JH | 5 | Aug 2025 |