
Brilliant things to do in London in November 2024
Diaries at the ready: there's a bumper crop of events coming to the capital this month
From firework displays to the arrival of the first festive events of the season, November is a wonderful month for the capital’s social butterflies. Whether you’re looking to wine and dine at London’s newest restaurants, get your Christmas shopping started early, or reacquaint yourself with some of the city’s best cultural institutions, there’s no excuse for an empty diary. Here’s our guide to the best things to do in London in November 2024.
The restaurants: Three Darlings and Gallery at The Savoy

The latest in a slew of new restaurants from Jason Atherton’s Social Company, Three Darlings opens on Chelsea’s Pavilion Road this month. The darlings in question are Atherton’s three daughters, Keziah, Jemimah, and Athena, while Atherton’s wife Irha has also played a role in this dog-friendly bistro’s creation. Fair to say it’s a place for the whole family, then.
The kitchen is helmed by Jake Oswin (formerly of Dinner by Heston) where the brigade will be turning out modern British plates influenced by seasonality, sustainability, and global food trends. Think fermented chilli sauce and horseradish mignonette, Nduja, cacklebean egg and Piquillo pepper, Dorset clams with garlic butter, and spatchcock partridge with chicken fat butter.

Another London institution, The Savoy, will be unveiling its own fresh culinary concept in time for the festive season this month. Nodding to French culinary pioneer (and The Savoy’s very first chef when it opened in 1889) Auguste Escoffier, Gallery’s all-day dining concept is very much a twist-on-the-classics affair, with grazing, sharing and ‘big’ plates inviting diners to mix-and-match flavours from across the globe, including sole tacos (inspired by Escoffier’s famed sole Veronique), linguine with Devon crab and Mylor prawns, chicken tikka pie, and an intriguing pizza with smoked slamon, avocado and caviar. Bon appetit indeed.
Three Darlings is open now at 241b Pavilion Road, SW1X 0BP, visit threedarlingslondon.com; Gallery opens on 23 November 2024 at The Savoy, The Strand, WC2R 0EZ, visit thesavoylondon.com
The pop-ups: Loro Piana x Harrods, Krug x Flowers, and Tasaki x Selfridges

Already feeling festive? The first major Christmas window displays will be unveiled this month as Loro Piana takes over 36 windows and the façade of Harrods. Created as part of the Italian brand's 100th anniversary celebrations, the 'Workshop of Wonders' theme pays homage to Loro Piana's signature Italian craftsmanship with elaborate moving sets, a 17-metre tall Christmas tree and two new retail spaces inside Harrods offering exclusive limited edition pieces.


And what could be more cheering after a day of Christmas shopping than a glass of fine fizz? The latest iteration of its 'single ingredient' celebrations, this month Krug will be honouring the delicacy, beauty and culinary potential of flowers with a series of four-hand dinners devised by some of the UK's most famous chefs. Taking place across four evenings, from 7 November to 3 December, chefs Shay Cooper, Lorna McNee, Michael O'Hare, Simon Attridge and Adam Handling will each devise a series of courses designed to showcase floral flavours and pair perfectly with Krug Grande Cuvée 172éme Édition and Krug Rosé 28éme Édition. A foodie must-book.

Finally, Japanese pearl specialist Tasaki will pop-up in Selfridges Wonder Room this month for the final instalment of its travelling Floating Shell exhibition, which has so far visited Tokyo, Shanghai, Osaka, Taipei, Seoul, and Paris. Part of the brand's 70th anniversary celebrations, the exhibition will stay in situ throughout the festive season, giving visitors the chance to discover the artistry and natural beauty behind its designs, as well as view a series of unusual collaborative pieces including trainers, earphones and eye wear all set with Tasaki pearls.
Loro Piana's Workshop of Wonders takes place from 7 November 2024 - 2 January 2025 at Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Road, SW1X 7XL, visit loropiana.com; The Krug x Flowers dinners begin from 7 November at locations across London and Glasgow, tickets from £325 per person, visit eventbrite.com; Tasaki's Floating Shell pop-up takes place from 20 November 2024 - 5 January 2025 at Selfridges, 400 Oxford St, W1A 1AB, visit tasaki.co.uk
The must-try menu: Claridge’s Restaurant

Lunch at Claridge's is always a good idea – and to celebrate its first birthday, Claridge’s Restaurant has launched a new menu that certainly delivers on both style and substance. A year on from when it threw open its glorious Art Deco doors, the new bill of fare takes its cues from seasonal British produce, sourced via Claridge’s long-standing relationships with local suppliers and London institutions.
Firm favourites from the launch menu, including the signature Black truffle crumpets and Parker house loaf perfectly paired with Claridge’s crest butter, remain, while new sumptuous seafood plates include potted shrimp scone with horseradish, Cornish crab with pickled apple and a showstopping seafood tower, deliciously laden with crab, scallops, langoustine and clams, and crowned with optional lobster or caviar for an added dash of Mayfair magic. Herefordshire beef with French fries, girolles and Bérnaise sauce for two, and sides of honey glazed roots, Dauphinoise potatoes, and hispi cabbage round off the comforting menu which has been aptly designed for the colder months. Pair with a wine selected by the sommelier and you’re in for the five-star treatment.
Brook Street, W1K 4HR, visit claridges.co.uk
The bars: Blood Orange and ABar Rooftop


Cubitt House welcomes Blood Orange Bar, a seductive new subterranean spot beneath Belgravia's The Orange, to its roster of drinking and dining dens this autumn. Accessed via its own discreet doorway on St Barnabas Street, Blood Orange is decked out in (what else) plush oxblood and ochre velvets and gilded accents, creating the perfect setting for its menu of Mediterannean bar plates and hedonistic cocktails. Think palomas and oysters, sour cherry negronis and wood-fired pizzas, and martinis and charcuterie.

The newest addition to famed chef Akira Back's mini-empire at the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair hotel, ABar Rooftop will open this month to join the capital's burgeoning winter terrace scene. The intimate 50-seat space and al fresco terrace promises to pair panoramic views with exquisite cocktails inspired by the four seasons (don't miss the artichoke and thyme infused twist on an Old Fashioned) and a menu of delectably light dishes including sushi tacos, miso niçoise salad and Wagyu burgers. Reservations highly recommended.
Blood Orange Bar is open now at 1 St Barnabas Street, SW1W 8NE, visit cubitthouse.co.uk; ABar opens on 11 November at the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, 22 Hanover Square, W1S 1JP, visit mandarinoriental.com;
The hotel: Ellen Kensington


As characterful as its historic location, Ellen Kensington is London's newest independent luxury hotel. Channelling the upscale elegance of this storied neighbourhood, this contemporary 105-room retreat pays homage to the building's former resident, famed Vicotrian leading lady Dame Ellen Terry, through carefully restored period features, serene communal spaces, a pan-Asian Lacquer Room restaurant, and a glorious Ryokan spa with six suites and Asian-inspired treatments. Book now – this gorgeous destination won't stay under-the-radar for long.
Ellen Kensington is open now at 18-26 Barkston Gardens, SW5 0EN, visit ellenkensington.com
The theatre: Maddaddam and The Importance of Being Earnest

The bad boy of ballet, Wayne McGregor, turns his attention to one of Margaret Atwood's most affecting stories with an original adaptation of MaddAddam. Receiving its European debut at the Royal Opera House from 14-30 November 2024, and set to a new score by Max Richter, McGregor's unforgettable choreography breathes new life into Atwood's most famous trilogy – Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam – a dystopian tale of humanity, destruction and the power of nature to survive at all costs.

TV and film heavyweights Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who, Sex Education) and Sharon D Clarke (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) star in this fresh take on Oscar Wilde's classic satirical comedy at the National Theatre. Directed by Max Webster, this joyfully flamboyant production promises all the absurdity, extravagance and classic lines that have made Earnest an enduring favourite for more than a century. Don't forget your handbag.
MaddAddam runs from 14-20 November 2024 at the Royal Opera House, Bow Street, WC2E 9DD, visit rbo.org.uk; The Importance of Being Earnest runs from 21 November 2024 to 25 January 2025 at the Lyttelton Theatre, Upper Ground, SE1 9PX, visit nationaltheatre.org.uk
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