Spring has sprung and Easter swiftly approaches, bringing with it the first Bank Holiday weekend of the year – and a great excuse to gather together the whole family for a decadent feast. Once you have your gifting list dutifully crossed off and your chocolate eggs ready to go, it’s time to plan the main event by selecting one of the best restaurants in London for Easter lunch.

For those not jetting off to sunnier climes, there is plenty to keep you occupied right here in the capital, from star-studded stage shows and blockbuster exhibitions, to seasonal set menus from London’s fine dining institutions. Whether you’re craving cake and tea, or have a hankering for a heap of crispy roast potatoes, the city’s restaurants are providing a line-up of egg-cellent menus to keep you well-fed. Read on for the best restaurants to book for a brilliant Easter banquet.

Il Gattopardo, Mayfair

Do Easter the Italian way with Il Gattopardo’s decadent Il Pranzo di Pasqua menu. The special menu features regional classics, including torta pasqualina – a crisp spinach ricotta pie with a poached egg and paprika hollandaise – and asparagi, grilled asparagus topped with truffle honey and Parmesan shavings. To follow, indulge in an oven-baked lasagne with Black Angus ragù before a secondi of slow-roasted lamb leg with crispy courgette and mint jus or a grilled seafood selection of sea bream, prawns, mussels and squid.

A spread of traditional dolci di pasqua (Easter sweets) will be served to finish, including colamba, a traditional Italian sweet shaped like a dove to symbolize peace, and a pastiera Napoletana – an Italian Easter tart from Naples featuring a shortcrust pastry shell filled with ricotta cheese, candied fruit, and orange blossom water. As part of the spread, guests can also enjoy the restaurant’s signature tiramisu and fresh mantecato gelato. Buon appetitto.

27 Albemarle St, W1S 4HZ, visit gattopardo.restaurant

Pan Pacific London, Liverpool Street

Pan Pacific is pulling out all the stops for Easter weekend. From 3-6 April, book the new Spring Afternoon Tea in partnership with Newby Teas, one of the world’s most luxurious tea houses. Served in the Ginger Lily Lounge, exquisite patisseries capture the essence of the season, from blueberry and lemon macarons and mango mousse to rhubarb meringue tart and matcha mousse. Each course is guided by the restaurant’s tea sommelier, who will be on hand to pour jasmine and lemon palate cleansers, white rose infusions and delicate tea mocktails, from cold-brewed mountain oolong with melon and chamomile, to Oriental sencha with mango, pineapple, and rose syrup. 

Exclusively on Easter Sunday, Straits Kitchen will be serving a sumptuous brunch buffet featuring plates of fluffy pancakes and crispy chicken and waffles, as well as a chocolate fountain, all set to the smooth sounds of live jazz. Take things up a notch with the new Bloody Mary Trolley – an interactive experience where you can choose from the signature Classic Ritual, Butcher’s Mary, and Garden Mary, all concocted tableside for a touch of brunch theatre.

80 Houndsditch, EC3A 7AB, visit panpacific.com

The Original Ivy, Covent Garden

If you want to indulge in something special, we recommend booking The Ivy’s Easter lunch, featuring a slow roasted leg of lamb served with a Yorkshire pudding, crispy roast potatoes, green beans, carrots, Savoy cabbage and red wine sauce. If roast dinners aren’t your thing, the restaurant will also be serving its set menu, with two courses for £34.95 and three for £39.95. Spring highlights include poached green asparagus with a fried duck egg topped with grana padano or duck liver and pistachio parfait with crumbled pistachio and winter truffle, followed by mains like The Ivy shepherd’s pie or roasted sea trout with crushed peas and new potatoes. Round off the meal with the special Easter dessert, Peter Rabbit’s Garden Cake, a knickerbocker glory or The Ivy sherry trifle. It would be rude not to… 

1-5 West Street, WC2H 9NQ, visit ivycollection.com 

Dinings SW3, Chelsea

Japanese restaurant Dinings SW3 will celebrate Easter with a special brunch on 5 April. Served from 12pm to 7pm, the generous buffet showcases Dinings SW3’s most popular dishes created by executive chef Masaki Sugisaki. Priced at £65 per person, expect a selection of sushi platters featuring aged akami with truffle soy salsa and chu toro with tsukuri soy, chirashi bowls, fresh salads and larger sharing dishes of grilled hand-dived Scottish scallop with seaweed cultured butter and sake-kasu marinated Cornish red chicken breast with kale and yuzu sabayon. 

Walton House, Lennox Gardens Mews, SW3 2JH, visit diningssw3.co.uk 

Jean-Georges at The Connaught, Mayfair

Served in The Connaught’s chic dining room, from Friday to Sunday, the new afternoon tea (from £65 per person) at Jean-Georges will be celebrating Easter in a seriously sophisticated way. Executive pastry chef Ramiro Lafuente Martinez has created a menu that respects tradition while incorporating the vibrant flavours synonymous with Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s cuisine. Upon arrival, guests are welcomed with a seasonal amuse-bouche and a glass of champagne before finger sandwiches filled with cucumber and orange blossom, turkey with piperade, smoked salmon with miso, and devilled egg. This is followed by pastries such as the vanilla éclair with vanilla cream, the strawberry tartlet and the Connaughty Treat: an everchanging, reimagined classic British biscuit, which in spring will take the form of a salted caramel digestive biscuit.

Carlos Place, W1K 2AL, visit maybourne.com 

The Chancery Rosewood, Mayfair

The Chancery Rosewood, which opened as the brand’s second London hotel last year, is offering two distinct Easter experiences. Jacqueline invites guests to celebrate the season with a luxurious Easter afternoon tea, served throughout the weekend in a sunlit lounge overlooking Grosvenor Square. The experience begins with a welcome from the Rosewood tea sommelier, followed by asparagus and goats cheese tart, elegant sandwiches such as lemon-roasted corn-fed chicken with wild garlic emulsion and Wye Valley asparagus with Dorset crab, and scones with Yorkshire rhubarb jam. Easter sweet treats include a chocolate hot cross bun, served with a choice of signature hot chocolate or chocolate black tea, a playful soft-boiled chocolate egg and soldiers, and a dark chocolate Easter nest with hazelnut praline. 

At Mediterranean restaurant Serra, book the Easter Sunday brunch to bring the whole family together for delectable plates of Dorset crab and spring onion omelette or grilled seabass with saffron mussel broth. This is the perfect pre-shopping or park walk refuel. 

30 Grosvenor Square, W1K 9AN, visit rosewoodhotels.com 

Cord Restaurant by Le Cordon Bleu, The City 

Celebrate Easter week in style at Cord Restaurant by Le Cordon Bleu on Fleet Street. Housed in a stunning Grade II-listed building just moments from St Paul’s, Cord Restaurant brings together refined French technique and British seasonal flavours. From 25 March to 7 April, indulge in a Salt Marsh lamb rack, served with morels, sweetbreads, peas, and mint. For something lighter, explore the Café’s Easter specials, including a baby carrot and harissa béchamel Danish and elegant mango matcha entremets. 

85 Fleet Street, EC4Y 1AE, visit cordrestaurant.co.uk 

Hotel Cafe Royal, Regent Street

Both of the standout restaurants at Hotel Café Royal will be celebrating Easter at the beginning of April. Traditionalists will love the Easter Sunday lunch at the storied Café Royal Grill, available exclusively on 5 April and created by culinary director Kevin Gratton, featuring elevated plates of asparagus salad and rack of Cornish lamb. Fine diners, however, should look no further than Alex Dilling’s two Michelin-starred eponymous restaurant, which has composed a special set menu for Easter Sunday that puts an elegant French twist on seasonal flavours, from paté, mustard and cucumber croissant canapés to sole meuniere and truffle pomme puree, finishing with traditional Easter dessert, il flottante. 

68 Regent Street, W1B 4DY, visit hotelcaferoyal.com 

Ham Yard Hotel and Dorset Square Hotel, across London

At Soho’s Ham Yard Hotel, book the Easter Long Lunch for a leisurely, springtime feast with live jazz, magnum-poured wine and an elevated Sunday roast on 5 April from 12-5pm. Think braised lamb shoulder or monkfish Wellington with spinach mousse, all served with endless seasonal sides, an indulgent dessert trolley and a homemade Easter Egg for everyone to share. Guests can delight in the charming Easter egg display in the lobby, along with a selection of sweet treats for the whole family to enjoy.

Sister Firmdale property, Dorset Square Hotel in Marylebone, will be offering a traditional celebration at The Potting Shed on Easter Sunday. For £27 per person, enjoy standout cuts like Aubrey Allen rib of beef and roast leg of lamb, alongside a nut roast option, all served with the full array of trimmings. Nearby Regent’s Park is just a five minute walk away, and is the perfect spot for Easter egg hunts and walking off the feast.

Visit firmdalehotels.com 

Raffles at The OWO, Westminster

French chef Mauro Colagreco will be celebrating Easter with a European edge on Good Friday and Easter Saturday. At Saison, expect elegant seasonal decorations and a special spring menu, with two courses available for £65 and three for £80. Starters include cured chalk stream trout with Menton lemon vinaigrette, and London burrata with citrus fruits, basil, Sicilian raisins and pistachio, followed by larger dishes of grilled Hampshire pork chop with peppercorn sauce and potato mousseline, poached Scottish cod with Jerusalem artichoke, and roast leg of lamb with all the trimmings. To finish, desserts include tiramisu and Easter Egg ice cream.

Elsewhere at Raffles at The OWO, The Drawing Room will host its usual afternoon tea but between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, guests will delight in discovering small chocolate eggs hidden around their table. Plus, both menus will be offered to children under 12 with a 30 per cent discount.

57 Whitehall, SW1A 2BX, visit raffles.com 

Read more: The best brunches in London