Lunar New Year — also known as Chinese New Year — is one of the biggest dates in the Asian cultural calendar. Each new year is represented by one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac and, on 10 February, celebrations will usher in the Year of the Dragon, symbolising good luck, strength and health. Celebrate Lunar New Year in London and all the good things it’s predicted to bring with opulent offerings from the capital’s most sophisticated restaurants and bars. 

Chinese New Year Market at Duke of York Square, Chelsea

On 10 February, celebrate the Lunar New Year in style as Chelsea welcomes in the Year of the Dragon. From 11am until 4pm, Duke of York Square will host a Chinese-edition of the much-loved weekly Fine Food Market featuring traditional Chinese dishes and Asian delicacies – think bao buns, crispy chilli beef and dim sum – alongside a programme of live entertainment beneath swathes of red lanterns. Dragon dancers, lion performances and Chinese drummers will help guests welcome in a year of good fortune and power, while families with little ones can enjoy complimentary face-painting.

Visit dukeofyorksquare.com

Pan Pacific London, Liverpool Street

Celebrate in style at Pan Pacific London with its Lunar Afternoon Tea, featuring show-stopping patisseries, rare teas, delicious Chinese savoury dishes and traditional finger sandwiches in collaboration with the acclaimed Cantonese-specialists Bun House. The special Lunar New Year culinary offering is available from 8 February to 25 March 2024, and sees executive pastry chef Francesco Mannino and Bun House’s co-founder and chef, Z He, curate a selection of sweet and savoury buns, ranging from the signature lamb and bamboo shoot through to a mandarin shaped confection filled with custard (symbolising good luck in Chinese cultures) and a black chocolate bun. There are also two sui mai baskets and an array of picture-perfect patisserie.

Elsewhere in the five-star hotel, the Asian-inspired restaurant Straits Kitchen will host an exclusive Chinese New Year celebration on 10 February where guests can indulge in a special six-course menu. Start with the vibrant Rainbow Yu Sheng Bluefin tuna salad – paying homage to the tradition of tossing salad whilst sharing well wishes with family and friends – before tucking into wagyu steak, braised abalone and steamed turbot. Finish with a delicious dulce cremeux dessert with caramelised banana, red date ice cream and toffee sauce to round off the festivities.

Lunar Afternoon Tea from £68 per person; Chinese New Year menu at Straits Kitchen from £138pp; visit panpacific.com

MiMi Mei Fair, Mayfair

The Chinese offering from leading London restaurateur Samyukta Nair, MiMi Mei Fair, has transformed into a floral eden in time for Lunar New Year in London. From 1 February, dine under the canopy of the wishing tree – dressed in blues, emerald greens, blush pinks and deep maroon in honour of the wood dragon – while ornate gilded cages will also hang from the branches, filled with traditional Hong Bao (red envelopes) containing wishes made by diners for a prosperous year ahead.

Beneath the intricate branches, families can enjoy a traditional Chinese New Year feast starting with a Basket of Wealth: three styles of dim sum filled with steamed sea bass, garlic chives, and chicken and cabbage, alongside steamed Rock oysters with black garlic sauce and steamed XO okra. Then select from crispy Norfolk pork with pineapple and pomelo, tiger prawns served with an egg white and black bean sauce, or grilled ginger soya silver cod before finishing with a flourless chocolate bar served with a mandarin and pecan crunch. For 2024, MiMi Mei Fair has also collaborated with Courvoisier to celebrate the Year of the Dragon with a selection of expertly crafted cocktails, such as The Rising Dragon: a blend of Courvoisier VSOP, apricot liqueur, grand mariner, lemon juice and orange bitters.

From £128 per person, visit mimimeifair.com

Hakkasan, Fitzrovia and Mayfair

Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurants Hakkasan Hanway Place, Fitzrovia, and Mayfair have designed celebratory events to pay tribute to the prosperity and good fortune associated with the dragon in Chinese astrology. From 30 January to 25 February 2024, the Chinese New Year feast menu will include the signature Wishes of Prosperity dim sum duo – featuring lobster and cheese lantern puffs and black truffle and mushroom dumplings – alongside smoked eight treasure duck, a playful wild red king prawn with braised dragon beard noodles, and, as per tradition of serving fish to encourage prosperity, steamed John Dory with brown butter black bean sauce, enoki mushroom and okra. 

Also exclusively available for Lunar New Year, Hakkasan has partnered with Moët and Chandon champagne and Belvedere vodka to create two new cocktails, including the Red Dragon, featuring Belvedere vodka, yuzu sake, dragon fruit and lemon. Before you leave for the night, be sure to attach your red wishing ribbon to the spectacular wishing tree installations inspired by the Lam Tseun trees in Hong Kong, in the hope that all your dreams will come true in 2024.

From £128pp, visit hakkasan.com

Yauatcha, Soho and The City

Yauatcha has fully embraced the Year of the Dragon, redesigning both the interior and exterior of its London restaurants in keeping with the Lunar New Year celebrations. Adorned with vibrant dragon designs featuring bespoke graphics and a neon dragon light, each façade has been inspired by Hong Kong teahouses and will also feature brightly-lit lanterns.

First on the special menu's seven courses, available from 30 January to 25 February, is the Dragon Phoenix dim sum platter featuring eight treasure shui mai, Alaskan king crab in kam heong sauce, and stir-fried Surrey Angus rib eye beef with soy kumquat sauce and shishito pepper. Legend says that the more dumplings eaten during Spring Festival, the more money you will make in the new year, so to encourage good fortune the menu also offers floral scallop cheung fun decorated with edible flowers representing good luck and fresh beginnings. Other celebratory main dishes include salt and pepper lobster tail with traditional mooli cake, and sanpei rabbit with sweet basil, spring onion and chilli. What’s more, diners can also enjoy the limited edition Chinese New Year cocktail, Dragon Tail, featuring Tanqueray gin, dragon fruit and raspberry cordial mixed with lime juice, yuzu sake, kumquat syrup and foam bitter.

From £98 per person, visit yauatcha.com

Chop Chop at The Hippodrome, Leicester Square

For a dose of West End dazzle, celebrate at one of London’s most authentic Cantonese restaurants, Chop Chop by Four Seasons at The Hippodrome. Ring in the Year of the Dragon on 10 February with a delicious selection of bite-sized buns and dumplings, filled with chicken chiu chow and spicy beef with sweet potato noodles. Next, indulge in Chop Chop’s signature dish – Cantonese-style roast duck – before finishing up with desserts, made in collaboration with acclaimed Japanese patisserie Sakurado, including the brand’s signature pistachio mille crepe cake and yuzu cheesecake. Open until 4am, it’s going to be a big night – just make sure to book ahead...

Visit hippodromecasino.com

Mei Ume at Four Seasons Ten Trinity Square, Tower Hill

Available for lunch and dinner from 5-24 February 2024, Mei Ume's chef Peter Ho has prepared a multi-course menu that showcases traditional dishes eaten on Lunar New Year. To start, take part in the Yu Sheng ritual, or Prosperity Toss Salad: a tangy salad traditionally eaten while standing and tossed with chopsticks, with the higher the toss indicating the better the luck that person will have in the New Year. A selection of sharing plates follow, including slow-cooked five heads Australian abalone, succulent eight-treasures duck and steamed jumbo king prawns. To finish, enjoy a dessert of Tang Hulu: a sweet and sour treat enjoyed at Chinese New Year which symbolises happiness for the year ahead.

Those celebrating at Mei Ume for dinner on the 10 and 17 of February will also be treated to live performances, including a Chinese lion dance and an authentic Chinese dance featuring beautiful costumes inspired by the traditional Miao and vibrant red QiPao styles, as well as Chinese fans, umbrellas and yao long drums.

From £228 per person, visit fourseasons.com

Read more: The best new London restaurants opening in 2024