The best Christmas party venues in London for 40 people

Upstairs at this Covent Garden tapas bar, the La Scala Room gives a group of 40 exposed brick, bold artwork and soft lighting to themselves. Choose between two Spanish set menus or a canapé reception.

The team can add flowers, name cards and personalised menus, and the Christmas wines are chosen each year by the in-house sommelier.

Close to Bank station, this Italian restaurant and wine bar can be taken over in full by a party of 40, giving the group its open-plan room of industrial furniture and atmospheric lighting.

The Christmas group menu is built for sharing, from Barolo-braised beef shin to sponge and alchermes pudding. Wines come from across Italy, including Tuscany and Sicily.

Inside The OWO in Westminster, Paper Moon's main dining room, the Salone, can be hired for a party of 40, with cushion-lined seating and the option to add the adjoining Lounge.

Italian set menus run from three to five courses. The team will tailor a menu on request, and allergies and dietary requirements can be accommodated.

Dishoom's Shoreditch Irani café is decked out in baubles, tinsel and lights for the season, and The Veranda can be hired privately for a party of 40.

The festive feast centres on the Christmas Turkey Raan, a whole turkey leg slow-cooked in Indian style, and finishes with mince pie kulfi. A festive breakfast feast offers a daytime alternative.

For a team that would rather compete than sit through three courses, Fairgame's Bumper Bar Booths put a group of 40 beside the main bar, the resident DJs and 12 in-house fairground games with digital leaderboards and prizes.

It is a shared, high-energy setting rather than a private room. Street food, frozen margaritas and Prosecco-infused candyfloss fill the gaps between rounds.

Downstairs at this St James's brasserie, private bar area Frank's takes its cue from the wine bars of Paris, with a central bar, polished concrete floors and exposed ceilings.

It can host a group of 40 for a seated dinner or a reception, with the whole downstairs available if numbers grow.

Known as The Vic, this Edgware Road casino pairs a 40-person restaurant, refurbished as part of a £15 million transformation, with a gaming floor, bars and a terrace.

The internationally inspired festive menu has Middle Eastern influences, running from oysters with citrus-soy dressing to pomegranate-glazed poussin. After dinner, your group can try the tables or catch live sport on the big screens.

Founded by three brothers and a friend who grew up around the family-run restaurants of northern Italy, this Soho trattoria can be hired exclusively by a group of 40, across its dining room and basement Cocktail Bar.

Parties of 15 or more pre-order from dedicated menus, with dishes such as pappardelle with duck ragù and truffle. An all-Italian wine list and a long vermouth selection complete the offer.

For a party that runs late, Belushi's Team Room is a fully private downstairs space for 40, with its own screens and the option to play your own music.

Christmas packages bundle food and drinks, from Pig in Blanket hot dogs to gingerbread espresso martinis. Karaoke can be added, and DJs and big screens keep the wider venue lively.

This long-established Islington restaurant fills its conservatory-style dining room with Christmas trees, greenery and lights in December. The Club Room, with its own private bar, terrace access and garden views, seats a party of 40.

The sample festive menu keeps things traditional, with pigs in blankets, braised red cabbage and Christmas pudding with brandy butter.

This long-loved Holland Park restaurant is dressed with velvet drapes, candlelight and twinkling lights for the festive season. The Snug, with its own private bar and sound system, seats a party of 40.

Chef patron Owen Kenworthy's modern French brasserie cooking is joined by festive specials and a Christmas set menu, plus drinks and canapé packages.

A short walk from King's Cross and Euston stations, this independent southern Italian restaurant can give a group of 40 its downstairs Lower Gallery Room, or the ground floor for a little more space.

Sharing plates, homemade pasta and stone-baked pizza suit a relaxed team dinner.

This Westbourne Grove wine shop and bar can be hired in full for a party of 40, spread across its two levels, including a lower-ground lounge with botanical murals and soft lighting.

The team can build a wine list around your group, from Christmassy reds to sparkling for party season. Cheese and charcuterie boards and small plates such as aubergine parmigiana keep everyone fed.

The Fireplace Room, with leather booths and a raised fireplace, seats a group of 40 for a sit-down Christmas dinner. For a standing party, the Grade II-listed vaulted Horse Tunnel is the more unusual choice.

Christmas set menus include wagyu carpaccio, turkey ballotine and sticky toffee pudding, with a festive buffet, canapés or a six-course tasting menu as alternatives.

Book this Fitzrovia restaurant exclusively and a party of 40 gets the whole dark, moody space, built around a rock library of 48 stones hand-picked from a Chilean mine.

Head chef Nicolas Einersen's festive feasting menu blends Chilean and Scandinavian influences, from lobster empanadas to 45-day aged ribeye, with South American wines and house cocktails alongside.

The Ember Bar is the space to book for a group of 40 at this Soho restaurant, with its own central bar and room to sit down or mingle.

Two festive sharing menus draw on the wood-fired cooking of Spain and Italy, from Iberico presa and prawns pil pil to churros with warm chocolate sauce. A tiramisu martini makes a fitting finish.

Large Christmas trees and festive decorations set the tone at this St James's hotel, with The Wine Cellar seating a party of 40. Once used as an air raid shelter in the Second World War, the cellar now holds the hotel's 8,000-bottle collection.

Guests dine along one banqueting table on bespoke menus from Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines, including the hotel's famous beef Wellington.

Upstairs at this Primrose Hill pub, the Brunel Bar, named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, has its own private bar and a festive red colour scheme.

It takes a standing party of 40 comfortably, with a Christmas buffet of sliders, croquettes and mince pies. A seated dinner of hand-carved turkey and Christmas pudding works for up to 38, or the Pergola seats a full party of 40.

Soaring ceilings, marble tables and a two-storey wine library give this St James's restaurant its drama, and it is dressed with Christmas trees and lights for the season.

The semi-private Mezzanine, with its own bar and walk-in wine cellar, keeps a group of 40 connected to the buzz below. Group set menus lean Mediterranean, and Bar Eleven downstairs takes over for late drinks.