Upmarket Japanese restaurant Roketsu in Marylebone is welcoming Christmas private dining gatherings this November and December, with a specially-prepared festive menu, across two design-led spaces. Rather than nodding to the usual, familiar seasonal formulas, the restaurant approaches Christmas through the lens of kappo dining, where craftsmanship, seasonality and the rhythm of the meal shape the entire experience.
The lower-ground-floor dining space is particularly well suited to end-of-year gatherings. Arranged around a glass-fronted wine cellar holding more than 500 labels, it has a discreet, refined feel and can be hired in several ways: as a full-floor takeover, as a partial hire, or by booking the enclosed private room alone. That gives groups plenty of control over how exclusive they want the evening to feel.
For the smallest celebrations, the fully enclosed private dining room seats two to six guests and is completely separate from the main restaurant. It is a strong option for a senior team dinner, family celebration or very small Christmas gathering where privacy is the priority.
Food provides the festive centrepiece, serving a six-course Japanese Christmas menu with a focus on winter ingredients, prepared daily by the chefs. The meal opens with raw dishes of yellowtail with yuzu and scallop with ume, followed by appetisers including foie gras miso monaka and crab chawanmushi. Vegetable tempura comes next, before a sushi course of three pieces of nigiri, one roll and red miso soup.
For the grilled course, guests can choose from white fish, guinea fowl, Iberico pork, duck or pumpkin, with Wagyu available as an upgrade. Dessert is a choice between matcha Basque cheesecake and a truffle chocolate trio. Wine, sake and non-alcoholic pairings can also be added. Finally, the surroundings match the precision of the food. Roketsu’s interiors were created by the master carpenters of Nakamura Sotoji Komuten using traditional Japanese techniques and materials, giving the space an authentic elegance.