Where to celebrate Diwali in London: Special menus, events and supper clubs

Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is a time of celebration for millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world. This extraordinary festival lasts a full five days and celebrates the triumph of light over dark and good over evil, as well as new beginnings. Oil lamps and lights are lit across streets and homes, and emphasis is placed on the importance of family and, of course, food.

As Diwali follows the Hindu lunar calendar, the date changes every year. This year Diwali runs 6-10 November, with Sunday 8 November the main day of celebration.

London isn’t afraid to go all out when celebrating the Festival of Lights. Diwali on the Square attracts around 35,000 people to Trafalgar Square with lively music, dance displays, arts and crafts, and stalls serving vegan and vegetarian food - this year it took place on Sunday 25 October. Greenwich joins in too, with a free festival at the National Maritime Museum on Saturday 7 November that ends with a parade of lights through Greenwich Park.

Food is an important part of Diwali celebrations, much of it made with dairy produce before being offered to both gods and guests. Savoury snacks tend to include the famous samosas and bhajis, as well as aloo tikki (griddle-cooked potato patties) and channa bhatura (spiced chickpeas and puffed bread). If you’re in Gujarat, look out for ‘farssam’, or ‘crunchy snacks’. Traditional Indian dishes such as meat-based and vegetable curries, dhals and pulses make up the main meal, while sweetmeats, known as mithai, are the real stars of the show during Diwali. If you don’t fancy cooking for yourself this year, London has no shortage of fine Indian restaurants, many of which offer special set menus for Diwali featuring the food most commonly eaten during the Festival of Lights.

With all that in mind, here’s our selection of the best restaurants to celebrate Diwali this year.

Cinnamon Kitchen, City of London

What: Set in a former spice warehouse on Devonshire Square, a short walk from Liverpool Street, Cinnamon Kitchen is marking Diwali with a nine-dish sharing menu built for groups. Lamb seekh kebab roomali and tuna bhel tostada open proceedings, before Kasturi chicken chop with Kashmiri chilli and king prawn malai curry arrive with pilau rice, curried white peas and aloo kulcha. The finale is a mithai cheesecake layered with Diwali sweets, almond and pistachio.
How much: £48 per person, for a minimum of two
Where: 9 Devonshire Square, EC2M 4YL
Book now: Cinnamon Kitchen City

Romy Gill at The Pem, Westminster

What: Chef, broadcaster and cookbook author Romy Gill MBE made her London restaurant debut in September, taking over The Pem at the Conrad London St James hotel with regional Indian sharing plates drawn from her travels. For the restaurant’s first Diwali, she’s created a four-course menu running from 3-7 November, based on the dishes she serves at home during the festival, from aloo tikki and twice-marinated lamb chops with mint chutney to a Punjabi dhaba-style chicken curry and moong dal halwa with saffron ice cream. Rich red interiors and Mughal-inspired artwork set the scene inside this striking Westminster spot.
How much: £65 per person, including a welcome cocktail
Where: Conrad London St James, 22-28 Broadway, SW1H 0BH
Booking something special? Explore private dining options at Conrad London St James
Book now: Romy Gill at The Pem

Dishoom, Borough, Shoreditch and Canary Wharf

What: Dishoom’s newest cafe, in the Grade II-listed Hop Exchange by Borough Market, is the hub of its Diwali celebrations. Neon installations by Chila Kumari Singh Burman MBE light up the outside until the end of December, and bookable workshops run on 6-8 November, from chai and conversation with co-founder Kavi Thakrar (£5) to family storytelling with author Chitra Soundar. The 5 November house party has sold out, but New York restaurant Bungalow arrives in London for a pair of supper clubs at Dishoom Shoreditch on 3 November, and Dishoom Canary Wharf on 4 November, bringing the iconic spice-roasted pineapple curry across the Atlantic. If you're looking for fun things to do over Diwali, Dishoom should be your first port of call. 
How much: Chai Pe Charcha tickets £5, Zine-making workshop £35 per person, Bungalow supper club tickets £60
Where: The Hop Exchange, 24 Southwark Street, SE1 1TY; 7 Boundary Street, E2 7JE; 13 Water Street, E14 5GX
Booking something special? Explore private dining options at Dishoom Shoreditch; Dishoom Canary Wharf
Book now: Dishoom Borough; Dishoom Shoreditch; Dishoom Canary Wharf

Kutir, Chelsea

What: Rohit Ghai’s Chelsea townhouse restaurant is marking Diwali week with two expedition menus, signature and vegetarian, from 2-8 November. The signature menu moves from gol guppa through prawn masala, reshmi chicken kebab and pan-seared partridge with wild berries, before a choice of slow-cooked lamb barbat or sea bass neelgiri with kaali dal, rice and breads. The vegetarian route swaps in aloo tikki, tandoori portobello mushroom and paneer pakoda, with bhindi do pyaza or paneer palak to follow.
How much: Seven-course menu £80 per person, wine pairing £55
Where: 10 Lincoln Street, SW3 2TS
Book now: Kutir

Kanishka, Mayfair

What: Atul Kochhar, who won his first Michelin star at Tamarind in 2001, opened Kanishka on Maddox Street in 2019, and it’s where his Anglo-Indian cooking - regional Indian recipes made with British produce - is on full display. Bag a table on the ground floor, the liveliest spot in a glamorous dining room. For Diwali, a six-course tasting menu (£120 per person, 2-7 November, or £95 for an early evening sitting) takes in Kochhar’s signature chicken tikka pie, Orkney scallop with Exmoor caviar and a fennel and star anise-marinated Romney lamb cutlet, and every savoury course has a vegetarian alternative.
How much: Six-course menu £120 per person (or £95 for early evening tasting menu), plus £80 for wine pairing
Where: 17-19 Maddox Street, W1S 2QH
Booking something special? Explore private dining options at Kanishka
Book now: Kanishka

Kahani, Belgravia

What: Opposite Cadogan Hall, Kahani is where former Tamarind Head Chef Peter Joseph cooks seasonal British ingredients with Indian techniques and nods to his Chennai heritage, in a low-lit basement of white walls and royal-blue booths. For Diwali, a three-course menu available from 6-8 November brings duck tikka with Calcutta spices, tandoori Malabar prawns and Afghani lamb do pyaza, finishing with Indian sweets and paan kulfi. A vegetarian version swaps in paneer tikka, hara bara kebab and spiced jackfruit with mutter hariyali.
How much: Three-course menu £60 per person, wine pairing £28
Where: 1 Wilbraham Place, SW1X 9AE
Booking something special? Explore private dining options at Kahani
Book now: Kahani

Manthan, Mayfair

What: To sample more of chef Rohit Ghai’s marvellous cooking, head over to Manthan in Mayfair. Sister to Kutir in Chelsea, it’s where Ghai - who previously won a Michelin star at Jamavar - gives the home-style dishes of his Madhya Pradesh childhood a contemporary edge. Tables gather around a central bar of dark wood and marble, and co-founder Abhi Sangwan’s cocktails lean on Asian spirits and botanicals. For Diwali, a signature menu, running 2-8 November, takes in chicken tikka samosa, sea bass tawa fry and a choice of wild prawns or slow-cooked venison, while a vegetarian version runs from raj kachori to palak paneer.
How much: Five-course menu £65 per person, wine pairing £55 per person
Where: 49 Maddox Street, W1S 2PQ
Book now: Manthan

The Cinnamon Club, Westminster

What: Vivek Singh’s flagship fills the Grade II-listed former Westminster Library, moments from Westminster Abbey, where book-lined walls rise around the dining room. Its five-course Diwali menu (19 October-14 November) opens the traditional way, with mithai and canapes, before moving on to chargrilled partridge breast with mushroom pickle and spiced pear chutney, then Lucknowi lamb shank biryani with aubergine salan and burhani raita. Saffron and pistachio kulfi rounds things off in a fittingly grand room for a family celebration.
How much: Five-course menu £65 per person
Where: The Old Westminster Library, 30-32 Great Smith Street, SW1P 3BU
Booking something special? Explore private dining options at The Cinnamon Club
Book now: The Cinnamon Club

Farzi, St James's

What: Farzi is marking Diwali with two events this November. On Sunday 1 November, its Indian street food brunch returns for one day only from noon to 4.30pm, with a buffet spread across two floors, live food stations, sit-down mains and family entertainment from a Bollywood singer and a magician. Four days later, on Thursday 5 November, the Diwali Gala Dinner pairs a four-course set menu of charcoal-grilled chicken tikka kebabs, lamb chops, pani poori and loads of curries, with live music - the grown-up option of the two.
How much: Street food brunch £37 for adults, £18.50 for under-10s, Diwali Gala Dinner £45 per person
Where: 8 Haymarket, SW1Y 4BP
Booking something special? Explore private dining options at Farzi
Book now: Farzi

Potli, Hammersmith

What: A short walk from Ravenscourt Park, Potli is a neighbourhood favourite with vintage posters on the walls, a well-stocked bar and a menu that roams India, from Champaran mutton cooked on the bone to a dal makhani simmered for 24 hours. That dal also features on the Diwali set menu, which takes its cue from India’s marketplace cooking: a jamun mojito to start, shared plates of fish kasundi tikka and Guntur chilli chicken, then mains such as Awadhi mutton korma or paneer pasanda, with shahi tukra and rabri to finish. A vegetarian menu is available on request.
How much: Three-course menu £32 per person, for a minimum of two people
Where: 319-321 King Street, W6 9NH
Book now: Potli

Veeraswamy, Mayfair

What: London’s oldest Indian restaurant turns 100 this year, and its Diwali menu starts with history: a 1926 mulligatawny soup, named for the year Veeraswamy opened. A platter of gujiya, chakli and anari crispy corn follows, then a rangoli raj kachori before a silver crescent of four bowls - atishi lamb chops, pistachio murgh, achaari paneer and saag - with breads and rice. Kesar doodh ki malai and Indian sweets close things out.
How much: Five-course menu £65 per person
Where: Victory House, 99 Regent Street, W1B 4RS
Book now: Veeraswamy

Babur, Forest Hill

What: Forest Hill’s Babur, open since 1985, is serving a five-course Diwali tasting menu from 6-8 November, and hosting a candlelit Diwali party with live performances on Sunday 8 November. Head Chef Jiwan Lal’s menu runs from Delhi-style ram laddu chaat and Malvani fish tikka made with char-grilled wild salmon to chicken anarkali in a saffron, almond and cashew gravy, and palak paneer kofta, finishing with khoya gujiya and saffron yoghurt ice cream.
How much: Five-course menu £64.95 per person, Diwali party £74.95 per person
Where: 119 Brockley Rise, SE23 1JP
Book now: Babur

Ambassadors Clubhouse, Mayfair

What: Ambassadors Clubhouse is a rather swanky spot to celebrate Diwali, surrounding you in eye-catching glamour. This year, it takes its cue from the party mansions of undivided Punjab, and its Diwali Feast menu runs from 26 October to 15 November. Built for sharing, it draws on festive traditions and royal recipes from across northern India, serving dishes like barbecue butter chicken chop, tawa masala crab meela, and dark chocolate and peanut kheer with peanut and popcorn brittle. There's a vegetarian menu available, and you can order from the usual a la carte as well. 
How much: Five-course menu £120 per person, vegetarian menu £115
Where: 25 Heddon Street, W1B 4BH
Book now: Ambassadors Clubhouse