Lamplit London The art of the London evening

Lamplit London

The Lamplit London Date-Night Index 2026

A date night in Knightsbridge costs 2.5 times as much as one in London Fields. That is the headline from the inaugural Lamplit London Date-Night Index, our estimate of what a proper night out for two, dinner with a starter and a drink each, costs across 59 London neighbourhoods, based on our price-tiering of 1493 bars and restaurants.

£210Priciest: Knightsbridge
£85Best value: London Fields
£120London median
2.5×Priciest vs cheapest

London’s most expensive neighbourhoods for a date

# Neighbourhood Est. cost of a date for two Venues
1 Knightsbridge £210 45
2 London Bridge £190 38
3 Mayfair £190 101
4 Strand £175 24
5 Piccadilly £170 28
6 Westminster £165 18
7 Liverpool Street £160 9
8 Belgravia £160 22
9 Bank £150 22
10 South Kensington £145 38
11 The City £145 33
12 Chelsea £145 22
13 City of London £140 12
14 South Bank £140 15
15 Kensington £135 22
16 Victoria £135 28
17 Smithfield £130 10
18 Notting Hill £130 48
19 Fitzrovia £130 30
20 Southwark £130 14
21 Marylebone £125 48
22 Fulham £125 10
23 Waterloo £125 9
24 Tower Hill £125 9
25 Covent Garden £125 77
26 Richmond £125 13
27 Holborn £120 17
28 Bloomsbury £120 21
29 Spitalfields £120 37
30 Farringdon £120 18
31 King’s Cross £120 13
32 Clerkenwell £120 23
33 Bermondsey £115 29
34 Canary Wharf £115 25
35 Paddington £115 18
36 Hammersmith £115 17
37 Shoreditch £115 61
38 Bethnal Green £115 16
39 Angel £115 9
40 Greenwich £115 23
41 Islington £115 25
42 Hyde Park £110 11
43 Hackney £110 18
44 Soho £105 119
45 Highgate £105 13
46 Bayswater £105 14
47 Stratford £105 10
48 Vauxhall £100 12
49 Battersea £100 12
50 Borough £100 35
51 Hampstead £100 20
52 Brixton £95 18
53 Clapham £95 16
54 Dalston £95 18
55 Whitechapel £90 8
56 Camden £90 33
57 Peckham £90 16
58 Wapping £85 14
59 London Fields £85 9

Estimated cost of a date night for two: two main courses, a shared starter and a drink each, modelled from each area’s average price tier. Neighbourhoods with at least eight price-tiered venues only.

How we worked it out

We sorted every price-tiered bar and restaurant in the Lamplit London guides into three tiers, ££ (mid), £££ (upper) and ££££ (top), and took each neighbourhood’s average. We then modelled a proper date night for two, two main courses, one shared starter and a drink each, at that price level, using consistent per-tier estimates (a main runs about £22 at ££, £42 at £££ and £75 at ££££). The figures are modelled estimates from our tiering of 1493 venues, not a survey of menu prices, and exclude any wine beyond the first drink, service and getting home. Only the 59 neighbourhoods with at least eight tiered venues are ranked, to keep each average meaningful.

Plan the night, whatever the budget

Wherever you land on the map, our guides pick the places worth booking: the best date-night restaurants, the cocktail bars worth the detour, and things to do beyond dinner. Start with Plan Your Trip to build the evening.

Feel free to cite this study with a link to Lamplit London. Suggested wording: “According to the Lamplit London Date-Night Index 2026, a date night for two costs an estimated £210 in Knightsbridge, against £85 in London Fields.”

More from Lamplit London: see what each neighbourhood is actually for in the London Going-Out Map 2026, our breakdown of the city’s drinking, dining and stay-over capitals.