Dining
The Most Quirky Restaurants in London
Six London restaurants where the room is the event, from a pink loo and a champagne button to dinner in pitch dark. Good food first, gimmick second.
In short: our top picks are Sketch (The Gallery), Bob Bob Ricard and Dans le Noir. 6 places in total, chosen on merit, with the full reasoning below.
Quirky is a word that has ruined plenty of dinners. Too often it means the food has been allowed to slide while the owner spends the budget on neon and a confused theme. So the rule here was simple. Every place earns its spot on the plate first, then on the spectacle. A pink egg of a lavatory you have to see to believe, a gold button that summons champagne, a meal eaten in total darkness where you genuinely cannot find your own glass. These are rooms built to be talked about the next morning, and most of them deliver a proper sharing menu or a serious wine list underneath the theatre. We have spread the budgets too, from a Tuesday-night spend in Soho to a Mayfair afternoon that will dent the card. Go for the story, stay because the kitchen is better than it has any right to be.
| Place | Area | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Sketch (The Gallery) | Mayfair | ££££ |
| Bob Bob Ricard | Soho | ££££ |
| Dans le Noir | Clerkenwell | £££ |
| Circus | Covent Garden | £££ |
| The Cauldron | Dalston | ££ |
| Inamo | Soho | ££ |
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Editor’s choice
Sketch (The Gallery)
Why we pick itThe pink velvet dining room is the most photographed in London, and the egg-shaped pod loos still stop people mid-conversation. The art rehang in early 2026 swapped the old quilts for Jonathan Baldock's faces and cocoons, so even regulars have something new to look at over the French-leaning menu.
Modern European, art-filled
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Bob Bob Ricard
Why we pick itEvery table is a private booth with a gold button marked Press for Champagne, and people do, a lot. The David Collins interior nods to the Orient Express, the menu runs to lobster mac and beef Wellington, and the whole thing somehow stays the right side of camp.
British and French comfort food
-
Dans le Noir
Why we pick itYou eat in complete darkness, guided by blind and partially sighted servers, with no idea what is on the plate until you guess. It sounds like a stunt and is in fact a genuinely disarming couple of hours. Lock your phone away and let your other senses do the work.
Surprise tasting menu in the dark
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Circus
Why we pick itA long white marble table runs down the centre of the room and doubles as the stage, so staff clear your dinner every time a contortionist or fire-breather climbs up. The Pan-Asian sharing menu holds its own between acts, which is more than most dinner-and-a-show rooms manage.
Pan-Asian sharing, cabaret
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The Cauldron
Why we pick itYou get a robe, a working wand and a session brewing molecular cocktails over a bubbling cauldron with a Potion Master. Daft on paper, properly good fun in the room, and the science behind the drinks is more serious than the fancy dress suggests. Best with a group who will commit.
Wizard-themed potion and cocktail dining
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Inamo
Why we pick itYou order from a projection on your own tabletop, watch a live feed of the kitchen, then play air hockey against the person opposite while you wait. The Japanese, Chinese and Thai sharing plates are solid, and it remains one of the easier quirky nights to do on a midweek budget.
Pan-Asian, interactive tables
Before you book
Book ahead for all six, especially Sketch and Bob Bob Ricard at weekends. Dans le Noir, Circus and The Cauldron run timed slots, so you commit to a sitting rather than wandering in. Spend ranges widely: Inamo and The Cauldron sit around 35 to 55 pounds a head, Circus and Dans le Noir nearer 65 to 90, while Sketch and Bob Bob Ricard climb well past 100 once drinks are in. Check current menus and times on each official site.
Common questions
What are the top picks in this guide?
Sketch (The Gallery) is our editor's choice: The pink velvet dining room is the most photographed in London, and the egg-shaped pod loos still stop people mid-conversation. The art rehang in early 2026 swapped the old quilts for Jonathan Baldock's faces and cocoons, so even regulars have something new to look at over the French-leaning menu. Sketch (The Gallery), Bob Bob Ricard and Dans le Noir lead the guide, with 6 places in total, all chosen on merit.
How does Lamplit London choose its recommendations?
Every place is chosen on merit, after first-hand visits where possible, with no pay-for-placement. Read our full method at https://www.lamplitlondon.com/how-we-choose/.
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