The last weekend in August, and the final Bank Holiday before Christmas, means there’s every reason to make the most of staying in London.
Whilst many will make the trip to Notting Hill Carnival, away from West London there’s plenty else going on, from long brunches and terrace takeovers to enough special-edition burgers to stage your own taste test across the city. Whether you’re making plans for the whole three days or looking for a one-off treat, here are some ideas for where to eat and drink over the upcoming long weekend. Enjoy!
Mercato Metropolitano Elephant & Castle
If you haven’t been to Mercato Metropolitano at Elephant & Castle yet, this weekend is the perfect time. It’s the food market’s final summer in its current home before it moves next door in a few months as part of a major redevelopment plan. More than 40 independent traders can be found both inside and across its generous piazza, offering everything from West African and Caribbean cooking to Indian dishes, pasta and pizza, with British classics courtesy of Crumbled London or gelato for dessert. The long weekend brings a little more action. On Friday evening, Snap Fitness takes over with Formula 1-style reaction challenges; Saturday starts with Dunk & Grind, coffee, music and cold plunges from 10am; Sunday brings a morning run club before things become considerably less virtuous with Carnival sounds, DJs and rum punch.
Hoppers King Cross
Hoppers King’s Cross is bringing back its Big Banana Leaf Feast for one day only on 30 August. Inspired by Onam, Kerala’s harvest festival, the communal feast is served across long tables lined with banana leaves and piled with ash plantain and coconut curry, pumpkin and cowpea curry, beetroot and mustard pachadi, drumstick sambhar, three different rices, pickles and papad. There is the option to add more if you are feeling hungry, from a choice of traditional South Indian dishes including Trivandrum chicken fry, fish peera pollichathu or mutton gassi. Tickets are £40, with £5 from each going to Feeding the Future, Hoppers’ partner charity working to provide meals and build schools for children in Sri Lanka, and there are sittings at 12pm and 2pm.
The Laslett
If your Bank Holiday plans revolve around Carnival, The Laslett is particularly well placed for the celebrations. The Notting Hill hotel even takes its name from Rhaune Laslett, one of Carnival’s original organisers, and is marking the festival’s 60th anniversary throughout August. Its weekend Carnival Brunch, created with Mount Gay Rum, includes dishes such as Russ’ Jerk Waffles and Rhaune’s Bagel, plus a rum, pineapple and coconut Eton Mess and Henderson’s Punch. Afterwards, The Henderson Bar & Kitchen (named after the steel-pan musician who led the first carnival procession in 1965) keeps things going with a dedicated Mount Gay cocktail menu. Brunch runs from 12pm to 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays throughout August and costs £30 per person. And, if you really want to commit, throw in an overnight stay – their two-night Carnival package adds brunch for two and a 1pm late check-out, meaning you can head straight to London’s biggest party just moments away.
Luna
If an actual European escape didn’t make it into the Bank Holiday plans, Luna is offering the next best thing. On Sunday, the Shad Thames wine bar and bistro that’s a sister restaurant to nearby Legare, hosts its own Eurosummer – a series of leisurely Sunday takeovers dedicated to eating and drinking your way around different European regions. This weekend, it’s off to Andalusia. From 12pm to 4pm, expect Gildas, gambas al ajillo, cheese with figs and sherry honey, marinated octopus, ox tongue skewers and churros. Unsurprisingly the wine has been carefully curated with a selection spanning Spain and including Cava, Txakoli, Rioja and low-intervention bottles. And, naturally, plenty of Andalusian sherry, too. Greece’s Cyclades follows in September, but for now, southern Spain will do nicely.
Cut at 45 Park Lane
National Burger Day falls just ahead of the Bank Holiday (Thursday 27 August), and CUT at 45 Park Lane is celebrating with a decidedly Mayfair spin. Executive chef Elliot Grover has created three limited-edition burgers for lunch from 24 to 29 August – and these are very much not your standard cheeseburger and fries. The headline act is a £90 A5 Japanese Wagyu burger with wasabi mayonnaise and spicy pickles. There’s also buttermilk fried chicken with Imperial caviar and lemon crème fraîche (£68), while the meat-free option combines cep mushroom with shaved Australian black truffle (£56).
Honest Burgers
Also getting in on the National Burger Day action, albeit at a more everyday price point, is Honest Burgers. After taking the title of UK’s Best Burger at the 2026 National Burger Awards, ‘The Honest’ burger is making a limited return to the Brixton, Borough and Old Brompton Road restaurants, making the Bank Holiday the perfect time for a taste test. Created by co-founder Tom Barton as a riff on the brand’s original burger first served in Brixton back in 2011, it layers a dry-aged double smashed beef patty with thick-cut Wiltshire bacon, beef and onion relish, American cheese, pickles and white onion. Naturally, it comes with Honest’s ever-popular homemade rosemary chips.
The Brush
A three-day weekend calls for brunch, and The Brush at art’otel London Hoxton has recently given its version a refresh. The new menu is unapologetically indulgent: loaded ‘Cake in the Pan’ pancakes, French toast and reworked brunch classics, alongside a cocktail list designed for those planning to stretch the meal well into the afternoon. For those in full Bank Holiday mode, £35 gets you a main plus an hour of bottomless pitchers, with strawberry margaritas, Pimm’s, Aperol Spritz and Coalition Beer among the options. There’s also an alcohol-free elderflower spritz option.
Nobu London
If your preferred brunch involves less avocado toast and more black cod, Nobu London’s Saturday offering has you covered and is a great way to experience the restaurant’s most celebrated dishes. Start with signature snacks including Crispy Rice with Tuna and Salmon Tacos before moving onto an unlimited sushi and sashimi buffet featuring Yellowtail Jalapeño, nigiri, cut rolls, Lobster Ceviche and a live station preparing Toro and Caviar Handrolls to order. Hot dishes are also on offer including their iconic takes on Black Cod Miso, Rock Shrimp Tempura and Nobu’s famous Lobster Wasabi Pepper included, followed by a dessert buffet. Brunch costs £90 per person and runs from 12pm to 3pm.
Summer in Sloane Square
For those who prefer to be more spontaneous with their weekend planning, Sloane Square is an easy option for an impromptu drink in the sun. The Royal Court Theatre’s summer takeover of the garden square requires no booking, with Mexican favourites alongside cocktails, wine and beer, making it a likely crowd-pleaser. Saturday 29 August also brings the final live-music session of the summer, so grab a table, order a margarita and enjoy an afternoon in the sun from a prime London location.
Chets
If you are looking for somewhere to extend the Carnival party, then Chet’s is a great option. On Sunday, the Thai-American restaurant at The Hoxton Shepherd’s Bush hands the decks to Greensleeves Records, the record label founded in the neighbourhood, for an after-Carnival session of reggae and dancehall from 7pm to 11pm. On the terrace guests can enjoy a BBQ special, where sharing plates include lemongrass-marinated Gai Yang, river prawns with smoked chilli oil and twice-cooked crispy pork belly. At the bar, signature Watermelon Coolers and Return of the Maks come paired with delicious and inventive snacks like kimchi doughnuts and pulled-pork sliders.
Zula Burger X Tempo
Another BBQ and burger option for the weekend. On Sunday, Zula Burger takes over the terrace at Bethnal Green wine bar and Asian restaurant Tempo for an eight-hour Bank Holiday BBQ. Alongside Zula favourites The Basic and The Fake Mac, Tempo co-founder and head chef Eric Wan has created The Tempo Burger, adding caramelised fish sauce, Vietnamese pickles and coriander to Zula’s beef patty and house-baked brioche bun. Burgers are £10, or £18 with a glass of wine, with profits from burger sales donated to Felix, a charity redistributing surplus food to where it is needed most. It runs from 12pm to 8pm, so one to drop into if you are spending your Sunday afternoon in East London.
Joia
For anyone determined to offset three days of eating and drinking with at least one healthy decision, JOIA has you covered. On Saturday, the 15th-floor restaurant at art’otel London Battersea is teaming up with lululemon for a Bank Holiday Yoga & Brunch overlooking Battersea Power Station and the London skyline. You can choose to enjoy a 9am or 10am 60-minute yoga class led by a lululemon ambassador, then undo some of the good work with brunch from Joia’s two Michelin-starred chef Henrique Sá Pessoa. Dishes include Bacalhau à Brás, eggs royal with matcha hollandaise and French toast with caramelised blood orange, served with a fruit smoothie or coffee. Tickets are £79.50 per person, and if you can’t make it this week, then the event takes place monthly.
Brigadiers
If the Bank Holiday brief is simply good food with good friends, Brigadiers is an easy option. Inspired by the army mess bars of India, the relaxed Bloomberg Arcade restaurant, close to Cannon Street, brings together Indian barbecue cooking with live sport and bar games, blurring the lines between restaurant and bar – and making it the kind of place you’re happy to hang around in. Its Bank Holiday set menu is £35, with dishes including the Chicken Tikka Club Sandwich and Royal Vegetarian Thali. An additional £25 adds two hours of bottomless Cobra lager or cocktails, while the outdoor terrace is a suitable spot to unwind if London delivers on the sunshine.
Lead image: Joia
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