TWIXMAS 

Those few days between Christmas and New Year might just be the best time to eat out in London.

NOPI, the beautiful Soho restaurant from the team behind Ottolenghi is open between 27th December - 31st January for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Head there for some sale shopping respite and enjoy some of their seasonal dishes such as the Venison, caramelised yoghurt, peanuts and blackberries or the Crushed red beetroot with Rosary goat’s cheese and hazelnuts.

The Zetter Townhouse Clerkenwell located on the cobbled St John’s Square is open all Christmas. Go in for a glass of their famous Brandy Eggnog, or their warming new Somerset Toddy (Somerset brandy, lemon juice, apple cordial, served hot).

Seymour’s Parlour at the Zetter Townhouse Marylebone is tucked away behind Oxford Street - it’s open fire and ecclectic interior make it the perfect winter bar, and it’s open for the whole of the Christmas period. Try their festive The Hunter (containing Chestnut Rye Whiskey, Stemone syrup and Acorn Bitters) - perfect for sipping next to the open fire. All house cocktails are £12.

After a brief hiatus between Boxing Day and 28th December, Red Rooster Shoreditch will be back serving it’s warming tranches of cornbread and succulent fried chicken from 29th December through to New Year’s Eve. Try the restaurant’s regularly scheduled programming - Sammy’s Chicken ’n Waffles, the signature Fried Yard Bird, with delicious sides of Collard Greens and Mac & Greens.

temper Soho is open on Christmas Eve for lunch and then after a two day break will be opening again on the 27th December to continue serving their beef fat tacos and mezcal cocktails for both lunch and dinner.

Merchants Tavern in Shoreditch will reopen on 29th December after a short Christmas break. Pop by for festive cocktails and cheese toasties in the bar, lunch, dinner and their newly launched weekend brunch.

All of Dishoom’s cafes, including the newly opened Kensington restaurant, will be open between Christmas and New Year. The perfect pit-stop to nurse a festive hangover, head there for a bacon naan roll, or soothe the soul with some warming house black daal.

Hovarda will be serving its classic Aegean fare, as well as an extensive cocktail list in the evenings. The bar will be open until 3am each night, and live DJs will be on the decks.

Pop in to Cafe Murano Covent Garden for a bite to eat before catching a show or ballet and head to St James for a bowl of pasta and glass of wine after perusing the Dalí/Duchamp at the Royal Academy.

Yosma, the Istanbul-inspired Meyhane and Mangal, will be serving its weekday all day breakfast menus, including Sucuk Hash - Poached egg, muhammara, spicy beef sausage hash and Hellim Ekmek - A sandwich of halloumi, mushroom, garlic, lemon and olives. Stay later for a raki cocktail or two.

With branches in Borough Market, Mayfair, Pavilion Road in Chelsea, and a brand new bakery cafe on Beak Street in Soho, Bread Ahead offer their signature selection of sought-after breads, pastries and classic bakes, alongside hot breakfasts and savoury lunch dishes.

Morito Hackney Road offer dishes drawing on Spanish and Eastern Mediterranean flavours, with the incorporation of Head Chef Marianna Leivaditaki’s Cretan influences. The sister restaurant to Morito and Moro on Exmouth Market, Morito Hackney Road is open for lunch and dinner everyday, and for a middle-eastern inspired breakfast on weekends.

The traditional noodle bar, Koya, with its udon made fresh each morning using the traditional method will be open in Soho until 5pm on Christmas Eve and will open its doors again on Boxing Day at noon. Its new City site closes on 22nd December and opens again on 27th December.

Pizza Pilgrims offer simple, high-quality and traditional Neapolitan pizzas at various locations across London, combining classic Italian flavours with their playful ‘pizza and pop culture’ interiors. All sites are closed on Christmas Eve but will open again on Boxing Day, apart from Exmouth Market.

Hill & Szrok butchers will be open 30th and 31st December - East London's traditional butchers by day on Broadway Market, specialising in free-range and organic meats.