Christmas in Soho 2026: the lights, Chinatown, late nights and where to eat

Soho does Christmas the way it does everything else: late, loud and with something better than turkey on the table. Here is the 2026 season, with the dates we could actually confirm and the tips that hold good every year. Check each venue before you go, because December hours change.

The lights: Carnaby, Wednesday 4 November

The season starts on Carnaby Street. Carnaby's own site puts the 2026 light switch-on on Wednesday 4 November. Go after dark on a weekday, when you can stand in the middle of the street for the photo, then duck into Kingly Court for a drink. Our order: a Martini at Disrepute, in the basement.

Regent Street, on the western edge of Soho, and Oxford Street to the north usually light up in November too. Their dates are announced separately, so check before you plan the walk, then do all three in one evening.

Christmas dinner, the Soho way

On Berwick Street, The Duck and Rice has made the case for duck over turkey, and its festive menus are already running. Every menu is built around crispy aromatic duck with pancakes, with dim sum to start and sharing plates, from £55 a head. At £65 you add black pepper beef and steamed sea bass, and at £75 there is lobster laksa. There is a vegetarian and vegan-friendly menu at £50, and it takes anything from a table of four to a party of 200. Book the £75 menu for the lobster laksa, and order a pint of Pilsner Urquell with it.

From 12 November, Lina Stores serves an Italian Christmas in its restaurants, including the one at 51 Greek Street, and sells festive treats and hampers from the Brewer Street deli. Pick up a panettone from the deli for the office, and book Greek Street for a plate of pasta in your Christmas jumper.

Chinatown, and Christmas Day

Chinatown, on Soho's southern edge, is one of the few places in central London where a proper feast on Christmas Day is easy to find. Last year Time Out picked Golden Phoenix, a family-run restaurant serving dim sum made in-house, as its Chinatown choice for the 25th, and named Dean Street Townhouse and Bob Bob Ricard among Soho's options. 2026 menus are not all out yet, so ring ahead. For our money, Christmas Day in Chinatown means a round table, a lazy Susan and too much dim sum.

Sing along

The Prince Charles Cinema on Leicester Place runs a Christmas at The PCC season, and The Muppet Christmas Carol is on the programme. Its sing-a-long-a screenings cost £16 to £18.50 in 2026. Book a sing-along, wear the jumper and take a seat in the middle where the singing is loudest.

The Phoenix Arts Club on Phoenix Street puts on cabaret every night and opens from 9pm until late for its showtunes singalong, which in December becomes the most festive room in Soho. Go after the theatres come down, find a spot by the piano and order a drink before the first chorus.

Presents

Soho's independent shops make better presents than anything on Oxford Street. Algerian Coffee Stores at 52 Old Compton Street, trading since 1887, stays open until 7pm from Thursday to Saturday. Gerry's Wines & Spirits at number 74 is open until 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays, for the bottle nobody else will think of. Buy a bag of coffee beans for the host and a miniature of something strange for yourself.

Late nights

Christmas party season is when Soho stays up latest. Ronnie Scott's runs until 3am from Wednesday to Saturday, with its Late Late Show at about £12. Village on Wardour Street dances until 3am from Thursday to Saturday. And Bar Italia on Frith Street is open from 7am to 4am every day, though it is worth checking its hours over Christmas itself. Finish there at 3am, stand at the counter and order a double espresso and a cannolo.

How to do a Soho Christmas

Lights on Carnaby after dark, dinner at The Duck and Rice, a sing-along at the Prince Charles or the Phoenix, the Late Late Show at Ronnie's and espresso at Bar Italia. Book everything early, because by the second week of December the good tables have gone.