The Best Immersive Dining Experiences for the Festive Season

In 2023, immersive theatre has taken off like a rocket and for those who like to try something a little different while having a themed meal prepared for them, we have laid out some of our top recommendations for this festive season.

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Velvet Pines

Immersive theatre specialists Swamp Motel return after Saint Jude earlier this year for an adventure back in time. Guests are transported into a 1970s ski lodge with staff that wouldn’t look out of place in Fawlty Towers. There’s a yeti on the loose and the very real possibility of a power cut to contend with. Once you’re settled, there’s some fine cabaret (aerial, drag and magic were the menu when we went) and even finer dining care of Masterchef finalist Omar Foster: our favourites were the baked alaska made from parsnips and a re-invented duck a l’orange in the form of confit duck with braised lentils and carrot and orange puree. 

Tickets from £149.95. Until 23 December. More information

Monarch Theatre

Did you know that there was a Batman-themed bar/restaurant in Soho? The secret entrance from the street level lobby is only the beginning: with a new Iceberg Lounge to explore, Park Row has many delights for the casual fan but those looking for the ultimate Dark Knight fine dining experience are recommended to check out its inner sanctum, Monarch Theatre. Therein lies an exquisite ten-course adventure wrapped in stunning 360-degree projections, cunning magic tricks, tricky puzzles, a different wine selection for each dish and truly memorable food presentations to make this a night to remember

Tickets from £135. More information

Our review of Monarch Theatre

FEAST!

Want to get wined and dined in the company of cabaret royalty? With the theme of family, this weekend the Woolwich Works hosts FEAST! with an roster that includes the acid-tongued Joe Morose, Musical Comedy Awards 2016 winner Katy Barker, mystical magician Neil Kelso (writer and director of the excellent Dead On Time) and the roof-raising footstomping of burlesquer Felicity Furore (above). Punters can buy a ticket just for the show or sit down for a three-course meal while enjoying this deliciously subversive cast.

From 14-16 December. Tickets from £25 (show only) or £60 (with food). More information.

Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience

The West End's longest running immersive dining experience throws its audience into an organised Seventies-themed mayhem. Basil, Sybil and Manuel are the architects of this chaos and, with 70% of what happens improvised, it's anyone's guess exactly what this terrible trio will get up to each time. The special Christmas menu is heavy on the comfort food: tuck into turkey thighs with pigs in blankets or mushroom, spinach and carrot wellington and follow it up with some white chocolate and raspberry brulee cheesecake or a chocolate orange brownie cake. 

Until 24 December. Tickets from £62.50. More information.

The Great Christmas Feast

Returning again for a sixth year, The Lost Estate presents The Great Christmas Feast, an immersive dining experience based around Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. They are not inviting critics so we can't speak to its quality but, according to them, punters should expect "Victorian feasting, ravishing live music, and spellbinding theatre".

Tickets from £172.45. Until 14 January. More information.

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