SPHERE’s What’s On in December

December in London can be all celebration and carols with a little chaos sprinkled in for good measure. But the endless invites here, there, and everywhere can be absolutely exhausting. To guide you through the festive season, we’ve curated the best events, restaurants and exhibition openings in London — and some options for where to escape the city too.

How Matcha Late-night Handroll Bar, Marylebone

For the whole of December, Miu Miu’s matcha partner of choice, How Matcha, which catered to attendees of its latest pop-up, is transforming into an evening handroll bar. On Monday-Wednesday this month, chef Jan Horak, formerly Head Sushi Chef at Fuji Grill, Beaverbrook Townhouse, will be at the helm of the intimate walk-in hand roll bar serving premium à la minute handrolls. Expect inventive nigiri, and playful specialities like tuna with torched bone marrow and salmon belly finished with matcha salt. If you ever feel the need to break up the mince pies, cheese and wine, some sushi could be precisely what’s needed.  

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, The Young Vic

Following a highly successful Broadway run, multiple Tony nominations, and securing a place as a Pulitzer Prize finalist, Rajiv Joseph’s dark comedy makes its European debut at the Young Vic on 2nd December. Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, which originally starred Robin Williams, is set in 2000s Iraq, and follows a tiger, two marines, and an Iraqi translator. Iraqi or American, man or beast, they are all searching for meaning, revenge, forgiveness, and a solid gold toilet seat that’s worth a fortune. As bizarre as the plot sounds, it’s a razor-sharp exploration of existentialism, meaning and revenge.

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo runs from 2 December 2025 to 31 January 2026. Tickets can be bought directly from the Young Vic.

The World’s First Pickled Onion Cocktail Pop-up

Yes, you read that right. On 5th December, Garner’s Pickles will be partnering with the award-winning Bar Swift in Shoreditch to bring the world’s first pickled onion cocktail bar. The “Garner’s Jar Bar” will see drinks expertly mixed from jar to glass, with mixologists crafting a new range of festive tipples, using every element of Garner’s premium jars — including brine, pickled onion syrups, and infused spirits. Drinkers can expect sweetness and a bit of festive spice from the surprise menu to get into the Christmas spirit. I’m sure by now the dirty martini lovers among you will be positively salivating. But for the less convinced, it’s been all the rage on TikTok since Dua Lipa shared that she mixes Diet Coke with pickle juice. If it’s good enough for Dua, it’s good enough for us.  

The Garner’s Jar Bar is open from 3pm - 11pm on Friday 5 December and is available to book here: 

Tails and Tidings, Chelsea

Possibly the most wholesome event in all of London this December is the Tail and Tidings dog-friendly carol concert at St Andrew’s Chelsea. O Come All Ye Four-Legged Faithfuls to the event thrown by the Wild at Heart Foundation, which works to improve the lives of stray and homeless dogs worldwide. The wonderful Olympic Choir will be belting out the Christmas classics and the service will include special readings from Coronation Street's Maureen Lipman and Wild at Heart Founder, Nikki Tibbles. This service would absolutely make the Vicar of Dibley proud, although the organisers may draw the line at bringing guinea pigs and cattle.

Tickets to Tails and Tidings can be bought directly from the Wild at Heart Foundation.

Chargal, Mayfair

Mayfair has more than an abundance of restaurants. The good, the bad, and the overrated, there’s a little bit of everything. But the latest opening, Chargal, definitely is one to watch. Described by restaurateur Serdar Demir as a reflection of Turkish cuisine’s sophistication and depth, the three-storey culinary experience will offer a refined dining room, a mezze terrace, and a sophisticated low low-lit basement lounge designed for unwinding after dinner. Signature dishes will be reinterpretations of beloved Turkish classics like wagyu İskender, red bream ceviche that nods to Turkey’s coastal traditions, and playful sucuk “candies’’ coated in hot honey glaze, as well as a dark chocolate sorbet lifted with fennel pollen and olive oil, that echoes the flavours of the Aegean.

Chargal opens on 11th December on Berkley Street, Mayfair.

Black Chalk Wine Tasting, Hampshire

English wine has been hot on the heels of its European counterparts for quite some time now. What exactly is the secret sauce behind this success, you ask? Well, on 11th December, the Black Chalk wine estate — located in the heart of the Test Valley — is hosting an exclusive evening to kick off the festive season, featuring the new and highly anticipated 2022 vintage. The winemaking team will bring attendees inside the heart of English wine and share how each wine came to life, including mastering the art of blending and the meticulous approach to clone selection. The evening will also feature a guided tasting of six wines as well as some festive nibbles. Spaces can be reserved at blackchalkwine.com.

Heckfield Place Christmas Cocktail Gift Making Workshop

Undoubtedly, by this point in December, you’ll be yearning for a short break from London. Fortunately, Heckfield Place is but an hour’s trip from London and is the perfect countryside antidote to the city’s Christmas chaos. To make the experience that much more festive, Heckfield Place is hosting a one-off Christmas Cocktail Gift-making workshop on Sunday 14th December. Guests will gather in the elegant Main House to craft, bottle and beautifully package a selection of Heckfield’s signature cocktails, including a Spiced Daiquiri, a Margarita, and an Espresso Martini. Everyone will create two servings of each to take home for the perfect personalised Christmas gift this year. Cheers to that!

More information can be found at heckfieldplace.com

The Bacchus New Year's Eve Ball, Bacchanalia

If there was ever a time of the year to go to Bacchanalia, it would be New Year’s Eve. The dining room, decked out in gold and designed to mirror an Ancient Greek temple, is opulent dining wrapped up in an extravagant bow and served on a silver platter. To ring in the New Year, Bacchanalia will this year host the Bacchus Ball — a night of divine revelry. Courtesy of the event partners, Dom Pérignon, Château d'Esclans and Belvedere, guests will be first greeted with a welcome cocktail in Apollo’s Muse before being seated in the main restaurant for a spectacular feast accompanied by live opera, electro-classical violin, and a DJ set from Auric (Konflict Records) from 9 pm.

Tickets can be bought from bacchanalia.co.uk