The best late night dining London has to offer

Balans Soho Society, various locations

Balans Soho Society is perhaps the original late night feasting joint in London, having been open for more than 30 years. It began life as a sandwich bar on Old Compton Street, opened in 1987 by then business partners Prady Balan and David Taylor, and has since grown into a mini-chain with eight outlets across London.

‘All hail the rogue, the rascal and the reprobate’ says the Balans’ website of its desired clientele. ‘Let us banish the jobsworth, the wet blanket, the killjoy.’ This is a restaurant that certainly loves a party: diners can order full meals here until 5am or 6am, six days a week (sorry Sunday).

The menu is also a far cry from your average late night burger and chips affair. Dishes include the playfully-named Eggs in Hell (eggs poached in a tomato chilli sauce, Balans potatoes and parmesan); Monkfish Scampi and High Society Lobster Benedict.

Duck and Waffle, The City

Perched on the 40th floor of the Heron Tower, Duck and Waffle is one of London’s few 24-hour restaurants. Despite often catering for gaggles of sloshed City workers pouring in after one-too-many drinks on the company credit card, the quality of food here is not diminished at the expense of the generous hours. Seriously, the signature dish of duck and waffle (confit duck leg, fried duck egg, mustard maple syrup) is delicious after zero gin and tonics or six, and somehow works for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a late night snack.

Take a seat in the buzzy, intimate dining room designed by architects CetraRuddy and enjoy watching the London skyline be transformed by the changing light. Check the restaurant’s website to find out when sunrise is – and make it your mission to stay out until then. Order a portion of thedissolve-in-the-mouth barbecued pig’s ears to snack on while you wait, you won’t regret it.

JinJuu, Soho

If you stumble into JinJuu after a night out in Soho you can relax, because you’re about to eat some of the best Korean food in London. The Kingly Street restaurant is not just a late night dining spot but a destination in its own right, thanks to the fact Korean-American chef and TV personality Judy Joo is in the driving seat.

Tuck into modern takes on Korean cuisine and cocktails, while surrounded by the work of Korean street artist Victoriano Magdaleno. Hoping to continue the party? Here you can, because the restaurant also hosts DJ sets on Friday and Saturday evenings, which you can enjoy while tucking into Bibimbap, dumplings, and Korean twists on fried chicken, sliders and tacos until 1:30am.

Bob Bob Ricard, Soho (and Bob Bob Cité, the City)

It’s impossible to set foot in either dining room at Bob Bob Ricard and not feel like you’re entering into an act of sordid decadence. Whether you opt for the red room with its Moulin Rouge-esque interiors, or the blue room with its plush, midnight-coloured furnishings, both feature booths inspired by the Orient Express along with statement gold awnings and geometric paneling. The menu is the same, too; Russian dishes with British and French inflections (think chicken kievs, lobster mac and cheese, and beef wellington). You’ll also find similar scenes of smartly dressed, expertly-friendly waiters moving between the tables.

Let’s face it, whatever time of night you arrive, the real pull with Bob Bob Ricard is being able to ‘press for champagne’ from a button in your booth. Now let us tell you what your late-night mind is likely to forget: each press of that button will cost you anywhere between £14 – £20, depending on which champagne you choose. Press wisely.

Beigel Bake, Brick Lane

Brick Lane’s Beigel Bake is the oldest (and arguably greatest) bagel shop in London, having been serving its homemade doughy balls since 1974. Business is showing no sign of slowing down, either; the shop stays open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, serving roughly 7,000 bagels a night. It’s a Shoreditch institution and something of a mecca for foodies, who come from far and wide to join the queue – which, late at night, sees a uniquely diverse flock of post-party revellers, taxi drivers and builders looking for sustenance at the crack of dawn.

Beigel Bake’s specialities include the hot salt beef bagel (thick slabs of beef smothered in mustard and encased in soft, fresh dough), and salmon and cream cheese bagel. You can also buy unfilled breads of all sorts and pastries to take home. A bakery rather than a restaurant, this is takeaway dining – but at its finest.

Spuntino’s, Soho

Described on its website as ‘a scruffy small-plate joint serving strong cocktails and Italian/American comfort food’ Spuntino’s in Soho is, in reality, a little bit more chic than that. Whatever events your night held will soon fade away once you step inside the dining room – a trendy scene of distressed tiles and exposed brickwork – and pull up a bar stool for a late night session of counter dining.

The order of the day, every day, here, is sophisticated takes on burger-joint-meets-trattoria favourites: such as lobster mac and cheese, and truffled egg toast. Oh, and did we mention Spuntino’s is owned by the people behind popular Italian mini-chain Polpo? Think of it as their younger sibling who’s going places but still has a rave in them yet.

Opium, Chinatown

If you have a penchant for London’s more elegant institutions – and your taste never wavers, even when it’s late – let us point you in the direction of Cinatown’s Opium. The cocktail bar and dim sum parlour takes its interiors inspiration from 1920s Shanghai, and is split across two floors and three bars: each an intricately-decorated space serving sophisticated food and drink.

Our favourite is the Apothecary bar, with its array of medicinal bottles and lengthy Tonic & Remedy menu. Meanwhile, the dumplings served across the site are the fancy kind, with fillings including crab and samphire, lobster, and seabass and fennel. What’s more, you can tuck into these and other decadent treats until 2:30am on weekends.

The Pink Chihuahua at El Camion, Soho

Punk-meets-Mexican at the Pink Chihuahua, a basement bar beneath El Camion restaurant in Soho. With its graffitied walls, pumping beats and serious party vibes, this cocktail den is ideal for those who don’t want the night to end, but need a little sustenance to see them into the early hours.

In addition to the tequila-heavy cocktail list (don’t be fooled with the section names like ‘fun with dick’ and ‘wanky bartender tricks’, the drinks here are genuinely good), the menu features Mexican street food classics – tacos, burritos and nachos among them – all of which is available until 2:30am.