The cosiest winter pop-ups and Christmas bars in London

Dreaming of a kitsch Christmas? New York’s famous Miracle on Ninth Street bar is popping up in London for its seventh year, ‘50s Christmas decorations, nostalgic accessories and creative new spins on beloved cocktail favourites in tow. This year’s menu is still a work in progress, but past years have seen the bar slinging the likes of a Snowball Old Fashioned or a Christmapoliton, which includes cranberry sauce and absinthe mist – a take on Christmas trimmings that’s not for the faint-hearted. If you’re failing to find the Christmas spirit, this is one great place to come find it.

Somerset House’s iconic ice rink has become a Christmas tradition for Londoners and visitors heading to the capital for some festive cheer. There’s good reason – gliding (or, at least, attempting to) around the rink, gazing upon the Georgian architecture and 40ft Christmas tree feels like you’ve skated onto a movie set, ready to be watched by families settling in for their post-turkey food coma.

There’s more to this rink than just skating, though. This year, pop-up gourmet dining spot The Chalet and rosé brand Whispering Angel’s skate lounge will return to keep you fuelled up. Skate Lates are also back, with DJ takeovers from Rinse FM, Daytimers’ Rohan Rakhit, Dankie Sounds, and Jay Jay Revlon. Shelter Boutique are bringing a pop-up shop of pre-loved clothing, homewares and gifts for you to shop til you drop at, while there’ll also be special chilled-out sessions for those who want to skate but need things to be a little quieter, and coaching for skaters of all ages at the skate school and kids’ skate club.

Find more places to go ice skating in London

What’s more Christmassy than visiting Santa’s grotto? Going for a pint or two with the man in red in his favourite boozer, of course. Humbug, an immersive Christmas dive bar, allows you to do just that – and join Mr Claus in rounds of games, sing-a-longs, live performances, storytelling and more. It’s all threaded together with a mission to cheer a weary Santa up and help him rekindle his Christmas spirit. Humbug’s 2024 return will include a shrine to the queen of Christmas Mariah Carey, a beer can bowling alley, a grotto and cabaret from the venue’s regular cast. Saving the festive season never sounded so fun.

There are few better antidotes to the cold of winter than heaps of delicious, gooey melted cheese and piping hot mulled drinks. At Jimmy Garcia’s Fire And Fromage pop-up, you get to enjoy all that – plus gingerbread, boozy hot chocs and marshmallows – from the comfort of the cosy raclette bar or, if you’re feeling fancy, your own heated igloo on the South Bank. Stuff your face with unlimited raclette and soak up the pretty views of the Thames twinkling under festive lights. Gorgeous.

Curling has been growing in popularity in recent years, nudged on by its compelling showings at various Winter Olympics, and you can try your hand at it in King’s Cross this winter. This pop-up outdoor arena boasts six synthetic curling lanes, on which you can curl your heart out for 45 minutes before rewarding yourself with a tasty cocktail at the Curling Club bar. Last year’s 90s theme is being replaced by bright neons, with Walthamstow’s God’s Own Junkyard recreating their warehouse in the bar. Booking opens on October 11.

Every winter the Southbank Centre turns the banks of the Thames into a frosty wonderland, full of little wooden Alpine-style cabins selling gifts, warming drinks, and snacks. This year, you can cosy up at Jimmy’s Winter Lodge with its heated riverside snowglobes where you can snaffle down cheese fondue. Further down you’ll find huts serving up truffle burgers, duck wraps, Thai street food, Lebanese-Mediterranean cuisine and cheese toasties. Or grab a glass of mulled wine while you look through gifts, jewellery and decorations made by independent designers and take in those sparking riverside views. 

Fulham’s Neverland is one shapeshifting spot. In summer it becomes a Miami-style beach club, but as soon as the cold nights hit it’s transformed into Alpine haven Winterland. Depending on the size of your group, you and your friends can book a lodge, cabin, ski lift bubble, forest igloo, chalet or Bavarian tent to settle down in for a night (or day) of boozing and feasting on spoils from The Moose Bar and food court. Extra Alpine vibes are conjured by foliage, fire pits and faux fur. And there’s plenty of entertainment too, including DJs, drag bingo, power-ballad bottomless brunches and arcade games. Find out more here. 

The Lost Estate’s long-running seasonal show The Great Christmas Feast plunges visitors into Victorian London on Christmas Eve 1843, into the heart of Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. For the hefty ticket prices (the standard package will set you back £135pp) you’ll be treated to a performance of the tale, which combines theatre and music, and served up a three-course Victorian feasting menu (think confit duck, terrine and plum pudding ice cream). There’s also a Victorian-themed cocktail menu featuring such concoctions as the ‘Smoking Bishop’ and a shareable ‘Party House Punch’. 

Got a thirst for adventure and winter-themed alcoholic drinks? Up at The O2 – the entertainment centre’s dare-devil tour that lets you climb up the outside of the famous white dome (strapped into a harness, of course) – has been given a festive makeover. All climbers will get to retreat into an immersive snow globe after reaching the 52m-high summit. Inside your promised falling snow, the sweet smell of cookies and a ‘whimsical winter set-up’ to enjoy looking out at the stonking views of the city from. There’ll also be gingerbread cookies to snack on and glasses of bubbly.