Celebrate
Birthday ideas in London
A birthday deserves more than a table booking. These plans give everyone something to do together: sing, race, solve, shake cocktails or watch a show unfold around your table.
Most take group bookings, so pick one and use Plan a group outing to invite everyone and see who's in, without chasing the group chat.
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Eat a Greek feast while an ABBA musical plays out around your table at the O2You sit at a mock Greek taverna for a four-course sharing feast while a new ABBA love story, written by Sandi Toksvig, is performed among the tables. Then it turns into an ABBA disco.
Alcotraz prison cocktail experienceImmersive prison-themed cocktail experience - smuggle in your own spirit, they mix the rest in character. ~£50pp for ~2 hrs. 18+. Book well ahead. Alcotraz London is on Brick Lane E1; other branches in Manchester and Brighton.
Escape roomsHundreds of themed rooms citywide (60-min team puzzles). Typically ~£25-35pp; best for groups of 3-6. Book ahead. Age guidance varies by room.
Sing in your own themed karaoke room in Victoria, with food sent to the roomBook one of 22 private karaoke rooms, sized from 4 to 35 people, and order food and drinks to the room from a touch-screen while you sing. Group packages bundle two hours of karaoke with bites and drinks.
Krazy Karts (Bermondsey Bierkeller)Electric indoor drift karting under Bermondsey Bierkeller + beer hall. Group-friendly; 18+ evenings. Book ahead. Beneath The Bermondsey Bierkeller, Tooley Street SE1. Working site is bermondseybierkeller.co.uk.
Cocktail-making masterclassLearn 2-3 classics then drink them; widely available - search by area on DesignMyNight. Typically ~£35-50pp, 18+. Book ahead.
Battle your mates at tech-boosted fairground games in Canary WharfTap a games card into hook-a-duck, hoopla-style throws, horse racing and water-gun games, all wired to live leaderboards, then refuel at the street food stalls. Groups of up to 15 book online; 16 to 600 go through the events team.
AxeperienceBasement axe-throwing booths near Aldgate; coached games & challenges. Group-friendly; book ahead. 18+.
Bowl a few frames on retro lanes with your crew in HolbornTen-pin bowling on four retro lanes in the original All Star Lanes, with classic arcade games, an American-style restaurant and a low-lit cocktail bar on site. Up to 7 people per lane; bigger groups are split across lanes.
Immersive theatre (Punchdrunk etc.)Walk-through theatrical experiences
Supper club (Eatwith etc.)Eat at a host's table - book via platforms like Eatwith. Great for meeting people; prices vary by host (~£40-70pp). Confirm dietary needs when booking.
Blend and bottle your own perfume with your group in MaryleboneA Blending Master takes your group through the fragrance Essentials, then everyone blends, bottles and names a perfume to take home, with drinks (alcohol-free on request) throughout. Sessions run one to two hours.
Bowl on vintage lanes under a Bloomsbury hotel, then sing in a karaoke roomEight bowling lanes booked by the hour (up to 6 players per lane) in the basement of the Tavistock Hotel, with an American diner, a pizza kitchen and five private karaoke rooms for 8 to 30 people.
Escape a high-tech horror or spy room with friends in AldgateTeams of up to six take on one of AIM Escape's automated rooms (horror, zombie lab or spy HQ) with 60 minutes to escape. Groups can book several rooms and the team will help arrange drinks and a cake for birthdays.Escape a gothic horror room with friends in HammersmithEscape London's Hammersmith site has two high-immersion rooms (horror and gothic mystery) for teams of two to eight, with 60 minutes to get out. The whole room is private to your group.
Play an escape room or the Escape Arcade, then pizza, in HolbornTeams take on one of three 60-minute escape rooms or the Escape Arcade, a string of quick-fire mini challenges built for many teams at once. There's an on-site bar and pizzeria to carry on afterwards.
Ceilidh / barn danceNo skill needed - a caller walks you through every dance. Regular ceilidhs at halls citywide (e.g. Cecil Sharp House). ~£10-15. Great group night.
Pick a board game from the shelves and settle in over food in CroydonBook a table at a board-game café bar on Croydon High Street, choose from its game library with help from staff, and eat and drink while you play.
Bingo (Bongo's / Hijingo)High-energy modern bingo nights
Sweat through a fiery Southern Thai curry-over-rice in Covent GardenPlaza Khao Gaeng recreates a Thai 'khao gaeng' curry shop: curries thick with coconut and fermented fish, and searing stir-fries, from Southern Thailand.Book a golf simulator bay for four in Lower ClaptonA small neighbourhood indoor golf club in Hackney where you book a simulator bay by the half-hour (up to three hours) and share it with up to three friends — play a round, longest drive or closest to the pin.
Pour your own scented candle with friends off Regent StreetAn Earl of East maker shows you how to blend a fragrance, then each person hand-pours a 170ml soy candle to take home, in about an hour. Groups can book the Regent Street workshop space privately.
Good Ship Comedy (Four Thieves)Fortnightly Wednesday club night. Runs at The Four Thieves, Lavender Gardens SW11.
Devil's Dyke & South Downs (Brighton)Train to Brighton (~1 hr from Victoria/London Bridge) then the Devil's Dyke bus. Hilly downland views. Free walk.Spend a day with Black professionals rethinking success, with coaching and headshots, in EalingA one-day event for Black professionals with talks from more than 20 Black leaders, founders and coaches, plus lunch, coaching, headshots and wellbeing checks, and plenty of time to meet the room.
Mile End Climbing WallIndustrial routes + Finnish sauna
Pour your own tasters from 100+ wines by Battersea Power StationLoad a card and work your way round self-pour wine machines with 100+ wines by the glass, trying small tastes before you commit to a full glass.
Maltby Street / Druid St marketsWeekend food + drink under archesPeak District day trip (Mam Tor)Train St Pancras to Sheffield then to Edale/Hope (~2.5-3 hr total). Big-hill day for fit walkers. Free walk.
Play vintage arcade cabinets and book a console booth by the canal in Hackney WickA canalside arcade bar at Here East with restored vintage arcade cabinets on US quarters, bookable console booths for Mario Kart and Smash Bros, craft beer, cocktails and pizza.The ReachSouth London's biggest wall; boulder+rope+lead
Make your own rings – The RingsmithsHands-on ring-making workshops using the traditional bench skills — carving, filing, soldering and casting — so you leave wearing the thing you made. Two sites: 61 Tower Bridge Road SE1 4TL and Unit 2.07–2.08 Oxo Tower Wharf, Barge House Street SE1 9PH. Popular for couples making their own wedding bands. Book through the timetable on the site, or call 020 3659 6296 (Tower Bridge) / 020 4547 3947 (Oxo). At-home ring design kits too, if you'd rather not come in.
Feast on koobideh kebabs and fresh Persian bread at a family-run Kensington classicMohsen has served Persian charcoal grills, saffron rice and herb platters opposite Olympia since 1996; a favourite with the Iranian community.
Ghost / Jack the Ripper walkEvening guided spooky history walksCut, foil and solder a stained-glass suncatcher in Muswell HillA small-group taster in a glass artist's studio: choose a design about 15cm square, pick and cut coloured glass, copper-foil and solder it, and take the suncatcher home that day.
Join Deaf youth theatreDeafinitely Theatre is a Deaf-led company running theatre opportunities for young Deaf and hard-of-hearing people, CODAs and BSL users. Check the events page for current intakes.Soca / Caribbean carnival arts (mas) workshopCostume-making (mas) & steel-pan workshops, busiest in the run-up to Notting Hill Carnival.
Sit out a winter evening in a heated yurt on a Shoreditch rooftopGo up to the Queen of Hoxton's rooftop, which stays open in the colder months with a heated winter yurt, for drinks and food. Thursdays have £5 happy-hour drinks.
Black-owned brunch / day partyAfrobeats/Bashment bottomless brunches & day parties; search DesignMyNight/Eventbrite for current events.
Questions people ask
- What can I do for my birthday in London?
- Activities beat a long dinner: an immersive dinner show, crazy golf, an escape room, a private karaoke room, go-karting or a cocktail-making class all give the group something to do together.
- What are good group birthday ideas in London?
- Karaoke rooms, bowling, crazy golf, escape rooms and fairground-style games bars all take group bookings, and most do food and drinks packages.
- What are unusual birthday ideas in London?
- Try a prison-themed cocktail experience, an ABBA musical performed around your dinner table, axe-throwing or electric drift karting under a beer hall.
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