What is a set menu?
A set menu is a fixed-price menu of two or three courses with a small choice at each course, cooked by the same kitchen and from the same larder as the restaurant's à la carte. Restaurants run them at lunch, in the early evening before the theatre, and on quieter nights of the week. All Set lists 227 London restaurants with a set menu currently being served, each with the price, the courses, the days and the hours taken from the restaurant's own published menu. Our beginner's guide goes into the format in more detail.
How much does a set menu cost in London?
London set menus on All Set start at £13.50 for two courses and the middle of the catalogue sits at £28. 37 restaurants price their set menu under £20 and 142 under £30. Michelin-starred set menus begin at £25. The price on each card is the figure printed on the restaurant's menu, checked on 10 September 2026, and each listing links to the menu itself.
How does a set menu price compare with the à la carte?
A set menu fixes the price of the whole meal, and at most London restaurants that fixed price works out at 30 to 60 percent below ordering the same number of courses from the à la carte. Restaurants use the set menu to fill the shifts that would otherwise be quiet, so the diner receives the same kitchen, the same ingredients and a settled bill. Browse set menus under £30 to see the range.
What is the difference between a set menu, a prix fixe and a table d'hôte?
They are the same thing under three names. Prix fixe is the French term, table d'hôte the older one, and set menu the phrase London restaurants use most. Each describes a menu at a fixed price for a fixed number of courses, with a short choice at each. On All Set every listing is a set menu in this sense, whatever the restaurant calls it on its own menu; the prix fixe guide covers the brasseries that use the French term.
Is a set menu the same as a tasting menu?
No. A tasting menu is a long sequence of small courses chosen by the kitchen, usually six or more, at one price and one pace. A set menu is two or three courses with a choice at each, served across a lunch or early-evening window. All Set lists set menus and leaves tasting menus out, so every price on the site is for a meal that fits inside a lunch hour or an evening before a show.
Which London restaurants offer a fixed-price lunch menu?
197 of the restaurants on All Set serve a set lunch, from neighbourhood bistros at £13.50 to Michelin-starred dining rooms. The set lunch page groups them by price band, and the business lunch page gathers the weekday sittings in the office districts. Each card shows the days and the lunch window the restaurant publishes.
Do Michelin-starred restaurants in London have set menus?
Yes. 27 Michelin-starred restaurants on All Set run a set menu, most of them at lunch, from £25 for the entry sitting, and 4 Bib Gourmand kitchens do the same. The set menu comes from the same kitchen as the tasting menu. The Michelin set menu page lists every one with its price and hours, and the cheapest Michelin set menus guide picks five.
When are set menus served?
Most London set menus are served at lunch, typically from noon until 2.30pm or 3pm, and many restaurants run a second sitting in the early evening, from 5pm or 5.30pm until 6.30pm or 7pm, for the theatre. 65 restaurants on All Set run a set menu through the evening service, and 48 run a pre-theatre menu. Every card carries the hours the restaurant publishes.
Are set menus available on Saturdays and Sundays?
Many are. 131 of the set menus on All Set are served on Saturdays and 66 on Sundays, while 92 run on weekdays only. The Sunday lunch page gathers the Sunday sittings with the Sunday price and hours quoted rather than the weekday headline.
Are there good-value set menus in London pubs?
Yes. 11 pubs, taverns and gastropub dining rooms on All Set run a set menu, usually a two or three course lunch or an early-evening menu built around the kitchen's grill and its roast. The British gastropub page lists them with prices, and every pub set menu also appears on the lunch and Sunday lunch pages on the days it runs.
Do I need to book a set menu in advance?
Booking is the safe course, because the set menu is served in a defined window and popular sittings fill. Every All Set listing links straight to the restaurant's own booking page, with no commission taken. A small number of restaurants ask that the set menu be mentioned at the time of booking; where that applies the card says so.
Does the whole table have to order the set menu?
Usually not. At most London restaurants the set menu is priced per person and can sit alongside the à la carte at the same table, though some kitchens ask that a whole table takes it during the busiest sittings. The menu each listing links to states the restaurant's own rule, and the booking page is the place to ask.
Is service charge included in a set menu price?
Generally not. London restaurants add a discretionary service charge, most often 12.5 percent, to the bill after the menu price, and a set menu is treated the same way as the à la carte. The price on each All Set card is the menu price as printed; the restaurant's menu states its own service charge.
What does "2 or 3 courses" mean on a set menu?
It means the diner chooses how many courses to take, at two prices. Two courses is a starter and a main or a main and a dessert; three courses is all three. Each course offers a short choice, usually two or three dishes. Where a set menu is priced for one number of courses only, the card says so.
Can vegetarians eat from a set menu?
At most London restaurants, yes. The usual set menu offers a vegetarian dish at each course, and some kitchens publish a vegetarian or plant-based set menu of its own. The dishes are on the menu each listing links to, which is the reliable place to check before booking.
How do I find a set menu near me?
The All Set map shows every listed set menu across London by location, and the search filters by area, price, time of day and Michelin standing. The catalogue covers 73 London neighbourhoods and 56 cuisines, with area pages for each. The free app for iPhone and Android carries the same map with the nearest set menus first.
What is a pre-theatre menu?
A pre-theatre menu is a set menu served in the early evening, usually between 5pm and 7pm, and timed to finish before a performance. 48 London restaurants on All Set run one. The West End pre-theatre guide lists them with the walk to each theatre, and the pre-theatre page shows the seating window at every restaurant.
How does All Set verify set menu prices?
Every price, course count, day and serving hour on All Set is taken from the restaurant's own published menu, not from an aggregator, and the catalogue is re-checked against those menus on a rolling basis. Each listing links to the menu it was checked against. The catalogue was last checked on 10 September 2026, and every list and area page carries that date.