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 London lists 288 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.
Which set menus does All Set London name?
All Set London lists 288 set menus in London and names Andromeda for the lowest price (from £13.50), The Devonshire for the most booking links opened on All Set, Bradley's for the highest Google rating (5.0), Romano's for the latest seating (to 11.30pm), The Flask for the earliest seating (from 11am) and Gloria for the most Google reviews (24,787). Each is a fact read from the restaurant's own published menu or from Google, never a verdict on the cooking, and the same facts name the restaurants on every area, cuisine and list page on All Set London.
Why do restaurants offer set menus?
Restaurants offer set menus to keep seats full at off-peak times. A set menu lets the kitchen pre-portion ingredients, predict the size of the bill and turn tables faster, which is why the headline price can sit 30 to 60% below the à la carte while the margin holds. It also brings in diners who would otherwise never see the restaurant from the inside.
Are set menus the same food as the à la carte?
Yes. In nearly every case the set menu comes from the same kitchen, with the same ingredients, on the same plates as the à la carte. The selection is tighter, usually two or three dishes at each course. At Bocca di Lupo in Soho the kitchen chooses the set menu itself from the day's regional Italian cooking, and at Trishna in Marylebone the Taste of Trishna carries the coastal dishes that made the restaurant's name. London restaurants hold the two menus at parity because the set menu is often a diner's first impression of the kitchen.
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 £26. 56 restaurants price their set menu under £20 and 185 under £30. Michelin-starred set menus begin at £25, the price of the Taste of Trishna at Trishna in Marylebone. At the other end of the catalogue, Andromeda in Camden Town serves two Greek-Cypriot courses at £13.50 and Brasserie Zédel its prix fixe at £16.95, seven days a week. The price on each card is the figure printed on the restaurant's menu, checked on 9 October 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?
257 of the restaurants on All Set serve a set lunch, from neighbourhood bistros at £13.50 to Michelin-starred dining rooms. Lina Stores Soho serves handmade pasta at £17 for two courses on weekdays, Manteca runs its rotating Rapid Rigatoni lunch in Shoreditch from £24, and Chez Bruce in Wandsworth sets three courses at £48.50 from Tuesday to Friday. 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. 28 Michelin-starred restaurants on All Set run a set menu, most of them at lunch, from £25 for the entry sitting, and 11 Bib Gourmand kitchens do the same. The set menu comes from the same kitchen as the tasting menu: Trishna from £25 at lunch and from 5pm daily, Luca in Clerkenwell from £34 at lunch, and Kitchen W8 in Kensington at £49.50 for three courses at lunch and early evening. The Michelin set menu page lists every one with its price and hours, and opens with the ones under £30.
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. 81 restaurants on All Set run a set menu through the evening service, and 86 run a pre-theatre menu. Bocca di Lupo in Soho keeps one menu open from noon to 6.30pm on weekdays, while Blanchette Soho seats its early sitting in a single hour from 5pm. Every card carries the hours the restaurant publishes.
Are set menus available on Saturdays and Sundays?
Many are. 158 of the set menus on All Set are served on Saturdays and 81 on Sundays, while 125 run on weekdays only. Salut! in Islington serves a Sunday roast at £35 for two courses from noon to 4pm, Mignonette in Richmond prices its Sunday lunch at £32, and The Marksman in Hackney sets its Sunday lunch at £42. 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. 16 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 Devonshire in Soho serves two courses at £25 and three at £29 all day, Monday to Saturday, The Flask in Highgate runs a prix fixe at £18.95 on weekdays, and The Hero of Maida in Maida Vale sets its weekday lunch at £25. 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.
Can you pre-order a set menu?
Often, yes, and for a pre-theatre table it is worth doing. Many London restaurants take a pre-order when a set menu table is booked, and nearly all will pace the courses to a curtain time or a train if told it at booking. For a group, most ask for a single order from the whole table a few days ahead. The restaurant's own booking page, which every All Set London listing links to, is the place to ask.
Do restaurants take a deposit for a group booking on a set menu?
For larger tables, usually. It is common for a London restaurant to hold a group table against a card and to take a deposit per head once a set menu is agreed, with the deposit coming off the final bill. Cancellation terms are the restaurant's own and are stated on its booking page, so check them before confirming numbers. Booking a set menu in London covers deposits, cancellation and pre-orders in full.
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, and the booking guide explains discretionary service, supplements and the extras outside the price.
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 81 London neighbourhoods and 59 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. 86 London restaurants on All Set run one, among them Manzi's in Soho, whose evening theatre menu is £29.50 for three courses and a drink, and Prix Fixe Brasserie on Dean Street, which serves from 4pm to 6.30pm and again from 9.30pm for supper after the curtain. Our pre-theatre menus guide lists them by theatre district, with the walk to each stage and 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 9 October 2026, and every list and area page carries that date.