What's On in London This Weekend: Events, Food and Things to Do
Your London weekend is sorted
This weekend hits peak London season, with three major city-wide festivals plus theatre, food and lantern-floating all fighting for your time. Here's how to spend it: Open House and London Design Festival run concurrently until Sunday, each vast enough to occupy a whole day, while Brick Lane transforms into a street party on Sunday afternoon only. The Water Lantern Festival on Clapham Common wraps at 10pm both nights—time it for the sunset release between 7pm and 8pm if you want the spectacle without the full four-hour experience. Saturday is your busiest day; Sunday divides between brunch, the Brick Lane crowds (starting noon), and the lanterns (early evening). Book Harry Potter seats now if you're chasing the final two-part shows before October's format change.
Ordered by what's happening and when: festivals and performances taking over multiple boroughs first, then single venues, then timed events you can slot into an afternoon.
Open House London 2026
Across 33 London boroughs · Architecture tours and building access, 12–20 September · Free; some venues require booking
Open House Festival returns from 12 to 20 September 2026, offering free opportunities to explore places that are often closed to the public, from landmark architecture and private homes to infrastructure, industry and cultural spaces. Most are 'drop-ins' for which you can just turn up. You can tour 10 Downing Street and explore the Barbican Conservatory before it is updated by Harris Bugg Studio; and of course there is a wealth of private homes, innovative and everyday, but all exceptionally designed and worth a browse.
London Design Festival 2026
City-wide (Bankside, Shoreditch, Soho, Waltham Forest and others) · Design exhibitions, talks and installations, 12–20 September · Free and paid events
London Design Festival celebrates and promotes London as the design capital of the world, with the 24th edition taking place from 12–20 September 2026. The festival presents forums, talks, product launches, open showrooms, exhibitions, installations, workshops and parties, with the programme's hundreds of events exploring fashion, architecture, interiors, furniture, technology, materiality, art, crafts and digital design. This year's programme spans 11 districts, with Soho joining for the first time, Shoreditch Design Week expanding into the largest district on the schedule, and Blackhorse Creates taking shape in Waltham Forest.
Brick Lane Curry Festival
Brick Lane, E1 · Bangladeshi and South Asian food festival, Sunday 20 September, 12pm–7pm · Free entry; street food by vendor
Taking place in the Brick Lane neighbourhood of east London on Sunday 20 September 2026, the Brick Lane Curry Festival showcases the best of Bangladeshi and South Asian food, culture and community. Festivities kick off at 12pm with a colourful procession from Allen Gardens through to the Brick Lane Arch, with three giant bespoke puppets made by Emergency Exit Arts, alongside dancers, drummers and performers including the Chinese Lion Dance troupe. Register for free via Eventbrite and you'll receive a code giving you 20% off your bill at participating Brick Lane restaurants across the festival weekend.
Totally Thames Festival
City-wide on the River Thames · Art, performance and river-based activities, 1–30 September (weekend events continue) · Free and paid events
Totally Thames runs across 20 boroughs from 1–30 September 2026 and is awash with exhibitions, performances, art installations, boat trips, walks, talks and more — all designed to help you learn about, and appreciate, the Thames. Hands on History: Mudlarking takes place 5–6, 19–20 & 26–27 September – get hands-on with archaeological finds from the Thames and discover the fascinating history of the river. Most events are free, though some installations and boat tours require tickets.
Water Lantern Festival
Clapham Common, SW4 9DE · Floating lantern ceremony with live music and food, Saturday 19 & Sunday 20 September, 4pm–10pm · £26.90 per ticket
The Water Lantern Festival will let spectators make and light their own lanterns to add to the gleaming display with their own personal messages attached, with live music, curated food options from local vendors, and activities. Doors open at 6pm, with the lantern release itself running from 7pm to 8pm as the sun goes down. Tickets include a lantern kit, markers and a drawstring bag.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 5AY · Two-part play (final performances), Saturdays 2pm & 7pm, Sundays 1pm & 6pm · £49.50–£80 per part
The current two-part production will play its final performance on September 20, 2026, before a newly reimagined one-part version begins performances on October 9, 2026. Part One is performed as a matinee at 2pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and at 1pm on Sundays; Part Two is performed in the evening at 7pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and at 6pm on Sundays. This is your last chance to see the original format after nearly a decade in the West End.
Nakimushi
7 Kensington Mall, Notting Hill, W8 4EB · Japanese ramen and fine dining · Opened 7 September; book ahead
Led by chefs Yuji Shimokawa and Robin Kosuge, it combines their respective mega-hit residencies Urchin and Robin's Ramen under the same roof, spanning three floors with a dedicated ramen bar serving Tokyo-style bowls on the ground floor, while upstairs a more intimate 25-seater restaurant takes a broader look at Japanese cooking through larger sharing plates. The waiting list is likely long given the team behind it; reserve online.
The Horses
Ray Street, Clerkenwell, EC1R 3DJ · Modern British gastropub · Newly opened September; book ahead
The latest opening from Public House Group breathes new life into the historic pub on Ray Street in Clerkenwell, combining the informality of a classic neighbourhood boozer with a slightly elevated approach to cooking, focusing on independent producers, seasonal British produce and fresh seafood, with the menu changing daily according to the day's catch, alongside vegetables and herbs grown in the group's own market gardens in the Cotswolds.
CelebrASIA
Battersea Power Station, SW11 8BJ · South East Asian food, art and performance festival, Friday 11–Sunday 13 September · Free entry; paid panel talks and workshops
CelebrASIA is London's largest South East Asian festival, held at Battersea Power Station, celebrating the food, culture and creativity of the ASEAN nations through live performances, food stalls, workshops and market stands. New additions for 2026 include expert panel sessions across fashion, food, literature and culture curated by Anna Sulan Masing, cooking classes at Borough Kitchen with Ranie Saidi, comedy sets, extended film screenings and a record number of over 35 food and drink vendors.
KID
Soho, London, W1D · Turkish restaurant from Mangal II's Sertaç Dirik and OMA's David Carter · September opening; book ahead
Chef Sertaç Dirik, formerly of Mangal II, will open KID in Soho for his first solo venture, partnering with restaurateur David Carter, and the restaurant will explore Turkish cuisine rooted in Dirik's upbringing, combining seasonal British produce with influences from his time working in Copenhagen, with the menu including Tombik and sourdough pide, house-made çökelek, an aged beef içli köfte and overnight wood-oven cooked kid.
Share this article
Comments
Sign in to join the conversation. Only registered users can comment.
No comments yet. Be the first.