Everything To See, Do & Eat This Diwali

For a celebratory meal that doesn't require a special occasion budget, book a table at KOKUM in East Dulwich. Co-founded by former Gymkhana head chef Sanjay Gour, the restaurant is serving a limited-edition sharing menu from 3rd to 8th November, priced at £45 per person. Start with crispy spinach and kale chaat, paneer tikka angara, pani puri and achari chicken tikka, before moving on to butter chicken, dal makhani and a selection of curries, rice and breads. Mango and cardamom shrikhand rounds things off. There's also Nani's Nightcap, a creamy cocktail made with vanilla ice cream, Baileys, vodka and a secret homemade masala blend.

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A fresh mehndi design is a lovely way to get ready for Diwali, whether you're dressing up for a family gathering or simply want to mark the occasion. Founded by Guinness World Record holder Pavan Dhanjal, Pavan Henna Bar now has a permanent destination in Selfridges' Oxford Street Beauty Hall, offering everything from traditional brown henna to white, glitter and colourful designs. For something with more staying power, Jagua creates a dark blue-black stain that resembles a real tattoo. Designs start at £30, with more elaborate body art costing extra.

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Gather friends and family for London Ki Diwali Dhamaka, an evening of food, music and entertainment on Saturday 7th November. Organised by the EEL Association and Indian Professionals in London, this celebration has a stacked line-up of live performances, vibrant Bollywood dancing, thunderous dhol players and a top-tier DJ soundtracking the night. Guests will enjoy a lavish four-course feast, a fire-dancer performance, a festive photo booth to capture memories and a complimentary traditional laddoo to sweeten the festivities. Dedicated activities and workshops will also keep kids occupied.  

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A Diwali celebration at this Marylebone restaurant is a good excuse to gather everyone around the table. Executive chef Sajeev Nair's five-course Taste of Trishna menu runs from 2nd to 8th November, priced at £120 per person. Look out for seafood paniyaram topped with Oscietra caviar, Amrut grouse with single malt and half lemon lobster tail with lemon butter. Dessert is a gulab jamun tiramisu, finished with Mysore pak crumble and filter kaapi granita. There's a vegetarian menu for £110 per person, plus an optional sommelier wine pairing for £90. The restaurant is also serving a Bombay Sapphire collaboration cocktail, the Muziris Negroni, inspired by Kerala's historic pepper-trading port. Every guest dining from either Diwali menu will take home a miniature serve.

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Dishoom Borough is hosting three bookable events across the first weekend of November. On Friday 6th, co-founder Kavi Thakrar leads Chai Pe Charcha, a morning of conversation over chai and bun maska, with £5 tickets donated to Seeds of Peace. Saturday brings a zine-making workshop with multidisciplinary artist and somatic coach Poonam Dhuffer, including all materials, bottomless chai and snacks (£35). On Sunday, children's author Chitra Soundar will lead a family-friendly morning of Diwali storytelling and card-making for children aged four to nine (£7.50 per person).

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Head to Bramber Green to enjoy a free outdoor celebration on Saturday 31st October, bringing together music, food, crafts and family-friendly entertainment. Organised as part of Bloomsbury Festival, the afternoon will feature Bollywood sounds and dance performances from AKDC, alongside activities celebrating South Asian culture. Celebrations include lighting divas, creating rangoli, fireworks, exchanging sweets/gifts and worshipping Laksmi, the goddess of wealth. Starting at midday and running until the early evening, it’s a great one if you have younger children.

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Big Mum's Samosas opened its Richmond shop in late 2025 but the family business goes back decades. Sushma Rani Makol, affectionately known as Big Mum, began making and selling samosas from home around the late 1960s and 1970s, building a following around a family recipe. If you're picking up snacks for a Diwali gathering, The Brewers Lane shop is a chance to support a small business with a long and personal history.

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If your idea of a celebration involves big flavours and plenty of food, Brigadiers has you covered. The City restaurant's Diwali feast runs from 5th to 14th November, with a menu that includes Dorset crab samosa, Konkani scallop with crispy chorizo and its original BBQ butter chicken wings. Mains range from venison shank korma to cod kalimirch tikka with malai korma and dum guinea fowl biryani, served with dal makhani, aloo baingan masala and pine nut and onion pilau. A vegetarian feast is available too.

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Chef and food writer Romy Gill is bringing the flavours of her own Diwali table to The Pem for the restaurant's first celebration of the festival, which opened just last month. Available from 3rd to 7th November, the four-course menu draws on dishes she loves to cook at home, with inspiration from her travels across India. Expect crisp aloo tikki with shallot, chilli, coriander and chickpeas, twice-marinated lamb chops with mint chutney and a fragrant dhaba-style murgh curry. There's also kaddu, a pumpkin dish spiced with chillies, white poppy and coconut, and moong dal halwa with saffron ice cream to finish.

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Make a day of it in Greenwich, where the National Maritime Museum is hosting a free Diwali celebration on Saturday 7th November. The family-friendly programme includes lantern parades, dance performances and rangoli workshops, offering a chance to learn more about the traditions behind the festival while getting involved in the celebrations.

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Maida Vale neighbourhood pub The Hero is teaming up with chef and author Sabrina Gidda for a one-off Diwali supper club on Sunday 8th November. The five-course menu brings together Gidda's generous, instinctive cooking and a mix of Indian-inspired flavours. Highlights include green chilli cheese pav, black chickpea hummus with crispy curry leaf and pomegranate, hariyali bream with coconut masala bisque and BBQ guinea fowl with fenugreek butter sauce and confit leg biryani. For dessert, there's cardamom and saffron tres leches with pistachio. 

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If you're looking to celebrate on the dancefloor, SoulJam's Diwali Dhamaka promises a night of Bollywood hits and Desi anthems at Amazing Grace. The adults-only event encourages guests to dress in traditional South Asian attire, from sarees and lehengas to kurtas and sherwanis. There will also be live music from singer/performer Shrey Joshi.

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Dishoom is joining forces with Vikas Khanna, the Michelin-starred chef behind New York restaurant Bungalow, for two Diwali supper clubs. Khanna will cook alongside Dishoom's Chef Arun Tilak, with a feasting menu featuring Dishoom's house black daal and creamy makhani kofta, plus Bungalow's signature spice-roasted pineapple curry. The dinners will take place at Dishoom Shoreditch on 3rd November and Canary Wharf on 4th November, with each ticket including the feast, a soft drinks pairing and a piece of limited-edition collaboration merchandise. The pineapple curry will also appear on Dishoom menus across the UK from 2nd to 15th November, alongside a Diwali feast set menu for two.

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Add a creative activity to your Diwali itinerary with a candle-making workshop at Kricket Shoreditch, in collaboration with Ohros. Candles and diyas are central to the festival's celebrations, symbolising light, hope and the triumph of good over evil, so this is a lovely opportunity to make something special for your own home or to give as a gift. There are two sessions taking place on Saturday 7th November – one from 11am to 12.30pm and a second from 1.30pm to 3pm.

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For a full afternoon and evening of family entertainment, head to Byron Park for the Harrow Diwali Fireworks Festival on Saturday 7th November. Alongside the headline display, there will be plenty of live entertainment, a fun fair, henna art, face painting, glitter tattoos and activities for children. Gates open at midday, with free entry until 3pm and the main musical fireworks display is scheduled for approximately 7.45pm. It's worth arriving early to make the most of the festivities before the evening show.

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For something to watch over the festive period, look out for Ramayana: Rise of a Legend. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari (Dangal) and a soundtrack from Academy Award winners Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman, this production retells the ancient epic closely tied to Diwali – the story of Lord Rama’s return to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana, a victory traditionally celebrated by lighting rows of lamps. The star-studded cast features Ranbir Kapoor (Animal) as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi (Premam) as Goddess Sita, Yash (best known for the K.G.F franchise) as Ravana, Sunny Deol (Gadar: Ek Prem Katha) as Hanuman, Ravi Dubey (Jamai Raja) as Lakshmana, Lara Dutta (Partner) as Queen Kaikeyi and Arun Govil – best known for playing Lord Rama in the iconic 1987 Ramayan TV series – as King Dasharatha. Film legend Amitabh Bachchan (Sholay) also voices the noble bird Jatayu. 

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