Where To Celebrate The Mid-Autumn Festival In London

Also known as the Moon Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival is an East Asian tradition dating back thousands of years. It’s held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar, which falls this year on 17 September, but many celebrations run throughout the month. The event is marked in a number of ways, from moon gazing to lanterns, but food is also a big part. Mooncakes are the festival’s most famous tradition: round sweet or savoury pastries which symbolise togetherness and harmony, but dishes like rice dumplings and roasted duck are also commonly eaten around this time.

Festivities are particularly big in countries like China, South Korea and Japan, but the UK’s Asian restaurants get involved too with special menus and boxes of mooncakes. Here’s where to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in London.

Mid-Autumn Festival Menus 2024

Hutong

Nowhere says celebration like the Shard, London’s tallest building. Head 33 floors up to the venue’s Chinese restaurant Hutong, where you can enjoy a special Mid-Autumn sharing menu while soaking up spectacular city views. You’ll be greeted with a Chinese Spritz cocktail made with pink gin, mandarin, cranberry and jasmine soda, ahead of dishes like deep fried eel puffs, pan-seared sea bass with sweet and spicy sauce, and steamed pork ribs. Finish things off with a signature mooncake.

Details: £90pp, available 12 – 25 September 2024

BOOK: 31 St Thomas St, London SE1 9RY, hutong.co.uk

MiMi Mei Fair

Samyukta Nair’s stylish Chinese restaurant MiMi Mei Fair is marking the Mid-Autumn Festival with a new afternoon tea offering. Naturally mooncakes feature heavily: beautifully crafted pastries arranged on a feasting table, filled with flavours of rose and jasmine, alongside a ‘Grande Mooncake’ made with white lotus and double egg yolk. But there are savoury treats too, such as wagyu puffs, duck bao buns and prawn spring rolls – plus other sweet pastries, including pineapple upside down cake. Enjoy alongside a glass of champagne, plus teas including Jasmine Chung Hao and Mint After Dark.

Details: Until 22 September 2024

BOOK: 55 Curzon St, London W1J 8PG, mimimeifair.com

Yauatcha

Both Yauatcha’s Soho and City teahouses will be getting involved with boxes of mooncakes, available to enjoy in the restaurant as well as for takeaway. There are three flavours available: a traditional pastry filled with Cantonese custard, an Earl Grey mooncake with a white chocolate shell centre, and another featuring musang king, a fruit renowned for its unusual taste, which is both bitter and sweet. These would make a lovely gift.

Details: Mooncakes from £5.50 or £45 for a classic box of 9

BOOK: Until 24 September 2024, taogroup.com

Viet Grill

Viet Grill, one of Kingsland Road’s cult Vietnamese restaurants, is showcasing how the festival is celebrated in Vietnam, where it’s known as Tết Trung Thu. The menu begins with Hanoi crispy crab parcels ahead of a bowl of its signature pho, finishing with mooncakes alongside an array of aromatic teas.

Details: £30pp, available until 21 September 2024

BOOK: 58 Kingsland Rd, London E2 8DP, vietgrillrestaurant.co.uk

Imperial Treasure

The pastry chefs at fine dining restaurant Imperial Treasure have created some particularly special mooncakes for the autumn harvest festival. Available only at the restaurant, the creations are made with buttery pastry and rich custard, presented in an elegant box decorated with Chinese art. Enjoy alongside the restaurant’s famous Peking duck, alongside dishes like sauteed beef tenderloin with garlic chips, and crispy seafood rice.

Details: Trio of mooncakes for £20.70, gift boxes cost £79 for eight, available until 22 September 2024

BOOK: 9 Waterloo Pl, London SW1Y 4BE, imperialtreasure.com

The Peninsula

The Peninsula’s mooncakes are the stuff of legend. First created in 1986 at the hotel’s Hong Kong branch, they are a twist on the classic, made with a cookie crust and an egg custard filling. Each year people queue round the block to get their hands on a box – but they’re also available to purchase right here in London. Alongside the signature, flavours include chocolate egg custard, sea salt custard, and candied kumquar and pineapple with mixed nuts.

Details: From £45 for a box of four, available until 17 September 2024

BOOK: 1 Grosvenor Pl, London SW1X 7HJ, peninsula.com