The John Lewis igloos are returning to a rooftop above Oxford Street this Christmas, with private heated pods offering diners panoramic views over the city’s festive lights from six floors up.
John Lewis Oxford Street is bringing back the festive experience at its 1864 Rooftop Bar & Kitchen, with three heated igloos designed for private dining opening on October 1. Perched above one of Europe’s busiest shopping streets, the rooftop has become a fixture of the capital’s festive dining scene.
Each igloo comes fitted with its own speaker so guests can play their own playlist, and can seat eight guests for dinner or accommodate ten standing. Every reservation includes two and a half hours of exclusive use of the pod.
The experience centres on a set feasting menu priced from £65 per guest, which includes a glass of Domaine Evremond Classic Cuvée, with the 1864’s à la carte menu also available. The menu is designed for relaxed, sharing-style dining built around seasonal ingredients.
The feast begins with Gordal olives with orange and rosemary, Padrón peppers with Maldon salt and Gouda and rosemary picos, followed by an amuse of wild mushroom cappuccino, wild mushroom velouté and porcini dust.
For the main course, guests can choose between roasted halibut with brown shrimp butter, potato fondant and tenderstem broccoli; slow-braised beef cheek with creamed mash, heritage carrots, glazed baby onion and crispy shallot; or Delica pumpkin with roasted chestnut tahini, sage butter, pumpkin seed dukkah and pomegranate molasses.
Dessert brings a choice of Christmas sticky toffee pudding with brandy butterscotch and vanilla ice cream, or a chocolate and olive oil ganache tart with black cherry and kirsch.
The igloos open just as Oxford Street braces for its busiest season – and this year with an added twist. From October 26 the street begins its long-awaited pedestrianisation, meaning the Christmas shopping crowds will experience a traffic-free Oxford Street for the first time (read more on the pedestrianisation plans). A heated pod six floors above the throng, gazing out over the lights with a glass of fizz in hand, is about as far from the pavement crush as it gets – and the rooftop’s operators will be counting on shoppers seeking refuge, and something sparkling, after braving the crowds below.
The return of the John Lewis igloos also reflects how firmly rooftop dining has embedded itself in London’s Christmas economy. Heated pods, winter terraces and igloo-style structures have multiplied across the capital in recent years as operators stretch the rooftop season deep into winter, turning what were once dead months for open-air venues into some of the most lucrative weeks of the year. With the set menu starting at £65 a head and only three pods to fill, the 1864 is pitching squarely at the premium end of the festive market: office parties, family celebrations and anyone willing to pay for warmth with a view. The igloos join a packed festive calendar, with winter gigs taking over the O2 and a giant Alice in Wonderland immersive experience opening in November.
The 1864 Rooftop Bar & Kitchen sits on the sixth floor of the John Lewis store at 300 Oxford Street. It is open from noon to 9pm on Mondays, noon to 10pm from Tuesday to Saturday, and noon to 7pm on Sundays. Bookings for the igloos can be made online at 1864rooftopbar.co.uk.
With Christmas bookings across London’s rooftops traditionally selling out weeks in advance, anyone hoping to secure a pod is advised to book early – the combination of heated seclusion, skyline views and a £65 feasting menu is unlikely to stay available for long. The igloos return to the sixth-floor rooftop on October 1, just as the festive season begins in earnest.
