There are food festivals, and then there is Taste of London. For five sun-drenched days every June, The Regent’s Park transforms into the country’s most ambitious open-air dining room, and the 2026 edition is shaping up to be the biggest yet. From Wednesday 17 to Sunday 21 June, the capital’s most exciting restaurants, chefs and producers will gather under the trees for a celebration of London’s restless, vibrant, world-leading food scene. Tickets are on sale now, and if previous years are anything to go by, the best sessions will not stay available for long.
This year brings more than 30 restaurants, over 130 signature dishes, 160 artisan producers and a brand-new citywide spin-off called Taste of the City. There is masterclass after masterclass, a rosé yacht, a glittering line-up of KISS DJs and enough live-fire cooking to make a five-day festival feel almost too short.
The Headline Event at The Regent’s Park
Taste of London has always been about scale and drive, and the 2026 festival site reflects exactly that. Spread across the iconic green expanse of The Regent’s Park, the festival blends restaurant villages, masterclass arenas, drinks gardens, artisan markets and live music stages into one walkable wonderland. Visitors are encouraged to arrive hungry; with the variety of available dishes across the line-up, pacing yourself is part of the strategy.
The 2026 restaurant roster balances iconic returning names with the city’s most talked-about newcomers. New for this year are the show-stopping Italian Harry’s, the award-winning Cantonese cuisine of Hakkasan, dim sum heroes Yauatcha, fresh Italian flavours from Sale e Pepe, Mareida and Aram, vibrant Mexican tastes from Ixchel, and the sophisticated Basque-inspired neighbourhood pub Prince Arthur, Belgravia. They join other new additions, including Rottura, DakaDaka, Gallio, Sexy Fish and Pahli Hill Bandra Bhai. Festival favourites returning to the park include Los Mochis, blending the flavours of Mexico and Japan in one of the most fun menus on site.
Cook Schools, Live Demos and Star Chefs
Watching a chef work over an open flame just metres away from you is one of the most thrilling experiences a festival can offer, and Taste of London leans into it with four dedicated stages. The Fire Pit, BBQ Cook School, Taste Cook School and Taste Sessions (the latter in partnership with The Royal Parks) host a five-day rotation of demos, hands-on classes and conversations with some of the most exciting names in British food right now.
Rapper and TV personality Big Zuu is back at The Fire Pit alongside award-winning writer and cook Melissa Thompson, while Nathaniel Mortley, better known as Natty Can Cook, will be turning up the heat at the BBQ Cook School on Saturday. The south London-based chef famously transformed his life through cooking after serving time in prison, and his story has made him one of the most compelling voices in British food. Imad Alarnab from the much-loved Imad’s Syrian Kitchen will also be hosting demos, and a wave of trending influencer chefs including Christina Sots, part of the Ottolenghi Kitchen team, will be jumping out of your phone screen and onto the festival stage.
Spritzes, a Rosé Yacht and Jack Daniel’s Goes Blackberry
If the food at Taste of London is varied, the drinks offering is just as ambitious. St-Germain returns for a second year, serving its signature elderflower spritz alongside a pétanque court for a slice of sun-soaked French summer in NW1. Miraval, the Provençal rosé brand, is also back by popular demand with its yacht-style activation, this time anchored in the VIP Lounge with live sets from KISS DJs Matchstick, Ace, AJ King, Esi and Justin Wilkes among others.
Jack Daniel’s is bringing the heat with the first-ever UK festival appearance of its new Jack Blackberry and Lemonade cocktail, served alongside live music and Tennessee charm. Mastercard joins the line-up with an immersive activation featuring exclusive Jack Daniel’s cocktail-making workshops and curated ticket bundles available only to cardholders. Wine lovers, meanwhile, can raise a glass to this year’s wine sponsor La Vieille Ferme, fondly known as Chicken Wine and officially the nation’s favourite rosé.
Sustainability gets its moment too. The Taste Sessions stage will host conversations and tastings with Wasted Wine Club, Inflorescence Wines and Find & Foster Cider, all championing low-intervention, low-waste approaches to drinks production.
Introducing Taste of the City
Brand new for 2026, Taste of London is officially breaking out of The Regent’s Park with the launch of Taste of the City. Running from 15 to 21 June, this curated citywide series invites foodies to experience London’s culinary scene beyond the festival itself, with chef’s tables, collaborative menus, immersive pairings and one-off masterclasses hosted at some of the capital’s most exciting venues. Think of it as the after-party, the after-hours and the deep dive, all rolled into one programme.
Highlights are plentiful. The Hoxton’s contemporary restaurant Rondo is offering a seven-day feasting marathon, with a new chef each day presenting a menu shaped by their personal and culinary upbringing. Lilli by Akira Back will explore the harmony of wine and sake pairings inspired by Korean flavours, seasonal British produce and Japanese precision, while Michelin-starred Pavyllon London will be serving its refined French menu at the most accessible price point to date.
Spanish hotspot ArrosQD is hosting a hands-on Valencian paella masterclass, taking guests from field to glass with Cava in hand. Chet’s at The Hoxton, Shepherd’s Bush, transforms its terrace into a Bangkok Backyard night market complete with live-fire BBQ and Thai-infused cocktails. Cinder’s head chef Alex Mackey has curated a personal best-hits menu cooked over fire, while Milk Beach is pairing premium British produce with an Australian wine flight. Fish and seafood favourite The Melusine presents a six-course Coast to the Curb tasting menu in partnership with Nyetimber.
Elsewhere on the Taste of the City programme, Mediterranean-inspired Albie offers a guided flight of artisan breads, cultured butters and European wines. Roka is delivering a multi-course Japanese experience finished with sweet mochi. Italian foodie paradise Eataly hosts a hands-on summer cooking class covering fresh pasta and dessert. Michelin green star restaurant Apricity teams up with sustainability advocate chef Chantelle Nicholson and Blackbook winery for a four-course seasonal lunch, and Nipotina celebrates the clarity of coastal Italian cooking with the finest British Isles produce.
Tickets, Sessions and Opening Times
Taste of London 2026 runs from Wednesday 17 to Sunday 21 June 2026 at The Regent’s Park, with sessions across afternoons and evenings. Wednesday 17 June opens with an evening session from 17:30 to 21:30, with Thursday, Friday and Saturday offering both afternoon (12:00 to 16:00) and evening (17:30 to 21:30) sessions. Sunday 21 June closes the festival with a relaxed family-friendly session from 12:00 to 17:00.
Ticket options start with the Taste Pass general entry at £24, with Tasting Tickets from £39, the Flexible Single Session Pass from £32, the All Sessions Pass from £42 and VIP Tickets from £62. Children’s tickets are £10, and Friday sessions offer advance child tickets free of charge, which is a lovely touch for families wanting to make a day of it. The advice from the organisers is simple: book early. Popular sessions and ticket types do sell out, and you do not want to miss the one you had your heart set on.
Why Taste of London Still Matters
In a city already spoilt for choice, Taste of London earns its place every single year. It is not just the scale of the line-up or the calibre of the chefs; it is the way the festival captures, in five short days, everything that makes London’s food scene so special. The diversity, the ambition, the willingness to play with tradition, the embrace of new voices and emerging talent. And now, with Taste of the City extending the celebration across the capital for a full week, the festival is no longer a destination so much as a citywide takeover.
Whether you are coming for the Michelin-starred menus, the Big Zuu demos, the rosé yacht or simply the chance to wander between food stalls with a Jack Daniel’s cocktail in hand and the late June sun on your back, Taste of London 2026 has been built for you. The hardest part will be choosing which session to attend first.
For more information and to book tickets, visit Taste of London
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All Images Courtesy of Taste of London.