Every year on the third Thursday of November, France releases the first wines of the new harvest, and every year Londoners use it as an excuse to drink young, juicy, red wine on a school night.

This year, Beaujolais Nouveau Day falls on Thursday 19th November, and the city’s restaurants are going all out. There’s oysters and barrel bottlings in Hackney, a Basque burger birthday in Peckham, a black-tie flight in Mayfair and a full French breakfast in Spitalfields. Not in London? We’ve found you a couple of options further afield, too.

1. For a Celebratory Lunch: Sune x Sargasso

What: On 19th November, Hackney favourite Sune is marking the day with a long, boozy lunch featuring Will Gleave, chef-patron of Margate’s Sargasso, who’s come up with a Lyonnaise-inspired menu. Once the plates are cleared, the party moves outside for the barrel bottling (read: a wine-fuelled street party).

Eat and Drink: The three-course set menu, priced at £49 a person, included half a carafe of Nouveau from the barrel. Later, the barbecue fires up for Lyonnaise hotdogs, and Fin & Flounders will be shucking oysters outside. Prefer to roll in after work? Dinner is full à la carte, with French specials for anyone who still has room.

Where: 129A Pritchard’s Road, Hackney, London, E2 9AP

2. For Free-Flowing Beaujolais: Peckham Cellars

What: Seven years ago, Luke West-Whylie and Helen Hall opened the doors to Peckham Cellars. This year, their birthday falls on Beaujolais Nouveau Day, so they’re throwing a massive wine-led 7th anniversary knees-up. There’s a DJ, a transformed dining room, and it all kicks off from 6:30pm until late. Walk-ins only.

Eat and Drink: The wine list is all Beaujolais, all night, and it’s free-flowing. Soaking it up are trays of the new Txuleta Burger, normally a limited-run Friday and Saturday special. It’s a Basque take on the classic featuring a rich patty made from different cuts of Spanish ex-dairy beef, topped with Piquillo pepper relish and a cream cheese made with Ossau Iraty, all in a house-made brioche bun.

Where: 125 Queen’s Rd, London SE15 2ND

3. For a French Feast: Mazarine

What: Mazarine on Hanover Square is getting in on the red wine action with a three-day Beaujolais bash running from 19th to 21st November, featuring a short, serious wine list from three of the region’s top crus, plus a set menu from executive chef Thierry Laborde.

Eat and Drink: The £95 three-course menu is available at lunch and dinner and kicks off with a Croque Mazarine, the house take on a Croque Monsieur. Starters include cecina (air-dried beef with olive oil and aged Parmesan), escargots in garlic and parsley butter, or baby octopus with lemon and herbs. Mains range from cod with crushed new potatoes and beurre blanc to a proper coq au vin (red wine, lardons, mushrooms, as the French intended) or tuna tournedos in a peppercorn sauce, with a side of your choice. Pudding is profiteroles with vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate sauce, which is non-negotiable.

Where: 22 Hanover Square, London W1S 1JA

4. For a Set Menu: Le Garrick

What: Happy birthday, Le Garrick! The Covent Garden French favourite has been serving classic French food for four decades, and is celebrating with an extra special Big Beaujolais Nouveau bash on Thursday 19th November.

Eat and Drink: A three-course French menu for £37, with Beaujolais to go alongside. It’s all traditional French fare: onion soup or oeufs en meurette to start, boeuf or mushroom bourguignon or boudin noir or Toulouse Sausage with mash, followed by tarte au citron, pot au chocolat or a selection of French cheeses. Come for lunch wearing a beret or a Breton top, and you could be one of the first 10 diners to get a free glass of Beaujolais, so this is your one chance to commit fully to the bit.

Where: 10-12 Garrick St, London WC2E 9BH

5. For a Beaujolais Soirée: Dockley Road Kitchen 

What: Neighbourhood spot Dockley Road Kitchen is hosting a Beaujolais soirée in its corner of Bermondsey on 19th November. Across the evening, the team will celebrate the new harvest with a feast of French classics, paired with special, new-season Beaujolais-Villages from Domaine André Colonge et Fils and Jean-Michel Dupré, whose vineyard was planted in 1940.

Eat and Drink: Menu highlights reflect the restaurant’s produce-led, whole-animal ethos and include Fried calf’s brain with gribiche, Endive au gratin, Poached cod with lentils and sauce vierge, followed by St-Émilion au chocolat. Choose two courses for £30 or three for £35, with bar bites and cheese also available.

Where: 1 Dockley Rd, London SE16 3AF

6. For Bacon Baguettes: Three Compasses

What: The Three Compasses, the Farringdon pub beneath Bouchon Racine, is kicking off Beaujolais Nouveau Day with an early start on Thursday 19th November, opening at 7.30am.

Eat and Drink: It’s a two-item menu: bacon baguettes by Henry Harris and a glass of the new vintage. After guests queued outside on their way to work last year, this year the pub will open earlier, with the £10 breakfast offer available until midday. With four kegs arriving for the occasion, Beaujolais Nouveau will then be poured by the glass or traditional pot for as long as stocks last.

Where: 66 Cowcross St, London EC1M 6BP

7. For a Boozy Collab: The Buxton x Lapin 

What: The Buxton in Shoreditch is throwing a Beaujolais Nouveau jolly on Thursday 19th November with free-flowing wine and plates from Bristol’s hotspot Lapin, bringing their dishes to London for the first time.

Eat and Drink: Hosted in the wine bar at the foot of Brick Lane, from 5.30pm, expect an informal, standing party, with plentiful pours of the vibrant, fruity wine, toasting to the release of the region’s Gamay grapes following this year’s harvest. There will be three newly released Beaujolais wines available: 2026 Séléné Primeur Gamay, 2026 Lapalu Beaujolais Villages Nouveau and 2026 Château Cambon Beaujolais Nouveau. Alongside the new pours, get stuck into the snacks of Old Winchester and black truffle gougères with honey and Morteau sausage-stuffed chicken wings with sauce charcutière, as well as larger dishes as the perfect companion to the new pours.

Where: The Buxton, 42 Osborn Street, London E1 6TD

8. For a Beaujolais Breakfast Menu: Galvin Bistrot & Bar

What: Most Beaujolais Nouveau parties start around 6pm. Galvin Bistrot & Bar on Spital Square starts at breakfast. On Thursday 19th November, the Spitalfields outpost is marking the day from first croissant to last pour, with a dedicated menu for every meal.

Eat and Drink: Yes, there’s a Beaujolais Nouveau breakfast menu, and yes, it includes eggs poached in red wine. There’s also truffled scrambled eggs and artisan charcuterie, in case the day needs to start with a bit of luxury. For lunch and dinner, the three-course Beaujolais Nouveau menu is £35 a head: terrine de campagne with salad Lyonnaise, then coq au vin, followed by apple tarte tatin with crème fraîche.

Where: Entrance on 35, Bishops Square, Spital Square, London E1 6DY

9. For Beaujolais By The Glass: The Remedy

What: The Remedy (aka one of the original players in London’s natural wine scene) gears up for the arrival of the year’s first Beaujolais with a party on Thursday 19th November.

Eat and Drink: Come thirsty, because there’s 10-15 different Beaujolais by the glass, alongside a line-up of around 30 by the bottle, with some old vintages and big formats for those wanting to celebrate in traditional style. There will be a special menu to match the pours of French regional classics from Head Chef Renato Catgiu. We’re talking about snails à la Bourguignonne with Lardo di Colonnata, smoked eel with celeriac rémoulade, seared wild mushrooms with Jerusalem artichokes and pig cheek buns.

Where: 124 Cleveland Street, Fitzrovia, W1T 6PG

For out-of-town celebrations…

10. For Traditional French Fare: Carmen Street Wine

What: If you can’t make it to London, Bristol has its own answer. On 19th November, Carmen Street Wine is hosting a Beaujolais Nouveau party to toast the first wines of the new harvest, with plenty of pours. Walk-in only.

Eat and Drink: The Nouveau includes a juicy red from winemaker Cosima Bassouls, which is best served chilled. The food is traditional French. You know the drill… frogs’ legs and escargot, alongside other French-inspired plates. The perfect excuse to finally try the thing you always skip.

Where: Carmen Street Wine, Bristol, BS1 3FD

11. For a Four-Course Menu: Bavette

What: If you fancy travelling past the Watford Gap, Bavette in Leeds is celebrating the new vintage with a special four-course menu championing the rich cooking of Burgundy and Lyon. Expect a proper sit-down evening, with each course paired with carefully selected wines, beginning with Beaujolais Nouveau, then a Chardonnay, Moulin à Vent and Crémant de Bourgogne to finish.

Eat and Drink: Head Chef Sandy Jarvis (previously Terroirs and The Culpeper) will prepare a menu of traditional dishes, beginning with a light snack of Cervelle de Canut served with crudités, crostini, and walnut oil, before moving on to Saucisson Brioché with frisée and radicchio. The main course will be Halibut à la Bourguignonne, followed by Beignets with griottine cherries and lemon thyme ice cream for pud.

Where: 4-6 Town St, Horsforth, Leeds LS18 4RJ