You can dine inside Westminster Abbey this month – here’s how

The side of Westminster Abbey seen in Greater London from the roadside — (Image credit: Loop Images / Jason Wells via Getty Images)

London has incredible restaurants: secret underground vaults, former US embassies, converted sex shops – the city truly has it all. Usually you put ‘the countries most historic landmarks’ and ‘places to eat’ in firmly separate categories, but this June there’s a decadent and delicious glitch in that matrix with one of the capital’s most commemorated and architecturally stunning buildings opening its doors for dinner.

Westminster Abbey has earned its title as one of the most renowned and distinguished London landmarks, having hosted 16 royal weddings (including Prince George and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark), 39 coronation ceremonies (including William the Conqueror in 1066). She serves as a resting place for over 3,000 people, including Sir Isaac Newton, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Stephen Hawking and many more. Now, the eminent spot is officially set to open its grandiose doors for the public for a very different kind of celebration – if you can get your hands on a ticket that is.

Exterior of Westminster Abbey which was originally the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is a large, mostly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster

For one night only, the Abbey is hosting a special dinner, not in honour of any famous anniversary or landmark celebration, but in honour of English Wine Week. The week itself will be running from 20th June until 28th June, taking place underground the actual labyrinth of the Abbey in its Cellarium. The Cellarium was created in the early medieval period, serving as an old-time canteen (in layman’s terms) for the Benedictine monks. Nowadays you’d probably recognise it more as the Abbey’s main Cafe and Terrace.

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The special evening takeover is all about Balfour Wine; the night begins with an exclusive drinks reception, followed by a three-course meal with poured English wines from Balfour. A host will guide you through each meal, explaining the tastes and craft behind each course, whilst walking guests through the development of English wine.

Tickets are open to everyone, retailing at £77.25, available now via Design my Night – although we’d be shocked if they didn’t get snapped up quickly. How many people can name-drop that they’ve been wined and dined at Westminster Abbey??

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Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.