How far ahead should you book a Michelin-starred table in London?

Of the three MICHELIN-starred restaurants inside Accor hotels in London, only one publishes a booking window: The Savoy opens online reservations for Restaurant 1890 by Gordon Ramsay up to four months ahead, for up to five guests. Wild Honey St James at Sofitel London St James and Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at The OWO publish no window at all, so a date there is settled by email, by phone or by whatever the booking page happens to be showing. The harder limit sits in the week itself: all three serve dinner Tuesday to Saturday, five services each, and close on Sunday and Monday.

Sources: each restaurant's own booking and dining pages and its MICHELIN Guide page, checked on 12 November 2026. Stars and listings from the MICHELIN Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2026 selection.

When do the books actually open?

Four months is the only published figure of the three. The booking page for Restaurant 1890 by Gordon Ramsay says that online reservations are available for up to five guests, up to 4 months in advance, and sends parties of six or more to the private dining team on 0207 592 1373 or events@gordonramsay.com. Savoy Grill, in the same hotel, works the same way at four months, takes 1 to 10 guests online, asks for an enquiry form from 11 guests, and warns that last bookings are taken one hour before closing time. Neither Wild Honey St James nor Mauro Colagreco states how far ahead its calendar runs, and both give an email address and a telephone number alongside the booking button.

How many dinners a week do these restaurants serve?

Five, at each of them, which is the real reason a date disappears. Wild Honey St James serves dinner Tuesday to Saturday 17:00 to 21:30 and closes on Sunday and Monday. Mauro Colagreco serves dinner Tuesday to Saturday 18:00 to 21:30, with lunch Thursday to Saturday 12:00 to 14:00. Restaurant 1890 lists seatings on its booking page from Tuesday to Thursday 18:30 to 20:00, Friday 18:30 to 21:30 and Saturday 12:30 to 13:30 then 18:30 to 21:30, while The Savoy's own page gives the room as Tuesday to Friday 16:00 to 22:45 and Saturday 12:00 to 22:45, so the seating time is worth confirming at the moment you book. The MICHELIN Guide describes that room as having just 10 well-spaced tables, and ten tables over five evenings is the entire supply for a restaurant that the guide's London one-star list counts among 64 addresses.

What happens to a Sunday or a Monday night?

The starred tables are shut, in all three hotels, and the fallback is a restaurant in the same building with a MICHELIN listing but no star. At The Savoy, A Fairmont Hotel, Savoy Grill serves daily and runs on Sunday 12:00 to 23:30, and The River Restaurant by Gordon Ramsay serves Sunday 12:00 to 22:30, both of them listed in the 2026 selection without a star. At Raffles London at The OWO, Kioku by Endo serves Tuesday to Saturday 18:00 to 22:00 and Sunday 17:00 to 21:00, and closes on Monday. Sofitel London St James has the thinnest Sunday: Wild Honey St James is dark, and the hotel's other rooms, Bistrot at Wild Honey and The Rose Lounge, publish no hours of their own.

What does a cancellation cost, and when do tables come back?

Mauro Colagreco is the only one of the three that publishes a figure: cancellations must be made at least 48 hours in advance, and within 48 hours or for a no-show the charge is £50 per person for lunch and £125 per person for dinner. The same page records a closure from 3 to 18 January, with service resuming on 19 January, which takes a fortnight of winter dates off the table before anyone queues for them. Wild Honey St James and Restaurant 1890 publish no cancellation charge on their own pages. In our view the 48-hour mark is also the moment worth a second look at a full calendar, since that is the deadline the restaurant itself sets for a free change of mind.

Does booking lunch make it easier?

At these three, lunch is the scarcer service rather than the easy one. Restaurant 1890 lists lunch on Saturday alone, 12:30 to 13:30. Mauro Colagreco serves lunch on three days against five dinners. Wild Honey St James publishes lunch from 17 November to 24 December, 12:00 to 14:15, while its MICHELIN Guide page lists lunch Wednesday to Friday 12:00 to 15:00, a difference to settle with the restaurant when you call. Two practical details go with the midday service: a lunch no-show at Mauro Colagreco costs £50 per person rather than £125, and that restaurant welcomes children over the age of 12, which is the only published age rule of the three.

So how far ahead, for a couple?

Our own approach is to treat four months as the outer edge rather than the target, and to fix the evening before anything else in the trip. Book Restaurant 1890 online the moment your date falls inside its four-month window, since ten tables across five evenings leave no room to come back later. Ask Wild Honey St James and Mauro Colagreco by email on the same day, offering a Tuesday or a Wednesday as well as the Saturday, because neither publishes a window that would tell you when to try again. Keep Sunday and Monday for Savoy Grill, The River Restaurant or Kioku by Endo, and if the evening is the whole point of the weekend, our London hotels with a restaurant worth the stay sets out what each kitchen publishes before you choose the bedroom above it.