Sessions Arts Club
Clerkenwell, London
Restaurant in London, United Kingdom
Book with PearlThe Read
Palladian Room Cooking
Price
$200–300per person
Chef
Abigail Hill
Dress
Smart Casual
Why go
Book Sessions Arts Club when you want a Clerkenwell dinner with atmosphere, centrality, and enough external recognition to feel like more than a pretty room. It is a stronger fit for date nights and visitor meals than for diners who need a clearly labelled cuisine or a price-led comparison before committing.
About Sessions Arts Club
Sessions Arts Club is a London restaurant with practical details including chef/owner Abigail Hill, a smart casual dress code, opening hours, and recognition from The Good Food Guide 2025 and Opinionated About Dining Casual in Europe Recommended 2026. It is worth considering when you want a London booking with third-party recognition.
This guide serves as a grounded planning note rather than a full critical review. For a broader sweep of the city, use our full London restaurants guide, and keep Sessions Arts Club on the shortlist if its hours, smart casual dress code, and recognition fit the occasion.
London dining with recognition
The practical reason to consider Sessions Arts Club is that it has a named chef/owner, Abigail Hill, and external recognition. The Good Food Guide 2025 lists Sessions Arts Club as GFG Good, and Opinionated About Dining includes it as Casual in Europe Recommended for 2026. These are strong indicators for booking.
Information regarding cuisine, tasting-menu format, counter setup, drinks programme, price bracket, or seating capacity is not available.
For cross-shopping in London, Luca and Sushi Tetsu are other named options to compare. If you are still choosing between styles of meal, compare current menus, availability, and booking terms directly rather than relying on assumptions.
Who should book it, and who should choose somewhere else
Book Sessions Arts Club if you want a London restaurant with recognition, a smart casual dress code, and a schedule that includes weekday dinner and Tuesday-to-Saturday lunch. It is a less certain fit for diners who need a cuisine label, price bracket, specific dish recommendation, or detailed service format before booking.
Sessions Arts Club serves lunch Tuesday to Saturday from 12–2:30 PM. Sessions Arts Club serves dinner Monday to Saturday from 5:30–10:30 PM. The restaurant is closed on Sunday. Those hours make it usable for both lunch and dinner planning on much of the week, while Sunday plans need another option.
For other London planning, keep restaurants separate from the rest of the trip: our full London hotels guide, our full London bars guide, our full London wineries guide, and our full London experiences guide cover the surrounding decisions.
Planning details
- Hours
- Monday: 5:30–10:30 PM · Tuesday: 12–2:30 PM, 5:30–10:30 PM
- Location
- 24 Clerkenwell Grn, London EC1R 0NA, United Kingdom
- Reservations
- Book on SevenRooms
- Website
- sessionsartsclub.com
- Phone
- +44 20 3793 4025
The take
The Take
The Vibe
Sessions Arts Club occupies an evocative slice of Clerkenwell history: a Palladian former judges' dining room with huge arched windows, distressed plasterwork and a theatrical reveal accessed by lift and velvet curtain. The room balances architectural drama with quietly confident cooking; the setting is arresting without overwhelming the food. By day the space fills with north London light, and by night candlelight deepens the textures and focuses attention on the plates. The effect is intimate and classic, a considered room that feels like an artist’s salon housed inside a historic building.
Best For
Sessions suits evenings when the setting matters as much as the food: think date nights, celebrations and any special occasion when you want a memorable reveal and refined cooking. Its Clerkenwell location and candlelit dining room make it a strong choice for intimate groups who appreciate architecture and detail, while its creative independence sets it apart from Mayfair’s more formal tasting-menu circuit. Guests arrive prepared for a deliberately composed experience where the architecture and the kitchen hold equal sway.
Ordering Tips
The kitchen at Sessions resists a rigid tasting-menu framework, so understand the menu format before you arrive: the restaurant emphasises freedom from strict tasting structures rather than a fixed progression. Focus on the standout dishes highlighted by the kitchen, for example smoked eel and potato pavé, brown crab with agretti and chilli, trout with pomelo and roe, and hake with wild garlic, to get a clear sense of the cooking. Plan to order a handful of signature plates across courses to sample the kitchen’s strengths; expect carefully considered, ingredient-led dishes.
Venue details
Ambiance
Dimly lit with dancing candlelight from gas-fired crystal chandeliers, distressed Victorian interiors with worn green paint and crumbling plaster, creating a fairytale atmosphere of faded Regency-era glamour.
Tags
Vibe
Best For
Experience
Sourcing
View
Accessibility
At the Table
- Dress Code
- Smart Casual
- Noise Level
- Conversational
- Service Style
- Upscale Casual
- Meal Pacing
- Leisurely
- Capacity
- Small
- Kitchen
- Seasonal
- Menu Format
- Small plates, A la carte
- Drinks Focus
- Wine, Cocktails
- Dietary
- Vegetarian friendly
- Private Dining
- Available
- Outdoor Seating
- Yes
Signature Dishes
- smoked eel and potato pave
- brown crab with agretti and chilli
- trout with pomelo and roe
- hake with wild garlic
Know before you go
Know Before You Go
- Getting there
- 24 Clerkenwell Grn, London EC1R 0NA, United Kingdom
Planning details
Hours
- Monday
- 5:30–10:30 PM
- Tuesday
- 12–2:30 PM, 5:30–10:30 PM
- Wednesday
- 12–2:30 PM, 5:30–10:30 PM
- Thursday
- 12–2:30 PM, 5:30–10:30 PM
- Friday
- 12–2:30 PM, 5:30–10:30 PM
- Saturday
- 12–2:30 PM, 5:30–10:30 PM
- Sunday
- Closed
Location
24 Clerkenwell Grn, London EC1R 0NA, United Kingdom · Directions
Recognition and awards
Also consider
Where to look if this does not fit
For a clearer cuisine-led booking, go to Luca for Italian in a known £££ tier or Sushi Tetsu for sushi. Those are easier choices when a group wants the food category settled before choosing the room.
Restaurant context
How it compares in London
Sessions Arts Club is the atmosphere-first pick in this set: easier to position for a stylish Clerkenwell dinner than Sosharu, Modern Pantry, or Drip London when the brief is a room with occasion value rather than a narrow cuisine brief. Its booking difficulty is marked easy, which also makes it more useful for a planned London evening than venues where availability drives the decision.
Choose Sushi Tetsu instead if the meal has to be sushi-led; that is a cleaner category decision. Choose Luca if Italian cooking and a known £££ spend are more important than the Clerkenwell-room factor. Sessions Arts Club wins for ambience and flexible occasion use, while Luca is easier to justify for diners who want the price tier and cuisine defined upfront.
Around this place
Discover more on Pearl
Unlock the full Sessions Arts Club guide in Pearl, including awards, comparisons, FAQs, planning details, and nearby places.
Compare Sessions Arts Club
| Venue | Location | Cuisine | Awards | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions Arts Club | London | 2026 OAD Casual in Europe RecommendedThe Good Food Guide 2025 | ||
| Sosharu | London | No published awards | ||
| Sushi Tetsu | London | Sushi | 2026 Harden's Top 100 UK Restaurants · #582026 OAD Top Restaurants in Europe Highly Recommended2025 OAD Top Restaurants in Europe Ranked · #1642024 OAD Top Restaurants in Europe Ranked · #1822023 OAD Top New Restaurants in Europe Ranked · #141 | |
| Modern Pantry | London | No published awards | ||
| Drip London | London | No published awards | ||
| Luca | London | Italian | 2026 National Restaurant Awards Top 100 · #97Star Wine Lists 2026Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 20262026 Michelin Plate2026 Falstaff Restaurant Guide2025 National Restaurant Awards Top 100 · #95The Good Food Guide 20252025 Michelin 1 Star2024 Michelin 1 Star | £££ |
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How Sessions Arts Club London compares with similar nearby venues.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I wear to Sessions Arts Club?
The dress code is smart casual. Choose clothing that fits a polished London restaurant booking, without treating it as a formal black-tie setting.
Is lunch or dinner better at Sessions Arts Club?
Opening hours list lunch Tuesday to Saturday from 12–2:30 PM and dinner Monday through Saturday from 5:30–10:30 PM. Choose based on the time that fits your plans; Sunday is closed.
