Receptions and dining

Specially created for entertaining in 1622, the Banqueting House 'party palace' astounded London society, and it still has the power to dazzle and impress today.

A grade I listed building designed by Inigo Jones for James I, the building was built in the Palladian style and is one of England's earliest classical buildings, the 'crown jewel' being the Peter Paul Ruben's ceiling in the Main Hall.

Underneath the Main Hall is the intimate vaulted Undercroft, enjoyed as a drinking den by James I. It is now the perfect venue for a stylish and imaginative party, drinks reception or intimate dinner.

Banqueting House is centrally located on Whitehall in Westminster near Downing Street, the Houses of Parliament and Trafalgar Square. The following stations are a short walk from Banqueting House:

• Westminster station (5-minute walk) for Circle, District and Jubilee lines

• Embankment station (5-minute walk) for Bakerloo, Circle, District and Northern lines

• London Charing Cross Station (10-minute walk) for National Rail

• London Waterloo Station (15-minute walk) for National Rail

For further information, please refer to our Getting Here page.

The Banqueting House can offer spaces for a wide variety of events, including standing receptions, gala dinners, awards ceremonies, brand launches, daytime conferences and more!

The Main Hall and the Undercroft can accommodate the following capacities:

Main Hall: Up to 350 guests for ceremonies, 450 for standing receptions, 350 for seated dining, and 300 for dinner and dance events.

 Undercroft: Up to 120 guests for wedding ceremonies and 350 for receptions.

The Banqueting House is a dry hire venue, which includes the exclusive hire of the Banqueting House, including the Main Hall and Undercroft. The Main Hall and Undercroft cannot be hired separately.

Your hire includes an on-site event planner from our team, two security guards, an electrician and a cleaner. We work with a list of approved suppliers for all other elements. Your catering, production, furniture and entertainment costs are additional fees that will be quoted to you by our approved suppliers upon contact. We recommend contacting our approved suppliers as soon as possible to gather all your costs for the event.

We work exclusively with our approved suppliers, and all event elements must be sourced via these.

Please note that we are unable to quote on behalf of our approved suppliers.

Where we would welcome your own suppliers would be for photography, wedding/celebration cakes, and transport, although these must be approved by your event planner.

Yes. For events and weddings, we are able to offer on an exclusive-use basis, giving clients and couples private access to the venue during their event. We are able to offer all-day hire seven days a week to allow all the time you require for your vision.

• The venue hire fee for all day hire of the Banqueting House will be £20,000+VAT with guest arrival from 10:00 until midnight.

• The venue fee hire fee for the Banqueting House for evening hire will be £18,000+VAT with guest arrival from 18:00 until midnight.

• The venue hire fee for the Banqueting House for daytime hire will be £16,000+VAT with guest arrival from 10:00 until 17:00

• Early access available from 13:00 charged from £1,000 +VAT per half hour

• Add on a time extension until 1am for £2,000+VAT

• A time extension past 1am can be considered on a case-by-case basis. Bespoke pricing available upon request 

We can offer a time extension to 1 am as standard, and a time extension past 1 am can be considered on a case-by-case basis. Bespoke pricing available upon request

We sadly do not have any additional back of house spaces at Banqueting House. However, we do have a separately managed adjoining building called Sixty-One Whitehall managed by Royal United Services Institute. This building has direct access from our building internally. To check their availability and prices, please do contact Sabrina Downey ([email protected]) for their information. 

There is no on-site parking. There is a local public car park at Just Park Westminster and Q-Park Trafalgar, which can be used but is not affiliated with us. Coaches, taxis and cars can drop off on site outside the Banqueting House entrance. Metered coach bays can be found along Victoria Embankment, a short walk from the Banqueting House.

Yes, Banqueting House offers accessible facilities, including lift and ramp access to all the spaces.

Yes, the Banqueting House is licensed for civil ceremonies, allowing couples to hold their entire wedding day in one spectacular historic location.