Dinner Cruise London

A dinner cruise in London means a seated meal on the Thames while Parliament, the London Eye and Tower Bridge slide past, and the three meal cruises I compared start at $29. Two come from City Cruises and one from Tea on the Thames. They are the dining end of my guide to boat tours in London. Prices are in US dollars, checked in October 2026, and the booking links are affiliate links, as I explain on my about page.

My pick for a proper night out is the City Cruises Dinner Cruise at $105: 3 hours, 3 courses, live music, rated 4.3 from 2,529 reviews. For the best rating and the lowest price I’d choose the Tea on the Thames cruise from $29 (4.7 from 169 reviews). I haven’t eaten on these boats, so I rely on the listings and the review snippets.

Dinner Cruise London Thames

Here are the three meal cruises side by side. All three sail on the Thames and all three include food in the base price.

Trip	Operator	Price	Duration	Meal	Rating	Cancellation
Lunch cruise	City Cruises Limited	$70	105 minutes	2-course lunch, tea or coffee	4.5 (2,272)	Free up to 3 days
Dinner cruise	City Cruises Limited	$105	3 hours	3-course dinner, sparkling wine on arrival	4.3 (2,529)	Free up to 3 days
Tea, coffee or dinner cruise	Tea on the Thames	From $29	1.5 to 2.5 hours	Afternoon tea, coffee or 2-course dinner	4.7 (169)	Free up to 24 hours

Night tour

City Cruises Limited

Dinner Cruise on the River Thames

• ★ 4.3 (2,529 reviews)
• 3 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: The classic Thames evening: $105, 3 hours, 3-course dinner, wine on arrival and live music, 4.3 from 2,529 reviews.

from

$105

Check availabilityRead my review

The City Cruises dinner is the one the listing calls London’s original dinner cruise, with 20 years of experience behind it. It departs from Westminster Pier, and the price includes live music with optional dancing, a glass of sparkling wine per person on arrival, a 3-course dinner and tea or coffee. Further drinks cost extra. Children under 13 are excluded. A reviewer liked the food and staff, another praised the singer, and one found the vegetables under-cooked, so I would not expect a restaurant-level plate.

London Lunch Cruise

If you want the same boat-and-meal idea in daylight, the lunch cruise is shorter and cheaper. The City Cruises Lunch Cruise on the River Thames is $70 and lasts 105 minutes. It leaves from Tower Pier, next to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, and the listing says guests are greeted by pier staff. The nearest stations are Tower Hill and Tower Gateway DLR.

City Cruises Limited

Lunch Cruise on the River Thames

• ★ 4.5 (2,272 reviews)
• 105 minutes
• Free cancellation

My pick: A daytime meal on the river: $70, 105 minutes, 2-course lunch included, 4.5 from 2,272 reviews.

from

$70

Check availabilityRead my review

The menu in the listing is a roasted chicken supreme with a leek and tarragon sauce, dauphinoise potatoes and seasonal vegetables, followed by a lemon meringue tart. Tea or coffee and live or recorded commentary are included, and alcoholic drinks are listed too. A reviewer who loved it said the boat is covered in glass and runs in both directions, so you see the sights twice. The same reviewer called the narration sporadic.

London Lunch Cruise On the River Thames

This lunch cruise on the River Thames suits a day when evenings are taken. At $70 it is $35 less than the dinner cruise, and the 105 minutes fit between a morning at the Tower and an afternoon elsewhere. The free cancellation window of 3 days matches the dinner cruise. Hotel pickup and drop-off are not included.

London Dinner Cruise On the Thames River

The Tea on the Thames cruise is the budget alternative for a London dinner cruise on the Thames River, and the best rated of the three. Its Thames Cruise with Afternoon Tea, Coffee or Dinner starts from $29, and you choose between a 90-minute afternoon tea, a 90-minute top-deck coffee cruise or a 2.5-hour evening dinner cruise with soft live music. The dinner is a 2-course meal with an English-inspired main and a dessert.

Night tour

Tea on the Thames

Thames Cruise with Afternoon Tea, Coffee or Dinner

• ★ 4.7 (169 reviews)
• 1.5 - 2.5 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: The best-rated meal cruise: from $29, 4.7 from 169 reviews, with a tea, coffee or evening dinner option.

from

$29

Check availabilityRead my review

It starts and ends at Butler’s Wharf Pier and passes Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast, the Shard, Tate Modern, St Paul’s Cathedral, the London Eye, Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster. Reviewers praised a guide called James and a plentiful afternoon tea. Free cancellation runs up to 24 hours. The listing excludes children under 5 and wheelchair users, and the page does not give the price of each option, so check the one you pick.

Dinner Cruise London England

Most London dinner cruises sail the central stretch, but they do not leave from the same place. In a straight line, Westminster Pier is 3.5 km from Butler’s Wharf Pier and 3.4 km from the Tower of London, which is next to Tower Pier. The dinner cruise starts at the Houses of Parliament end, while the lunch and tea cruises begin near Tower Bridge. Whichever dinner cruise in London you pick, allow time to reach the pier and check the time on your voucher, because the listings did not state a fixed start time.

London Dinner Cruise New Years Eve

None of the three listings is a New Year’s Eve sailing, so I can’t give a price or a menu for that night. The searches for it are small but real. If you want a dinner cruise in London on 31 December, look at the date picker on the booking page for each cruise, and read the cancellation terms for that date, because special nights often have their own rules. For a New Year’s party rather than a meal, my party boat page has the two party cruises I compared.

What to Know Before You Book a Meal Cruise

A few practical points apply to all three listings. First, drinks: the lunch listing names alcoholic drinks as included, the dinner listing includes one glass of sparkling wine per person on arrival and sells further drinks at extra cost, and the Tea on the Thames listing lists additional drinks. Because the wording differs, read the line for the option you choose before you assume a bar tab.

Second, getting there. Tower Pier is a walk from Tower Hill station and Tower Gateway DLR, as the lunch listing says. For the dinner cruise, the listing only names Westminster Pier, so I would check the walking route from the station you are using. Butler’s Wharf Pier is on the south bank by Tower Bridge, a short walk from the bridge. In a straight line, Tower Bridge is 3.1 km from the London Eye, which gives you an idea of how much river the longer cruises cover.

Third, who comes with you. A dinner cruise in London is easy for couples and friends, and harder for small children. The 3-hour City Cruises dinner excludes under 13s, and the Tea on the Thames listing excludes under 5s and wheelchair users. The lunch cruise names no age limit, so it is the one I would check first for a family. Dietary needs are not described in any of the three listings, so ask the operator before you pay.

Finally, timing and weather. Meal cruises sail whatever the weather, and the boats have indoor seating, so rain matters less than for the open-deck sightseeing boats. A glass-covered boat was praised by a lunch reviewer. In winter, evening sailings cross a dark river lit by the city, and in summer they catch more daylight, but the listings do not publish sailing times, so choose the date and look at the times offered.

How I’d Choose a Dinner Cruise

For a date night I’d book the $105 City Cruises dinner and accept the under-13 rule. For a lower price and a better rating, I’d take Tea on the Thames from $29. For a lunch break from sightseeing, the $70 cruise. The wider picture is on my hub page, and the river sightseeing tickets that skip the meal are on the river cruise page. For canal rides and boat hire, see the canal cruise page and the boat rental page. Go back to the homepage for other cities. The final tip for any dinner cruise in London: check dietary options with the operator before you book.