The Brewery is a Grade II listed building located on the historic site of Samuel Whitbread’s 18th-century brewery. In 1750, Whitbread moved his operations to Chiswell Street from two smaller breweries on Old Street and Brick Lane. Brewing continued here until 1976, and The Brewery hosted its first event two years later, in 1978.
Today, The Brewery is known for delivering premium service, combining an exceptional team with innovative cuisine from award-winning chefs and state-of-the-art technology. A wide range of versatile spaces allows us to host events for up to 1,600 guests, from conferences and awards dinners to unforgettable Christmas parties.
From late November through the end of December, The Brewery undergoes a complete transformation, becoming an immersive environment designed to set the stage for a truly memorable end-of-year celebration. We invest significant time and creativity in developing each theme. Past successes include The Electric Flamingo , The Fairy tale of New York, inspired by a 1970's nightclub. We created an entire story and brand for the club, giving guests the feeling of stepping back in time to their own version of Studio 54. Other themes, such as An Extraordinary Evening in Peculiar Wood and Enchantment, brought their narratives to life through collaborations with the talented puppeteers from War Horse, who helped animate the tale of Terry the Fox and create large-scale interactive artworks.
We believe that having a theme allows all your guests to experience something different from a normal night out and gives them the opportunity to dress up and really become part of the experience. We strive for inclusivity, avoiding a traditional Christmas theme, while ensuring there is plenty of festive magic.
When developing our themes, our Head of Marketing and Head of Planning (who are in charge of the Christmas theme) begin by exploring current and emerging trends to ensure they resonate with our guests. We also review previous themes to identify the elements that were particularly successful and use those insights as inspiration. Staying ahead of the curve is essential, so we plan well in advance (typically beginning the creative process around 16 months beforehand). This allows us to finalise the concept for the following year by the time the current year’s celebrations begin.
Our theme for 2025 is The Midnight Carnival, inspired by a vintage carnival from 1899. The venue will be decorated with cream and burgundy drapes, vintage and lenticular posters (which shift as you walk past, adding a layer of illusion and mystery), acrobat and horse centrepieces, strings of fairy lights, carousel-style horse poles, and an abundance of warm, atmospheric lighting. Christmas 2025 is our busiest Christmas season so far with 106 Christmas parties! (to compare, we hosted 98 Christmas parties in 2024, with over 17,000 guests).
The transformation changes the atmosphere of the venue completely, creating an immersive experience for our guests.
We work with a trusted network of suppliers who play a vital role in bringing our themes to life and elevating the overall atmosphere for our guests. Encore, our in-house AV partner, delivers high-quality audio-visual production; with their team based on-site, they ensure seamless integration with our existing technology, creating immersive soundscapes and stunning visual displays that anchor the mood of the event.
Table Art and Creative Draping enhance the environment through bespoke centrepieces and room décor (draping), transforming the rooms. Hybrid designs the floral entrance and dresses The Grubstreet Cellars, the only area that remains un themed, to preserve a classic wintery Christmas feel while still tying harmoniously into the wider guest journey. To complete the experience, we work with Hogarth and Peloton, who provide skilled actors and entertainers that bring energy, character, and storytelling to the event, ensuring guests feel fully immersed from the moment they arrive (magicians, mind readers, fortune tellers, caricaturists etc).
Food is at the heart of every event we deliver, and we place great emphasis on offering cuisine that stands out for its quality, creativity, and sustainability. Our commitment to excellence is reflected both in guest feedback and in the awards we have received: Gold for Best Catering at an Events Venue in 2023, Silver for Best In-House Caterer in 2024, and Best In-House Caterer in 2025. In 2025, The judges awarded The Brewery a perfect 10 out of 10, praising our dynamic, forward-thinking kitchen culture, strong sustainability credentials, and our ability to innovate across a wide variety of event formats and spaces.
Our packages are fully inclusive (hire, food, drink, entertainment, staffing) and we cater for both seated and standing celebrations, accommodating anywhere from 50 to 1,600 guests.
At The Brewery, we’re passionate about food and truly believe in creating a gastronomic experience with every mouthful. Led by Head of Food Jack Bowden, the team of chefs at The Brewery deliver outstanding dishes through eclectic menus and a huge amount of sheer passion and enthusiasm for what they do.
Wine selection is a key element of many events, especially when it’s important to impress. We hand-pick all the wines we serve, from both old and new worlds. We work with Liberty wines, which partners with exceptional producers of various sizes and locations. Liberty Wines holds the distinction of being the UK's only certified Carbon Neutral Plus supplier. This means The Brewery has one of the most sustainable wine lists in the UK.
We ensure that booking, planning, and delivering the Christmas parties is smooth from start to finish. Our Sales team identifies the needs of clients and puts forward a bespoke solution. Once the party is booked, an Event Planner takes over and collaborates with the client until delivery, through planning visits, tastings and consultations.
Building and maintaining strong relationships is paramount to us. Our clients value the continuity and expertise of our team, with many employees having been with The Brewery for over a decade, and some for over 20 years. his depth of experience, paired with our collaborative culture, ensures that both front-of-house teams (sales, reception, and operations) and back-of-house teams (logistics, kitchen, AV, technical, and more) work seamlessly together to deliver an exceptional guest experience.
Marketing also plays a pivotal role in the success of our seasonal parties. Our distinctive brand and personality set us apart, and we invest significantly in creative storytelling and visual identity each year. We partner with designers, videographers, and photographers to develop all Christmas collateral, from promotional films and imagery to printed materials and digital campaigns, ensuring the theme comes to life long before guests step through the door.
We strive to minimise the negative social, environmental and economic impacts our events have on society. Core to our compliance with the ISO20121:2012; Sustainable Event Management accreditation is continual innovation in this area. In 2024, the ISO standard was revised, and the new revision outlines more ethical, eco-friendly, and socially conscious practices, focusing on inclusivity, human and children’s rights and supply chain management. We were audited against the new standard (ISO20121:2024), and we were awarded the certificate in July 2025.
Our energy is sourced from renewable sources. We have replaced a lot of our light fittings with LED fittings and motion sensors, this will continue as we upgrade areas.
We recycle glass, tins, plastic, cardboard, paper, cooking oil, electronic waste, and hazardous waste and toner cartridges. Staff are trained to separate waste at source and to recycle and reuse when possible.
In 2022 we installed an ORCA food digester that uses an aerobic composting process to liquefy food waste onsite and in 2024 we started collaborating with Waste Knot to rescue surplus products. We are well connected with numerous public transport routes and fast access to major airports, making it easy for all
the guests to come to The Brewery.
We insure fair and honest business operations. The Brewery is committed to encouraging and eliminating discrimination in both its role as an employer and as a provider of services. The Brewery is supporting Single Homeless Project Charity, a London wide charity preventing homelessness and helping Londoners transform their lives. We support the charity through several initiatives: events, raffles, food donations, helping refurbish homeless centres