John Lewis Winter Carnival Review
This Christmas experience a fairground type experience on one of London’s largest rooftops. John Lewis and Partners along with Philips Hue and Google, are bringing you a dazzling winter wonderland aptly titled The Winter Carnival.In the true carnival experience there will be a House of Mirrors, House of Lights and House of Fortune. Each of these bookable cozy dens will have customisable lighting, music and games powered by Google and Phillips Hue. We had fun asking Google to change the colour of the lights! These Houses are bookable in advance to enjoy drinks and food with friends. Prices vary so check the website.
You may choose to battle it out with friends and family with a game of Curling (£10 per adult). With a mounted Google Pixel designed to take night sight imagery, you can capture the game at any time. Or why don’t you have a go on the claw machine where you can win prizes such as Google products including a Google Near or Google Pixel phone. I saw our editor Tegan win a Google Nest Mini on their first try so it’s definitely worth a go.
When you’re hungry turn to The Carnival Diner, where British street food by up-and-coming chef Jimmy Garcia will be served. Celebrated as one of the best creative chefs in the country, Garcia has been named by British Vogue as the UK’s ‘Pop-Up Star’ and is the author of best-selling cookbook ‘Social Eats’. Food available will include popcorn chicken, loaded corn dogs, turkey drumsticks, Oreo cheesecake bites, hot toffee apples and more. The restaurant has gold mirrors and lighting to create a festival vibe, and will be available to book in advance or for walk-ins. We at ONIN love Garcia’s food so we definitely recommend a bite to eat here.
For adult beverages there are two choices. First, Background Bars are serving up a variety of tantalising cocktails, beers and wines. We loved the sweet popcorn concoction. Second, Sage Appliances will be proving festive coffee cocktails including Tipsy Hot Chocolate, Winter’s Chill and Butterscotch Kiss. Every Tuesday 6-7pm from 12th November to 17th December Sage Appliances will be running a Coffee Masterclass in the House of Lights. Sage Appliances will also be demonstrating their Oracle Touch Expresso Machine from 5-7pm on select afternoons, to show that quality coffee can be replicated at home.
The Winter Carnival is being held on the roof of the famed Oxford Street John Lewis store. Static fairground horses and bumper cars and Phillips Hue Lily up-lighters are places around the rooftop to enhance the carnival vibe. There’s lots of seating to rest the legs or to enjoy a cocktail or three. There will be additional season touches due to the Christmas season. We at ONIN definitely recommend getting a group of mates together to begin to celebrate the festive season.
We had an amazing night and hope you will too.
The Winter Carnival runs from Friday 18th October to Sunday 5th January. It is open Monday – Saturday, 12 noon to 10:00pm (last orders 8:00pm) and on Sundays from 12 noon to 9:00pm (last orders 7:00pm)
Address: John Lewis & Partners, 300 Oxford St, London, W1C 1DX
Twitter: @ jlandpartners
Instagram: johnlewisandpartners
Written by Caitlin Neal
