Eat Before You Scan: Planning Dinner Around The O2

At The O2, the phrase dinner at the venue needs a follow-up question. Do you mean a restaurant in the surrounding entertainment district, food after entering the arena, or an entire theatrical dining experience with its own booking? Those three evenings have different clocks.

I would decide that before making a reservation. The O2’s published entry terms include a no-re-admission rule. Leaving the arena for an outside restaurant is not a reliable mid-event dinner strategy. The useful boundary is the ticket scan, not the shape of the building in the photograph.

Before entry, protect time to finish the bill

Banana Tree’s O2 restaurant is outside the arena and can be visited without attending an arena event. The operator also warns that selected event dates use a reduced menu and exclude some offers. Price the menu you will actually be offered rather than the promotion that first caught your eye.

Gaucho is listed in The O2 entertainment district, with advance booking recommended on event nights. It can provide a deliberate sit-down dinner before the show. I would leave time for the unglamorous end of that meal too: ordering coffee, finding the server, settling the bill, walking and passing security. A reservation ending in your imagination is not yet an arrival time.

Inside the arena, choose an outlet you can reach

The venue lists kitchens and food outlets on different arena levels. Your ticketed area and the service operating for that event matter. Confirm a reachable outlet and its actual menu before treating the directory as a complete party meal.

Food bought outside is not normally admitted under the venue’s guidance. Check its current instructions and any arrangements you need directly. A bag of food from a restaurant and a plan to eat after scanning are not the same thing, even if both seemed sensible earlier in the afternoon.

Mamma Mia! The Party is the evening

Mamma Mia! The Party has its own booking and a meal served as part of a theatrical experience. The operator describes an experience of approximately four hours, with sharing platters and possible shared tables. That deserves the evening’s proper attention, not the leftover space before another event.

Confirm the package’s included food and drink, additional purchases, party arrangements, seating and cancellation terms. Count a bundled admission-and-meal price once. Do not enter the whole ticket under admission and then charge yourself for the same included dinner again; travel can manage enough financial surprises without our assistance.

After the show, ask about the kitchen

A restaurant being open after the event does not establish when its kitchen stops taking orders. Use your likely exit time, the walk and any queue when checking a post-show option. A late menu may also differ from the dinner menu that persuaded the group earlier.

My preference is to settle the main meal before entry when the evening’s event has a firm start, or choose the theatrical meal as the event itself. Afterward, keep the plan modest and confirmed. A celebratory drink can be spontaneous. Dinner for a hungry party deserves one more question about the kitchen.

Put this into the meal plan

Decide which side of the ticket scan dinner happens on, then open the O2 guide. Keep the first choice and the backup on the same side of that scan.

Sources and scope

Operator pages checked 28 October 2026. This is a research-based dining-planning guide, not a firsthand tasting review. Menus, service, fees and booking terms can change; confirm the details for the date of your visit.

The O2 visitor guidance · Arena entry terms · Banana Tree O2 · Gaucho at The O2 · Mamma Mia! The Party FAQs

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