Annual Events Dining
In Doncaster

St Leger Festival is the biggest week of Doncaster's year. Four days of flat racing in September, capped by the world's oldest Classic - the St Leger Stakes, first run in 1776. Hotels book out months in advance. Trains fill up. The whole town centre runs at festival pace.

If you are travelling in for the racing and want somewhere away from the hotel-restaurant crush, we are five minutes from the course on Copley Road. The pre and post-race dining page covers the timing in more detail - first race off at 1pm to 2pm, last race wraps 5pm to 6pm, and our kitchen runs through both windows.

For St Leger week specifically: book as early as you can. With five tables, festival nights fill the whole run weeks ahead.

The Doncaster events calendar fills out across the warmer months. The flat racing season runs March through November - the racecourse hosts regular meetings on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through summer, each one bringing visitors into town for the day and the evening.

Beyond the racing, the calendar runs through Doncaster Steampunk Spectacular in May, the Music and Food Festival at Elmfield Park, Doncaster Pride in August at Sir Nigel Gresley Square, summer concerts at Doncaster Dome and the Racecourse, and Doncaster Rovers home games at the stadium across the football season. Match-day Saturdays bring a different kind of crowd to the town centre.

For any race day in the season, the race day dining page covers the lunch and dinner timing. For Pride weekend specifically: book ahead. The town centre fills up and the evening tables go fast.

From November onwards the town centre takes on a different character. The Doncaster Christmas Market runs through late November and December across the Mansion House and Market Place, drawing in shoppers, day-trippers and visitor groups looking for a proper dinner after the cold afternoon outside.

The racecourse runs Christmas Party Nights through December, the Doncaster City 10K finishes at the course in late November, and Doncaster Dome hosts winter concert dates. New Year's Eve brings a busy town-centre crowd. All of which means restaurant tables, ours included, run busier than usual right through to early January.

If you are visiting for any of it, the case for a hot Thai curry or a deep bowl of dark noodle soup on a cold December evening writes itself. Phone ahead, especially for Saturdays.