The summer lull is over, annual leave requests have dropped off, and London offices are filling back up. It's the perfect moment to refresh how your team eats lunch together – before the run-up to the festive season takes over everyone's calendar. Here are four catering formats London teams are booking this autumn, plus a simple way to get started.

Why autumn is the right time to refresh your lunch catering

Two things make September and October a good window: teams are back from summer leave and keen to reconnect over food, and caterers still have plenty of availability before the Christmas party season books everything up from November. Setting up a recurring lunch now, or simply trying something new, is far easier while diaries are still open.

1. Grazing-style lunch boards

Instead of a rigid sandwich platter, a grazing board mixes breads, dips, cured meats, cheeses and seasonal vegetables that people can build their own plate from. It works well for teams with mixed dietary needs, since everything is laid out and clearly labelled rather than pre-assembled.

2. Hot bowl lunches

As the weather cools, hot bowls – grain bowls, curries, noodle dishes – are replacing the summer salad box as the office favourite. Masters Catering and Route Catering both offer rotating hot bowl menus that are easy to scale from a 10-person team lunch to a 100-person all-hands.

3. Recurring weekly lunch orders

Rather than booking catering event by event, more London offices are setting up a standing weekly lunch – the same day, a fresh menu each time. It removes the admin of re-ordering every week and gives the team something to look forward to.

4. Themed lunch days

A monthly "cuisine of the month" lunch, run by caterers such as Owen Brothers Catering or Eden Caterers, is a low-effort way to add variety without changing your ordering process – just tell us the theme and headcount.

Booking lunch catering in London through heycater!

Getting started is simple:

1. Tell us your headcount and budget

Share roughly how many people you're catering for and what you'd like to spend per head.

2. Get matched with vetted London caterers

We send you tailored, no-obligation quotes from vetted caterers within 24 hours – no need to contact multiple suppliers yourself.

3. Compare and book

Pick the option that fits your team best, and we handle the coordination from there.

Get a free lunch catering quote

Looking ahead to the festive season

Once your regular lunch routine is sorted, it's worth glancing at the calendar: London's best office Christmas party venues and caterers tend to book out by October. If you're planning ahead, take a look at our dedicated Christmas Party Catering in London page, or explore our existing corporate lunch catering in London options for your everyday office meals.

Final thoughts

A great lunch routine doesn't need to be complicated – just varied enough to keep things interesting, and reliable enough that nobody has to think about it. Whether you're setting up your first recurring order or simply mixing things up after summer, heycater! connects you with vetted London caterers who make it easy.