Oh and actual dogs are allowed on the roof for the first time ever now, so bring your pooch. Drinks include a pickled spritz, made with the hotel’s house pickle juice, and a frozen paloma. An astroturfed 11th-floor terrace bar at the first hotel outside of the US from hip hotel group The Standard. One floor below the restaurant on Weston Terrace is where you can score al fresco wine (on tap, of course) throughout the summer. You can also feast your eyes on their beloved Italian-ish small plates, creative cocktails and a seriously impressive view of the Thames and South Bank. Some are only open in the summer, but quite a few are year-rounders, where you can sit under heaters, or, if you’re hardcore, in the brisk London breeze.
Sitting on the 43rd floor of the Walkie Talkie, it delivers a full, jaw-dropping sweep of the city skyline, with views of The Shard, Tower Bridge, St Paul’s and the London Eye, and it’s free to visit if you book ahead. Today it’s colourful, glitzy and joyfully outrageous, with a wraparound terrace over the skyline and a maximalist interior packed with bold prints, wild wallpaper, inventive cocktails and serious party energy. When the sun comes out in full force (yes, it does happen), this is where you’ll want to go to cool down properly. Frank’s really put Peckham on the rooftop bar map, and cult Peckham restaurant Forza Wine duly picked up the mantle.
Sometimes we’re even blessed with perfect weather when we’re up there. From swanky skyscrapers to casual warehouse hangouts and hidden pub terraces, London has a real crush on a rooftop bar. Here are some other great year-round spots open right now for you to enjoy a beer in the breeze. Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news, events, offers and partner promotions. Sign up for our email to enjoy London without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush). So, if you’re a high roller looking to enjoy an unforgettable experience in London, you won’t want to overlook the casino suites on this list. Whether it’s having a world-class chef prepare a bespoke meal or securing front-row seats at a much-sought-after event, the level of service that awaits a safe high roller in darwin roller is unparalleled.
The French-inspired cocktails and seasonal snug areas make it a year-round favourite for after-work drinks or sophisticated evenings. In this guide, we’ve curated the best rooftop bars in London that stand out for their views, cocktails, and overall atmosphere. London’s skyline is one of the most iconic in the world, and there’s no better way to experience it than from a rooftop bar.
Offering a whole host of lively, intriguing Mexican-inspired cocktails, rare agave spirits and snacks referencing the award-winning, Michelin-starred menu upstairs, snag a table here to impress friends, family and lovers, whatever the weather. One of the foremost champions of the natural wine movement in the capital, his latest venture, Bruno, offers romance, rustic charm and some of the most interesting low-intervention bottles on the planet. If anyone knows what makes a good neighbourhood wine bar, it’s the founder of Sager + Wilde, Micheal Sager. This jewel box within the Nomad in Covent Garden is where you’ll find Twenty8 Nomad, a New York-inspired brasserie restaurant led by Executive Chef Zak Gregoire, plus a seductive cocktail bar where the drink du jour is, fittingly, a martini. The setting might just be one of the prettiest in London – a three-storey, glass ceiling atrium illuminated with golden lanterns and framed by towering palms. So, whether you’re seeking a bijou natural wine bar, an elegant occasion destination, or a techy cocktail spot, here are 25 of our favourite places in London to raise a glass – or two (in no particular order).
Floating 11 stories up, the rooftop atop The Standard hotel in King’s Cross is one of the highest on this list. The bar, unsurprisingly, dishes out great homegrown food, and peers out over some of London’s most famous buildings. In spitting distance of the famous Spitalfields Market, this rooftop bar is set amongst an urban garden that grows food for the restaurant below. Wedged somewhere between the glass towers of Liverpool Street and the biryani houses of Brick Lane, sits The Culpeper. It’s been serving up drinks since 2009, and has since added brunch, lunch and dinner to its repertoire too. If you ask a Londoner south of the river to name you a rooftop bar, chances are they’ll say Frank’s. Just re-opened for its summer season, La-Yam is a London staple, perched up above Holborn serving up serious panoramic city views of The Shard, city and beyond.
Marled, cactus-green booths, a long marble-top bar, and textured walls dotted with Martin Parr police shots (a nod to the fact that this corner of the hotel was once the Bow Street police station) set the vibe. This little bar on the side of courthouse-turned-hotel NoMad London looks to Latin America for its inspiration – and has a lot of fun doing it. Here you’ll find a curated selection of refined wines from small producers who champion natural and biodynamic practices, as well as friendly faces, and good, old-fashioned cheese and charcuterie boards. We might have had a modern wine bar renaissance, but there’s always something alluring about an institution with cosy, rustic charm. Meanwhile, those who simply want to sit back and drink in the music with a beloved classic will no doubt leave happy, too. The intimate, sexy little sister of Amaro bar, Kensington, modern, experimental, award-winning cocktails are the speciality of Elon Soddu and Victor Maggiolo.
Sit in one of the bright yellow deckchairs and enjoy summertime drinks and BBQ dishes. To enjoy natural high, there are all kinds of rooftops which offer a winning combination of incredible city views and perfect drinks, be they on top of carparks, or hotels. So take your pick from spots in stylish Shoreditch, buzzing Soho and Covent Garden, hipster haven Peckham and more – it’s time to soak up those sunsets. Plus, a Champagne and Bump offering is available, including a glass of Billecart-Salmon Le Blanc de Blancs with a bump of Osciètre caviar – all for £35. Situated on Broadwick Street, Flute is one of those special rooftop bars in London with sweeping views across the rooftops of Soho. Sitting at No.1 Poultry, the space offers manicured lawns, clipped hedges, and a sense that the grass is greener up here.