Restaurants that come with a great view can often be a bit steep.
And worse, they can often let the scenery do the talking, while the food merely whispers. And if you listen really closely, you’ll hear it whispering ‘this is overpriced garbage’.
So this is not just a list of restaurants with a great view. This is a list of restaurants with a great view and the food, drinks, and service to match.
After all, your expectations should be sky-high too.
Endo at Rotunda | Shepherd’s Bush
This special occasion sushi spot really is the height of luxury. Perched at the top of the old BBC Television Centre in White City, it feels more like a dinner party at a penthouse than a restaurant. That’s down to the chef’s table style setting – you’ll take your seat amongst 10 or so other diners and watch third-generation sushi master Endo Kazutoshi prepare an exquisite omakase menu of 20 dishes before your eyes. And thanks to the bespoke light installation suspended from the ceiling, looking out over West London you’ll really feel like you’re dining up in the clouds.
Details: White City House Television Centre, 101 Wood Lane, W12 7FR | Book here
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Forza Wine | Peckham
There are a couple of rooftop bars knocking about in Peckham, but Forza Wine – lofty sibling to Camberwell’s Forza Win – takes top billing. The combination of olive trees, Italian cocktails and sprightly small plates like cauliflower fritti and mussels with winter tomatoes is almost powerful enough to convince anyone they were in Italy – were it not for the panoramic views of the London skyline on every side. Plus, given the sharing, take-what-you-fancy nature of the menu, it’s one of the more wallet-friendly ways to enjoy a bite with a side of skyline, if you’re not at tasting-menu-on-the-30th-floor levels yet.
Also try: Forza Wine at the National Theatre, a sophomore spot on the Southbank with views over the river.
Details: 5th Floor, The Market, 133 Rye Lane, Peckham, SE15 4ST | Book here
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Seabird | Southbank
Perched atop the Hoxton Hotel on the Southbank is Seabird, a new seafood restaurant courtesy of the same team behind one of Brooklyn’s finest cocktail and oyster bars, Maison Première. A short elevator ride will whisk you up to the 14th floor where, as well as a big, leafy, bohemian-styled restaurant, you’ll find a huge outdoor terrace with a near 270º view of London that ticks off a bucketload of major sights. Our recommendation would be to work your way through a couple small plates: hand-dived scallops with tomato soffrito & pine nuts; neck a couple of oysters (the Canadian ones are really unusual; try them), then take a cocktail outside to watch the sunset.
Details: 40 Blackfriars Road, Southwark, SE1 8PB | Book here
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Joia | Battersea
As impressive as Battersea Power Station’s recent multi-billion glow-up is, there’s one downside to going to one of the restaurants inside: you don’t get to actually look at it. So instead, head up to the 15th floor of the art’otel next door to dine at Henrique Sá Passoa’s stylish Portuguese restaurant, Joia. The cocktail bar comes with some incredible views of the art deco icon, and there’s also a roof terrace that opens in summer.
Details: art’otel Battersea, 1 Electric Boulevard, Nine Elms, London SW11 8BJ | Book here
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Decimo | King’s Cross
Decimo comes to us from Peter Sanchez-Iglesias who, up until now, has been running two Michelin Starred restaurants – Casamia and Paco Tapas – in Bristol. And for his first foray into the capital, he’s made quite the entrance, with a restaurant ten storeys up at new hotel The Standard in King’s Cross. You’ll find your way in via its own dedicated, bright red capsule lift that’s accessed from outside the building, and which skims across the hotel’s elegant mid-century facade directly to the roof. And if you’re celebrating a really special occasion, the private dining room boasts almost floor-to-ceiling windows…
Details: 10th floor, The Standard London, 10 Argyle Street, King’s Cross, WC1H 8EG | Book here
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Duck & Waffle | The City
Half the fun of going to Duck & Waffle, on the 40th Floor of Bishopsgate’s Heron Tower, is the lift-ride up. To summarise; it’s glass, it’s fast and the crescendo of beautiful views is pretty mesmerising. Best of all, it’s a trip you can take in the middle of the night: as one of the few restaurants in London open 24 hours, it’s worth a visit if only for the sheer novelty of being able to eat waffles at 4am.
Details: Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4AY
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Helix at the Gherkin | The City
Helices are a pretty fundamental element of human life; being the shape of our DNA, the path a charged particle takes in a magnetic field, the motion behind a functioning corkscrew… and the name of the Gherkin’s top (two) floored restaurant & bar. Once open only to members, Helix now offers 360 degree views over London’s skyline to anyone who wants them.
Details: 30 St Mary Axe, EC3A 8EP | Book here
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City Social | The City
It’s got City in the name, so don’t be surprised by the suited and booted clientele here. It’s for pleasure as well as business, though, and dinner overlooking the city skyline doesn’t get more impressive than at this Michelin starred spot.
Details: Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, EC2N 1HQ | Book here
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Sushisamba | The City
With a fusion of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian food on the menu, Sushisamba is undoubtedly one of the most pleasant places to eat raw fish in the City. And if the views don’t manage to flummox you, the full-size orange tree they’ve somehow managed to plant in the middle of the terrace bar certainly will.
Details: 110 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4AY | Book here
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Aqua Shard | London Bridge
Home to one of the best panoramas in London, with vertiginous views from the London Bridge railway tracks all the way to the edges of the city. Aqua Shard has left the skyline to steal the show, keeping their decor cool, understated and minimal. Offering the best ratio of pound to pano of all the restaurants in the Shard, they’re open daily for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. And for cocktails… because they’re smart.
Details: 31st Floor, The Shard, 31 St. Thomas Street, SE1 9RY | Book here
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Hawksmoor Wood Wharf | Canary Wharf
When it comes to Hawksmoor’s latest spot, it’s really the view of the restaurant that’s the most impressive. It’s entirely floating, linked to land by a bridge joining up to the docks in Canary Wharf. And inside, it’s every bit as plush as you’d expect, with one floor for eating, one floor for drinking, and a private dining room perched above it all…
See more riverside restaurants here
Details: 1 Water Street, Canary Wharf, E14 5GX | Book here
All about the nice views? Check out our Ultimate London Rooftop Bar Guide and the Best Viewpoints in London