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.
Perched atop the Hoxton Hotel on the Southbank is Seabird, a glitzy 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 Seabird
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 Joia
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 The Standard hotel 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, WC1H 8EG | Book Decimo
Dining by the river doesn’t come more smugly sophisticated than a meal at Tavolino. The killer terrace sprawls over the river’s promenade itself, offering up amazing views of Tower Bridge and all its Thames-side entourage with a side of fritto misto and cacio e pepe bucatini. And if you can’t snag a table outside? The views are just as accessible from a warm, dry table inside too.
See more riverside restaurants here
Details: Unit 1, Riverside, 2 More London, SE1 2DA | Book Tavolino
Kioku is a Japanese word meaning memory… and when you’ve dined at third generation sushi master Endo Kazutoshi‘s new restaurant, you’ll be left with the hazy memories of a roaming tuna sashimi trolley; an eight course tasting menu of inventive dishes fusing Japanese and Spanish influences; and cocktails laced with aged Japanese whisky. And it all comes with the highly enjoyable side benefit of panoramic rooftop views over the London Eye, Whitehall and St James’s Park…
Details: The OWO, 7 Horse Guards Avenue, SW1A 2EX | Book a table at Kioku
Claude Bosi’s motorsport & Concorde-themed rooftop restaurant is a whimsically odd proposition. Taking up the top floor of the Peninsula Hotel bordering Hyde Park, it combines Michelin-star dining and a clientele of monied tourists with lavish art deco décor celebrating the golden era of aviation. It’s excellent. And those views – soak them up through floor-to-ceiling windows, or book a table on the terrace to really rev your engines.
Details: The Peninsula, 1 Grosvenor Place, SW1X 7HJ | Book Brooklands
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 Forza Wine
With a fusion of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian food on the menu, Sushisamba is undoubtedly one of the most pleasant places to eat raw swimmers in the City. And if the views don’t 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 Sushisamba
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 | Book Duck & Waffle
The Gherkin’s uppermost levels were once open solely to members, but since opening up to Joe Public a few years ago things have really spiralled. You can now come here for a cocktail at the very tip of the skyscraper under its famous domed ceiling; enjoy a three course meal on the 39th floor with 360 degree views; or book in for afternoon tea with bottomless Champagne. It’s definitely one of the less characterful spots on this list, and the food won’t blow your mind – but it’s also easily got the best views of them all.
Details: 30 St Mary Axe, EC3A 8EP | Book Helix and Iris
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 Jason Atherton’s lofty Michelin starred restaurant.
Details: Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, EC2N 1HQ | Book City Social
Home to one of the best panoramas in London, with vertiginous views from the London Bridge railway tracks below 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 Aqua Shard
All about the nice views? Check out our Ultimate London Rooftop Bar Guide and the Best Viewpoints in London