Alfresco
- The complete guide to alfresco eating and drinking in London
It really is the year of alfresco dining, with spaces opening for eating and drinking on terraces, rooftops, in gardens and by the waterside. Here, you'll find all our guides to alfresco eating and drinking across London.
- Anders Terrace is D&D's summer popup alfresco restaurant in Stratford
Now that the weather's not quite so hellish, it feels safe again to talk about new alfresco options in town. Over in Stratford the restaurant group D&D (think German Gymnasium, Bluebird, 14 Hills) has just opened a pop up outdoors restaurant.
Set in Endeavour Square, the summery spot is hoping to bring the flavour of the Alps to East London. It's a very tight menu as you can see:
- Severn and Wye
- Test Driving Campfire - Two Tribes beer meets From The Ashes BBQ in this King's Cross alfresco oasis
Two Tribes has a beer and BBQ oasis at the back of King's Cross. We went down on a clear but cool night to check it out.
- The Courtyard at Treehouse is the latest hotel forecourt to turn alfresco restaurant
Continuing our intermittent series on London hotels who have repurposed their entrances into alfresco restaurants (so far we've had The Dorchester and The Savoy), now the Treehouse Hotel London on Regent
... - Colbert and The Botanist take over Sloane Square with alfresco crepes and pizza
Over in Chelsea, Sloane Square has been taken over by not one but two neighbouring restaurants, keen to make the most of the alfresco space.
First up there's Colbert which has brought back its Petanque in the Square pop up for the summer. They'll be serving drinks and crepes - starting with a partnership with Lillet and following that up with a Tanqueray pop up later in the summer.
We popped down the other
... - First look - The Savoy steps outside for its Solas pop-up in the hotel entrance
Updated 15/8/21 with new closing date
With alfresco being where it's at until 17 May at the earliest, we're starting to see more and more interesting use of spaces for outside dining. The Savoy's is definitely one of those, as they're using the iconic entrance courtyard (yes, we can use the word iconic in this case) and transforming it into the pop-up Solas (the name
... - Surprise! The Guinea Grill is opening for alfresco dining in its Mayfair mews
Fans of Mayfair pub the Guinea Grill, who were perhaps disappointed when it didn't reopen for outside drinking or dining this month, will be happy at the news that landlord Oisin Rogers has changed his mind.
Having originally decided not to opt for an alfresco experience, he's decided to open the pub's outside terrace earlier than planned. To that end, they'll be putting out tables on Bruton Place from next
... - Tracking new alfresco dining options in London - terraces, rooftops and more...
We're keeping track of the new alfresco dining and drinking options popping up across the capital.
- Spring in the Courtyard is a new alfresco bar and street food space in Hackney
A big new alfresco space is coming to Hackney, brought to you by the people behind Peckham Levels and Pop Brixton. Hackney Bridge (once known as Clarnico Quay) has had a big makeover and will eventually feature workspaces, restaurants, events and more.
Kicking things off is Spring in the Courtyard which brings in street food vans to look after the food
... - Test Driving The Garden - Corinthia London's alfresco restaurant
Restaurants are finally open again (outside) and Corinthia London has a brand new menu and look for its courtyard restaurant with food by chef André Garrett. We went down there for our first post-lockdown meal.
- Pergola on the Wharf is taking over the rooftop space at Canary Wharf's Crossrail Place
It's fair to say it's been a while since we reported on a new opening at Canary Wharf, so it's a positive sign that today the folks behind Pergola Paddington, The Prince and Lost in Brixton have declared the wharf to be their next destination.
This summer they'll be opening Pergola on the Wharf at Crossrail Place. The huge new entertainment space is taking over the East side of the Crossrail Place
... - More KERB as street food comes to the National Theatre and Tobacco Dock
With alfresco being once again a big thing in 2021, KERB are expanding their street food markets to a couple of new areas.
First up is KERB X National Theatre. where they'll be parking five food trucks from April until the end of summer. That will be kicking off with Biang Dang (Taiwanese lunchboxes), Lords of Poke, Milktree Gelato, Stakehaus
... - Buckingham Palace is opening its gardens for picnics - for real, this time
We always like to think of ourselves here at Hot Dinners as influential, but we never expected to have the ear of the royal family. Although how else do you explain the fact that eight days after we ran with this April Fool storyabout Buckingham Palace opening its garden to the public for alfresco dining, the story appears
... - 14 Hills in the City are unveiling a rooftop restaurant on the 15th floor
Before lockdown D&D's City restaurant 14 Hills was doing a storming business. Now, with the announcement of a new rooftop terrace, they're hoping to reopen with a similarly strong following.
The 14th-floor restaurant has moved up a level, taking over space in the building's 15th-floor rooftop garden. It'll have quite the view over London and room for around 50 diners.
The terrace's opening menu will feature
... - Picnic in the Queen's back garden with Alfresco At The Palace
Update: 12pm. Well done to those of you who spotted it - this was our April Fool's Day story - joining a long line of times we've tried with varying degrees of success to pull the wool over your eyes. Mind you, it actually is a good idea....
It's been a very tough 12 months for the hospitality business. And for
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