Summertime is here and with it, London's rooftop spaces begin opening for the season. Here we've rounded up some of the best seasonal spaces to enjoy a cracking view of the city. Oh and the chance of a breeze on a sultry summer's day or night too.
Rooftop, Mercury House, 109-117 Waterloo Road, London, SE1 8UL
When: Open now
With food by Dip & Flip and cocktails more like buckets, it's not surprising that this Waterloo rooftop spot's developed a loyal fanbase. Our advice - grab one of D&P's wonderful burgers, sort yourself out with a big jug of Sex on the Elban Beach and enjoy.
La Dolce Vita at the Berkeley Rooftop
Wilton Pl, Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7RL
When: 1 June 2019
The Berkeley is changing its rooftop to a "lemon tree-lined Italian haven". It's an opportunity to visit one of the very best rooftop pools in London - which is normally only reserved for guests. You'll have to book in advance, and when you get there, you'll be eating fritto misto, tricolore salad, pizzetta and arancini, finished off with gelato or limoncello sorbet. All that and a late Aperitivo hour too. This summer you can get four-hour access to La Dolce Vita (the rooftop garden and pool, sauna and steam room) including a glass of Aperol Spritz for £75 per person (and add a spa treatment for £195).
257-259 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9NL
When: Open now
This summer, the rooftop at this popular King's Cross spot has gone for a Rose-Tinted theme - serving up everything rose-hued from Beefeater’s Pink Gin and Blood Orange Gin to Hawkes unique Rosé Cider. Food is courtesy of residency Chuck Burger.
Fifth Floor Roof, Unit B, Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane, London SE15 4ST
When: Open now
This popular Peckham rooftop has had a makeover for the summer. Food is by Rockadollar - the chef Richard Sandiford is ex-Hawksmoor - he’ll be serving up Pig cheeks nuggets and smoked chipotle mayo, steak frites as well as a veggie and vegan offering and a range of pimped up chips.
Museum Gardens, Cambridge Heath Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA
When: Open now
If you didn’t spend a sunny day up on the rooftop of this newish Bethan Green spot last summer you can rectify that this year. There’ll be Hispanic and South American food on the menu, Latino twists on cocktail classics and it’ll be open from brunch onwards at the weekends. Enjoy your tapas and on a hot day (with a few drinks inside you) you really could be at some beachside bar at the Med or Mexican riviera.
The Print House, 18-22 Ashwin St, London E8 3DL
When: Open now
If cutting-edge music is what you need alongside your rooftop vibes, then this Dalston venue is the place for you. This year they’ve teamed up with Maison SASSY for a range of summer cocktails and the food is by Far Out Food, so expect dishes like Persian-style lambchetta, Bad Arse Ruebens and Korean BBQ wings.
The Horse Hospital, Camden Market, London NW1 8AH
When: Open now
This year, the Camden spot is planning a festival themed rooftop experience with open-air cinema and live DJs. Food-wise there’ll be mezze plates with dishes like zucchini croquettes with tzatsiki and calamari with aioli or you can opt for filled pizzas with meat or halloumi from the BBQ. Cocktails are all festival-based or you can just order a massive Kilner jar full of sangria to share.
Frank’s Cafe at Bold Tendencies
7th-10th Floor Multi-Storey Car Park, 95A Rye Ln, London SE15 4ST
When: Opened June 2019
The rooftop space which first showcased the delights of sunny Peckham, Frank's is back for the summer and the food offering looks as good as ever. This year's menu features roasted cauliflower with zhug, hummus and pitta, brown sugar hot wings or a half chicken with herb aioli, chips and slaw.
300 Oxford St, Marylebone, London W1C 1DX
When: Open now - until 29 September 2019
This year the rooftop space overlooking Oxford Street has gone for a festival theme. There’ll be live music performances, rooftop cinema and Filipino food from Bong Bongs Manila Kanteen, formerly known as BBQ Dreamz plus cocktails from Background Bars,
Brixton Village, Coldharbour Ln, SW9 8PS
When: Opens 1 August
Opening for the first time this summer, this hidden rooftop space above Brixton has a retractable roof, DJs and space for 440 party-loving folk. Best of all, you can use a new app to get food sent up to your rooftop table from some of the traders below like Fish, Wings & Tings and Thunderbird Chicken.
191 Victoria Street, London SW1E 5NE
When: Open now
This new London rooftop space offers commuters or workers in Victoria cracking views over the area. There’s outdoor seating for 150, a bar which is all about British-made beers, independent spirits and soft drinks and they’re putting together a special Summer Spritz menu. There’ll even be MOVE sunrise yoga classes. So grab your food from the market stalls down below and take it up here - it’ll be open from breakfast onwards.
Vintry & Mercer, 19-20 Garlick Hill, EC4V 2AU
When: Open now
This new London rooftop space boasts quite the City view, taking in everything from The Shard to St Paul's. With an ex Nobu/Zuma chef in charge, the food here is all about the best meat and fish from the British Isles. Cocktails feature their own house-infused spirits and there's a good value set lunch deal here too.
1 Curtain Road, London, EC2A 3JX
When: Open now until October 2019
This summer the rooftop at this Hoxton pub has gone for Las Mexicanas as a theme with the space reimagined as a hang for Mexican female wrestlers the Luchadoras. So there’s a wrestling ring - mainly arm wrestling - tacos on the food menu and, as you might imagine, a lot of tequila-based cocktails.
7 & 8, Stratford Multi-Storey Car Park, Great Eastern Way, London E15 1XE
When: Now open until end September 2019
For rooftop fun this Stratford space will be hard to beat - the grownups playground includes everything from curling/bowling lanes, Jenga and foosball, battling cages, crazy golf and House of Foos which they’re describing as a VR mix of trad football and table football on steroids.
Food stalls include Eat Chay’s Vietnamese and Korean vegan food; Kolkat’s North Indian inspired 'Kati Rolls' and Jimmy Garcia’s The Burger Project.
DoubleTree by Hilton Tower of London, 7 Pepys Street, London, EC3N 4AF
When: Open now until September 2019
This city space has not one but two rooftop terraces giving 360-degree views over London. This year they’ve gone for a Californian wine country theme - so there’ll be wine tastings from Napa Valley, Santa Barbara County and Mendocino County wineries and wines on the menu here that you can’t get anywhere else in London. The food menu’s similarly Californian in style - so think soft-shell crab spicy sliders or burnt pepper tacos.
Pennington St. Car Park entrance, Wapping, London E1W 2SF
When: Open now
If you fancy really relaxing on a rooftop then this space at Tobacco Dock has you covered with day-beds and garden booths planned for this season which you can pre-book - handy if there’s a large group of you. If you’re up for activity instead their croquet lawns will be back along with games of pétanque and table tennis. Food comes courtesy of Yiro with their souvlakis and halloumi fries and there’ll be top burgers from Flipside.
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