Best Rooftop Restaurants in London

Opening its first European location in London in the summer of 2012, SushiSamba serves Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian food from its lofty location, 175 metres up, on the top three floors of one of the tallest buildings in The City, Heron Tower. Already a huge hit Stateside with restaurants in New York, Miami, Chicago and Las Vegas, SushiSamba offers sushi and sashimi along with taquitos and tiraditos, with a choice of sophisticated cocktails from their Samba signatures to Latin classics like mojito and caipirinha, muddled with fresh fruit. Cetra/Ruddy, a New York-based architecture firm set up by John Cetra and Nancy Ruddy whose notable designs have included One Madison Park, is responsible for designing the restaurant's 1,247-square-metre space which includes two outdoor terraces and a Sex and the City style sky bar. Entry via elevator from a dedicated entrance on Bishopsgate brings you directly to the 39th floor restaurant and there's a second restaurant, Duck & Waffle, on the floor above.

Previously London's highest private members' club, Searcys at The Gherkin relaunched as new restaurant and bar Helix and Iris in 2018, opening the space to the public for the very first time. Located on the 39th and 40th floors of the iconic Norman Foster-designed building, the striking space is now home to a sky-high contemporary restaurant and a champagne and cocktail bar. Helix, on the 39th floor, is an elegant spot that celebrates British produce, serving a contemporary menu that focuses on the best ingredients available in the British Isles. Upstairs, Iris is thought to be the only bar in London that boasts 360-degree views, and visitors can take in the whole of the city and its most famous buildings while also watching the planes fly past above - it's a breath-taking spot that should be experienced at least once by every Londoner. As well as the unrivalled views, guests can also enjoy a line-up of champagne, English sparkling wine and cocktails. The cocktail menu draws inspiration from the view with options including The Little White Bird, inspired by Kensington Gardens, and the Jack the Ripper, referencing Whitechapel's most famous former visitor. Taking its name from the Gherkin's structure itself, Helix and Iris is now one of London's most impressive and unique eating and drinking destinations.

High up on the 10th floor of the Assembly Hotel the Garden Room, brought to you by Bourne & Hollingsworth, has vast floor to ceiling glass windows so that all 100 seats in the house offer spectacular views across central London. Iconic landmarks such as the London Eye, The Shard and Nelson's Column, can be easily spotted. A natural evolution from the much Instagrammed interiors of B&H Buildings in Clerkenwell, the Garden Room bar and restaurant has a similar look. Pared back, classic interiors come with whitewashed floors juxtaposed with Aztec-style prints, tapestries, wrapped suede and wrought iron edges. A menu of cod on braised puy lentils and slow cooked spiced lamb is served to diners sitting on wicker and rattan furniture, reupholstered with patterned fabrics. At the bar cocktail maestro, Jim Wrigley, has worked closely with executive chef, Anthony Horn, to create a range of mixed drinks that incorporate the same fresh herbs and spices used in the food. The whole room is filled with fully-grown trees, trailing creepers and leafy plants, bringing the outside in while window boxes surround the room with herbs and seasonal plants.

The creation of The Boundary Project saw an impressive makeover of an imposing Victorian warehouse located on trendy Redchurch Street. The building is now home to a small boutique hotel with 17 individually designed bedrooms, three restaurants, two bars and a grocery, bakery and deli. On the ground floor, Albion is an all-day British cafe, bar and grocery; the basement is home to TraTra, a lively bar and bistro; and at the very top of the building there's the crowning glory: the Rooftop Bar & Grill, which, open year-round, is housed within an attractive glass extension and offers fantastic views of east London. For the restaurant, it's advisable to book in advance but the bars are open to walk-ins. Simply turn up and you'll be looked after.

On the 40th floor of Heron Tower, Duck & Waffle offers diners spectacular views over The City and a European menu which changes throughout the day. Choose a Foie Gras 'All Day Breakfast' to start your day - quite literally 'on a high' - whilst looking out over The City's high rise towers. Alternatively, opt for the Duck &Waffle and you'll get a fried duck egg served with mustard maple syrup. An all-day menu is on offer at the stainless steel and frosted glass 98-seat restaurant with comforting choices like Old Spot pork pie with smoked quail egg, homemade Black Pudding with gooseberry chutney, bacon-wrapped dates with linguica sausage and endive salad, lamb sweetbreads, and a cheesey fourme d'Ambert tart based on an Eccles Cake. The restaurant offers a late night menu, featuring, among other dishes, roasted Galloway veal marrow bones with ox cheek marmalade, pickled girolles and parsley. The Duck & Waffle is one of two restaurants at Heron Tower which, along with SushiSamba on the 38th and 39th floors, is operated by US restaurant group Samba Brands Management.

Boasting one of the best views in town, the Oxo Tower Bar is perfect for combining a spot of leisurely (if static) sightseeing with some classy drinking. The commanding panorama, which takes in the capital, rivals the views from the London Eye and is best experienced from the hours just preceding dusk till dark. There's a great cocktail menu which is well worth working your way through and a live jazz pianist on hand to keep the drinks flowing smoothly. Slick and sophisticated decor comprises sparkling blue neon lights embedded in a sloping, slatted ceiling with leather banquettes and cool slate tables. Elevated up on the 8th floor of the building, you have to get the lift up to the bar - the lift entrance is at the back of the tower. When you step out of the lift, make sure you take in the view immediately ahead if you. Looking out away from the river onto the residential streets of Southwark this isn't as spectacular as the grand, monument-filled view onto the river that you'll get when you step into the bar, but even so, it's a unique "behind the scenes" aspect on one of London's most atmospheric locations. It's not cheap, but for a one-off treat well worth the hiked up prices. It does get busy but if there's a group of you can reserve tables in the bar although in many ways standing at the bar, tapping your foot to the jazz, and soaking up the view is a better way to enjoy the experience.

From 12th April 2017, Giant Robot - described by its Street Feast owners as 'spaceship engine room meets art-deco cruise liner' - brings together four street food traders and two bars under one rooftop at London's biggest roof garden in E14. At the east end Crossrail Place Roof Garden, Giant Robot offers panoramic views of Canary Wharf as well as all-day dining and drinking. The indoor space, featuring a huge, wrap-around outdoor terrace, is o pen for lunch and dinner so you can leave your soggy sandwich in the office fridge and choose from four food outlets. Joining Little Jose - a tiny tapas bar from Jose Pizarro - are Yum Bun, BOB's Lobster and Thunderbird - the new one-stop chicken shop from wing kings BBQ Lab. At clocking off time the Island Bar is the place to go for after work cocktails, draught beers and craft cans.

Located on the 28th floor of the London Hilton Park Lane, Galvin at Windows offers dizzying 360-degree views across London and Michelin-starred cuisine, making it one the best restaurants in the capital - if you can get a seat near the window, that is. Having been open since 2006, the restaurant has long been a favourite among well-heeled diners and became famed for its exquisite classic French cuisine. Despite these classic roots, the appointment of Korean chef Jon Woo as head chef was a surprising and ingenious move from Chris Galvin that has definitely paid off. The classic dishes have now been given a subtle Korean accent, putting some excitement back into the venue and successfully keeping it relevant for today.

Found at the peak of London's Sky Garden and offering incredible views across the capital, Fenchurch Restaurant showcases beautifully presented, contemporary British cuisine. Sumptuous furnishings encircle the sweeping brushed-metal bar, where diners can select from a discerningly compiled list of fine wines and cocktails. Underneath the stunning arched glass roof, guests can look down from the mezzanine level onto the bustle of the Sky Garden, as well as taking in jaw-dropping west-facing views of the city. For those who watch the Great British Menu on BBC Two, head chef Daniel Fletcher will be a familiar name - he won the North East heat and appears in finals week of the 2018 series of the show. The restaurant at the top of the Walkie Talkie is run by 'rhubarb' who also operate the more casual Darwin Brasserie one floor below. I n the main space, on level 35, The Sky Pod bar serves food all day from breakfast to charcuterie and cocktails in the evenings.

On the 37th, 38th and 39th floors of the Novotel in Canary Wharf, Bokan gives diners panoramic views of London's famous financial district. Aurelie Altemaire, formerly Head Chef at Michelin-starred L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, has created a modern European menu with a distinctly British slant. Small dishes of Pugliese burrata served with Aurelie's signature homemade focaccia bread, and squid with ratatouille come before mains of Scottish salmon with wasabi green bean salad, slow-smoked Blythburgh pork belly, and Rhug Estate grass-fed lamb cutlets from the Josper Grill. Take the sleek glass-lined lift up to the 38th floor to sip on Docklands-inspired cocktails and enjoy bar bites of charcuterie and cheese or lobster rolls with triple cooked chips. Continue on up to the 39th floor to find London's highest gin collection, just the place for a nightcap while enjoying those far-reaching views over the City.