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London’s best restaurants for outdoor dining

Enjoy the unbeatable combination of fresh air, fine food and – fingers crossed – sunshine

Leonie Cooper
Edited by
Leonie Cooper
Written by
Time Out London Food & Drink
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With outdoor dining officially back on the cards, it's time to soak up that all-important vitamin D (well, we can hope, can't we?) while you eat at London’s best restaurants that have some of the best rooftops views, as well as terraces that will make you feel like you’re on a proper holiday. Whether you’re in the mood to have spaghetti in the sun and snack on schnitzel by starlight, our list has you covered. 

RECOMMENDED: These are the best rooftop bars in London

Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Top outdoor restaurants in London

  • Restaurants
  • British
  • Shoreditch
  • price 3 of 4

What’s the vibe? Converted from the bike sheds of an old Victorian school, this unassuming canteen for Shoreditch creatives (and others) was opened by Melanie Arnold and Margot Henderson in 2004 and has since become one of the capital’s most reliable restaurants. 

Why go? This chilled-out alfresco space is at the mercy of the elements, but whatever the weather, you can depend on the kitchen for a daily menu of colourful yet homely dishes featuring seasonal ingredients.

  • Restaurants
  • British
  • Haggerston
  • price 1 of 4

What’s the vibe? Breakfast on the towpath overlooking the Regent’s Canal near Whitmore Bridge is a terrific way to start the day, and once you’ve bagged a table you may be tempted to linger for hours, especially if the sun is shining. 

Why go? This self-consciously low-key café has always been a favourite with passing dog-walkers, runners and cyclists, who stop off for coffee and snacks, light-as-air cakes and rustic but skilfully cooked hot lunches.

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  • Bars and pubs
  • Wine bars
  • Peckham
  • price 2 of 4

What’s vibe? Peckham is hardly short of rooftop bars but Forza Wine’s fifth-floor views and spectacular menu make it a stand-out spot. 

Why go? Delights like braised duck leg, plums, bay and thyme will await you at your high-rise dinner and drinks sesh, as will crisp cauliflower fritti and aioli and oozy burrata.  

  • Restaurants
  • Fusion
  • Clerkenwell
  • price 3 of 4

What’s the vibe? This secluded, foliage-filled terrace is one of London’s best kept secrets. The terrace is surrounded by olive trees and jasmine plants that will make you feel like you’re on an idyllic Italian getaway.

Why go? There’s a retractable roof and an open fire for the chilling evenings. Food wise think: Parmesan fries, burrata with winter tomatoes and olives and n’duja and rigatoni pasta with pork sausage ragù. In 2023 Luca won its first Michelin star, if you need any more convincing. 

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  • Restaurants
  • British
  • Bankside
  • price 1 of 4

What’s the vibe? Absolutely delightful, actually. The award-winning café at the Garden Museum in Lambeth has a small but lush alfresco garden courtyard. 

Why go? It’s open for lunch daily and for dinner on Tuesdays and Fridays and head chefs Harry Kaufman (previously at St John Bread and Wine and Lyles) and George Ryle (Padella and Primeur) make seasonal sensations – think smoked eel and tomato starters and whole lemon sole mains with mussels and sea beets. 

  • Restaurants
  • Contemporary European
  • Vauxhall
  • price 3 of 4

What's the vibe? A delightful terrace by the manic Vauxhall Cross gyratory. Wait, come back! Despite its chaotic location, you'll have no idea you're in one of London's most brutal interchanges when you're sat in this stunning walled-in garden. Open during the summer months, this secret space is perfect for incognito catch-ups.

Why go For the fabulous food as well as the bohemian charm, darlings. Chef Jackson Boxer cooks up a seaonal storm from this Georgian mansion, which backs onto antiques yard Lassco. You've never eaten anywhere quite like it.

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What’s the vibe? Essentially, a carpark in Dalston with a very lovely covered terrace and a live fire restaurant from chefs Andrew Clarke and Daniel Watkins.

Why go? For an innovative barbecue menu that’s not your run-of-the-mill bangers and burgers menu. Try small plates such as beetroots with sweet and sour dill dressing, beetroot purée, pickled blueberries and sorrel and grilled leeks with pistacho romesco. Alongside the food, there are special edition beers brewed each month by 40FT to pair with the menu.

  • Restaurants
  • Italian
  • Covent Garden
  • price 4 of 4

What’s the vibe? This grand Covent Garden offshoot of Petersham Nurseries in Richmond has a splendid courtyard for that genuine outdoor vibe, complete with trees, plant-filled urns and other horticultural paraphernalia. 

Why go? For slow food you’ll want to eat fast. The Petersham prides itself on seasonal produce and quality ingredients, all shot through with classy Italian flavours. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Spanish
  • King’s Cross
  • price 3 of 4

What’s the vibe? Upmarket but relaxed, offering arguably the best outdoor seating in the swish King’s Cross development Coal Drops Yard. There's also a similarly sweet terrace at Parrillan's Borough Yards location on the other side of the river. 

Why go? DIY Spanish cooking on a parilla (grill) is what you’re here to do. The seafood, from shimmering scallops to fabulously fresh red prawns, is stunning. Try the Lagarto Ibérico, the best-value dish on the menu, and don't forget some pan con tomate. You’ll think you’re on actual hols. 

  • Restaurants
  • Mediterranean
  • Temple

What's the vibe? Toklas is the first restaurant venture from the founders of Frieze art fair and magazine, Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, and it sits within the brutalist 180 The Strand building, also home to their offices and a cutting-edge art gallery. It's named after Gertrude Stein’s life partner, Alice B Toklas. Impossibly chic, in other words. 

Why go? For simple, unfussy food on a massive 3000-sq foot terrace designed artfully by Miria Harris. There's lots of foliage and head chef Yohei Furuhash has made a special al fresco menu featuring bouqerones with kumquat and courgettes fritti. Told you it was chic.

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  • Hotels
  • Luxury hotels
  • Knightsbridge
  • price 4 of 4

What’s the vibe? Tucked behind the Mandarin Oriental beside a strip of pristine turf and some very fine flowerbeds, this lovely little oasis brings the vibe of an English country garden to the edge of Hyde Park. It’s really very classy.

Why go? The menu comes from the team behind Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, so you know you’re in for a treat. Those with a chunkier wallet might opt for a cocktail followed by lobster or steak, but a handful of sharing boards ensure there’s something for every budget here. Our favourite was the dangerously moreish British cheese platter.

  • Restaurants
  • Global
  • London Bridge
  • price 4 of 4

What's the vibe? Trivet has immpecable pedigree. Jonny Lake and Isa Bal were The Fat’s Duck head chef and head sommelier, and naturally have already scored a Michelin star for this London Bridge beauty.

Why go? On a sunny day their delightful backstreet terrace comes to life, across from the glorious 19th century Guinness Court. There's a special summer terrace menu too, featuring a punchy hot tongue bun with anchovy and pickles, confit lobster claw, and the most elegant chicken wings we've ever encountered. 

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  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Shoreditch

With a covered orangery area just in case British weather decides to go all British on us, The Boundary's rooftop terrace offers outdoor dining with a safety net. The view of Shoreditch's rooftops offers Bladerunner chic and the food is undeniably good – Med-inspired plates of burrata, moussaka, sea bass, octopus and endless rounds of salty focaccia.

  • Restaurants
  • Seafood
  • Mayfair

What's the vibe? Posh as anything, this old school seafood spot boasts a 60-seater terrace tucked away from nearby hectic Piccadilly. Slurp oysters on the street and feel like the fanciest folk in town. 

Why go? The mighty Richard Corrigan's in charge of the food, so even if the sun's decided to pop behind a cloud, you're in for a treat.

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  • Restaurants
  • South African
  • Peckham
  • price 2 of 4

What's the vibe? A Peckham small plates menu inspired by South Africa, Kudu's best kept secret is not their punchy flavours, but their 20-seat hidden garden.  

Why go? A combination of bragging rights and the chance to neck some onglet with hispi cabbage, all cooked to perfection on the braai (a South African barbecue). 

 

  • Restaurants
  • Bakeries
  • Dalston
  • price 1 of 4
What's the vibe? An airy outdoor terrace in the same yard as this cult bakery's original shipping container home in a Dalston car park.
Why go? For some serious sarnie action. As well as glistening buns, brioches, turnovers and savoury bakes Dusty Knuckle's doorstop sandwiches filled with imaginative ingredients like porchetta with garlic purée and sprouting broccoli or roasted aubergine with labneh, date dukkah and herb salad are a sensation. 
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Restaurants
  • Mediterranean
  • Southwark
  • price 3 of 4
  • Recommended

What's the vibe? A determinedly al fresco Southwark spot that's pretty much a big patio, with plants hanging from wooden rafters and a fancy brick oven in the corner where much of the Mediterranean menu is crafted.

Why go? The food is fabulous. Earthy and bountiful, it offers the kind of hearty spread you would expect Monty Don to tuck into after a hard day tending to his dahlias. Think burrata, fig with cherry molasses and crab meat in charred baby gem. 

  • Restaurants
  • Sri Lankan
  • King’s Cross

What's the vibe? Hoppers are joining forces with with Italian aperitif folks Cocchi for a summer terrace takeover complete with small plates and spritzes. Coal Drops Yard-based grassroots radio station Voices will provide the tunes. 

Why go? For plantain chips, mutton rolls, chettinadu chicken bites, hot butter squid and devilled paneer in one of London's most vibey new developments. 

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  • Shopping
  • Delis
  • St John’s Wood
  • price 3 of 4

What's the vibe? A much-loved Jewish deli that's been doing roaring buisiness in St John's Wood since 1944. Out on the terrace you'll find elderly widows rubbing shoulders with foodies making the trek across town for Panzer's sublime smoked salmon.

Why go? Head down early in the morning for an al fresco slap-up breakfast featuring their famous smoked salmon with a toasted bagel, cream cheese and pickles. A London landmark. 

  • Restaurants
  • British
  • Victoria Park

What’s the vibe? Local families, joggers, dog walkers and visiting foodies all love this park café, not only for its commitment to top-quality ingredients and local producers, but also for its charming domed pavilion and acres of outdoor space.

Why go? The peaceful views face Victoria Park’s west boating lake – all very serene until someone’s kid runs over your foot with their scooter. Yes, this is yummy-mummy territory.

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River Cafe
  • Restaurants
  • Italian
  • Hammersmith
  • price 4 of 4

What’s the vibe? Despite its name and riverside location, the River Cafe’s gorgeous gardens are what make dining alfresco here such a treat. To snag an outdoor table, request one when booking and you’ll either eat under the awning on the heated terrace, surrounded by fruit trees, herbs and edible flowers, or in the garden amid shady trees on neatly trimmed lawns.

Why go? It’s an iconic London spot that’s been open since 1987 and the menu is a study in seasonal Italian deliciousness, with some ingredients sourced direct from the growing patch.

  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • King’s Cross
  • price 2 of 4

What’s the vibe? This stylish outdoor terrace is a lush, green oasis tucked away from busy King’s Cross. Kick back and relax at one of the city’s coolest hangouts while you enjoy classic cocktails, snacks and hearty fare such as hot dogs, burgers and fish and chips.

Why go? For the boozy bottomless brunches on Sundays. Or, for their signature Aperol slushies to cool you down.

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  • Restaurants
  • Contemporary European
  • Highbury
  • price 2 of 4

What’s the vibe? Occupying what was once a not-so-beautiful laundrette, this sibling of Islington’s Primeur is also the kind of neighbourhood hangout where the menu is scrawled on a blackboard, the small plates are modish and fish is a strong suit. 

Why go? To eat alfresco on the Provençal-style terrace, surrounded by olive trees and rug-strewn wooden blocks.

  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Restaurants
  • Contemporary European
  • Bethnal Green
  • price 3 of 4
  • Recommended

What’s the vibe? Sager + Wilde produces British dishes with European flourishes. Combined with the cobbled alley setting and a spectacular wine list, well, you’re on to a winner here. 

Why go? For dinner, think grilled cuts of Iberico pork, black trompettes, beef-shin ragù and hispi cabbage, while brunch provides all kinds of egg dishes, sausage baps and salads. 

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The Victoria
  • Restaurants
  • Contemporary European
  • Mortlake and Sheen
  • price 2 of 4

What’s the vibe? The Victoria’s Richmond Park location alone makes it well worth a visit. TV chef Paul Merrett oversees the show and there’s a leafy walled garden complete with supersized heated parasols and an open-air bar, as well as a conservatory for in-between days. Understandably, this smart gastropub is almost permanently packed to the rafters.

Why go? The garden even has its own kitchen, fired up for summertime grills. Arrive early to guarantee an alfresco perch.

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