London restaurants with the best views
Great food and magnificent views - we seek out the capital's best high-rise restaurants
What better way to absorb the sights and sounds of the capital than from one of the many London restaurants with views? Do you agree with the choices? Use the comments box below or tweet your suggestions.
Oxo Tower Restaurant, Bar & Brasserie
- Rated as: 5/5
- Price band: 3/4
- Critics choice
Escape the ordinary by contemplating superb vistas from the Harvey Nichols-run eating spots on the top floor of the Oxo Tower: river traffic by day, or St Paul’s and the glittering City at night. If it’s chilly, look out through panoramic windows; when it’s warm, sit out on a stunning terrace. The biggest differences between the brasserie at the western end and the restaurant at the other (separated by a chic, sleek cocktail bar) are in noise levels, seat-softness and
- 8th floor, Oxo Tower Wharf, Barge House Street, SE1 9PH
- Main courses £22-£35. Set lunch £35 3 courses
Nipa
- Rated as: 4/5
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
Nipa has the polished feel you’d expect from a hotel restaurant: immaculately turned out staff; fresh flowers on every table; and a rich, carved-wood interior dotted with shiny trinkets. If you manage to bag one of the window tables, you also get a great view of Hyde Park. The food is attractively presented with the obligatory vegetable flowers. An abundant starter of sweet minced chicken and peanuts in sticky rice-paper parcels deserved its position on the list of recommended
- Lancaster London Hotel, Lancaster Terrace, W2 2TY
- Main courses £9.50-£15.50. Set meal £29-£34 4...
The Depot
- Rated as: 4/5
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ could be the motto of this riverside restaurant, which continues serenely through its third decade. Originally part of the stables and coach house for Barnes Council refuse depot (hence the name), it’s a handsome spot, all gleaming wood, bare brick and striped banquettes, with a separate bar at one end. A skeleton boat hangs from the ceiling, and the window tables are much sought after (inevitably, the place is packed for the Boat Race). It
- Tideway Yard, 125 Mortlake High Street, SW14 8SN
- Main courses £10.95-£19.95. Set lunch (Mon-Fri)...
Gallery Mess
- Rated as: 4/5
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
With a clientele that’s a mix of Made in Chelsea-ites and culture hounds visiting the Saatchi Gallery, the vibe here is posh, but thanks to the friendly staff, not intimidatingly so. A short but interesting menu keeps it simple. A starter of green pea and ham hock soup with wild garlic leaf was superb, packed with intense flavours. The sharing plates of antipasti were tempting, but we plumped for Aberdeen Angus beef burger with brioche and chips and grilled chicken with orange,
- Duke of York's HQ, King's Road, SW3 4LY
- Main courses £12-£18.50. Set tea (2.30-6pm)...
Tate Modern Café: Level 2
- Rated as: 4/5
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
Tate Modern’s big, bustling entrance-level café has something for everyone: light snacks (meat platters, bloomer sandwiches); main courses that aim higher than they need to (pork cutlet with a salad of pak choi and shiitake) plus a proper wine list; posh breakfasts (duck egg!); afternoon tea; floor-to-ceiling views out to the Thames; and award-winning industrial chic design. It’s suitably patriotic too, promoting Cornish mackerel, crisp-battered fish and chips, St Jude’s
- 2nd floor, Tate Modern, Sumner Street, SE1 9TG
- Main courses £8.95-£11.15
National Dining Rooms
- Rated as: 4/5
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
A midday meal at this refined venue in the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery is everything a museum lunch should be. The restaurant occupies a quiet, sophisticated space that, with its little bucket leather armchairs and banquettes, feels part private club and part fin de siècle café. Here you’ll find the quality pastries and snacks expected from a Peyton & Byrne establishment, along with an inventive restaurant menu based around seasonal British produce – lemon sole with
- Sainsbury Wing, National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN
- Main courses £14.50-£22.50. Set meal £24 2...
Rhodes Twenty Four
- Rated as: 4/5
- Price band: 3/4
- Critics choice
NB: in September 2013 Rhodes Twenty Four is to close, following the split between Gary Rhodes and Restaurant Associates, who run the restaurant. Gaining entrance to Rhodes Twenty Four couldn’t make it clearer that you’re in the corporate otherworld of the City: in the Tower 42 lobby you’re checked through security and a scanner before catching the express lift up to the 24th floor. Once there, though, the eye is grabbed by truly awe-inspiring views of the Gherkin and other
- 24th floor, Tower 42, Old Broad Street, EC2N 1HQ
- Main courses £16.50-£31
Towpath
- Rated as: 4/5
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
A few years ago, no one would have given a café by Hackney’s Whitmore Bridge, accessible only from the Regent’s Canal towpath, much chance of survival. Now, the Towpath has a swanky neighbour (Waterline). But the simplicity of Towpath remains hugely appealing: four shallow units opening on to the canal, one for the kitchen, one for hot drinks, cakes and orders, and two to sit in when you don’t fancy one of the uncovered tables. The food (off a chalkboard) is very good despite the
- Regent's Canal towpath, between Whitmore Bridge and Kingsland Road Bridge, N1 5SB
- Main courses £3-£8
Gun
- Rated as: 4/5
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
A steady walk from Blackwall DLR or Canary Wharf, the Gun feels rather isolated on the Isle of Dogs, but it’s a splendid gastropub. As we’ve come to expect from Martin brothers’ ventures – which include the Cadogan Arms, the Chiswell Street Dining Rooms and the Jugged Hare – the food is amenable and accomplished. We tried stuffed rabbit leg with broad beans, peas, mushrooms and gnocchi in mustard and tarragon sauce, and herb and asparagus tagliatelle with parmesan – both
- 27 Coldharbour, E14 9NS
- Main courses £12.50-£28
The Narrow
- Rated as: 5/5
Mr Ramsay’s first foray into gastropub territory (now joined by west London’s Warrington and Devonshire) remains well received by Limehouse’s more moneyed residents. And it’s a good ’un. For a start, there’s plenty of space for actual drinking – the spacious bar, decked out in stylish stripes and greys, makes a fine place to indulge in quality ales (Deuchars IPA, Meantime wheat beer, London Pride) and wines (a Sancerre la Vigne Blanche at £20 a bottle perhaps?). Bottled beers
- 44 Narrow St, E14 8DP
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