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south bank restaurants, queen elizabeth restaurant and bar

South Bank area guide

Your ultimate guide to all the cultural happenings and best things to do along this lively stretch of the river

Chris Waywell
Written by
Things To Do Editors
&
Chris Waywell
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London’s South Bank is a hub of culture. A two-mile procession of mainly state-funded arts and entertainment venues and events, it’s one of those rare places that is as popular with Londoners as with tourist visitors, and it's a great spot to experience being out and about in the capital again. 

The area’s modern-day life began in 1951 with the Festival of Britain, which was staged to boost morale in the wake of WWII. Still testament to the project is The Royal Festival Hall, which has since expanded into the Southbank Centre and sits alongside BFI Southbank, the concrete ziggurat of the National Theatre, the London Eye, Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge, Shakespeare’s Globe and more. 

As well as being a great place to soak up some London culture, the South Bank is great for a wander along the Thames, to check out a market or have a drink with views of the city skyline. There are plenty of eating options too – both restaurants and street food.

RECOMMENDED: Our London area guides.

The South Bank at a glance

Best bars on the South Bank

Best bars on the South Bank

The South Bank is one of London’s busiest stretches. So you need to be a bit strategic when you do your drinking here. That’s why we’ve...

The best hotels on the South Bank

The best hotels on the South Bank

The best hotels on the South Bank are, with a couple of exceptions, new. Though millions of people a year (usually) have been strolling between the London Eye...

Christmas on the South Bank

Christmas on the South Bank

Every Christmas season, a series of great events and fun-filled winter activities are set to thrill and delight visitors and locals of all ages, while a range...

Things to do on the South Bank

Restaurants on the South Bank

Caravan Bankside

Caravan Bankside

  • 4 out of 5 stars

As you’d expect, the food at this third branch of coffee-roasters-turned-fusion-fare hawkers Caravan is sound – with a broad, globally peripatetic...

House at the National Theatre

House at the National Theatre

  • 3 out of 5 stars

A serious interior sets the tone for cooking of considerable ambition and adventurousness at the National Theatre's restaurant. Though there are more...

Wahaca

Wahaca

  • price 1 of 4

You’ve heard of living in a box. How about dining in a box? Or, to be precise, eating in one of eight shipping containers. This pop-up Mexican restaurant...

Hotels on the South Bank

Bars and pubs on the South Bank

Dandelyan

Dandelyan

  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • price 2 of 4

Dandelyan’s menu is groundbreaking – ingredients include 'chalk bitters', 'crystal peach nectar’ and the archaic-sounding 'dandelion...

Queen Elizabeth Roof Garden Bar & Café

Queen Elizabeth Roof Garden Bar & Café

  • 3 out of 5 stars

Have lunch or sip drinks in this rooftop allotment-cum-woodland-cum-wildflower meadow. At sunny lunchtimes, you'd be hard put to find a prettier setting for a...

Skylon Bar

Skylon Bar

  • 5 out of 5 stars

A nice blend of contemporary style and retro chic (look out for nods to the 1951 Festival of Britain), Skylon makes terrific use of its cathedral ceilings...

The Understudy

The Understudy

A relaxed craft beer pub with riverside seating at the National Theatre. 

The perfect weekend on the South Bank