Spacious rooftop bar in Dalston.
You can’t get high quickly enough in Dalston; sadly there’s no express lift to the area’s prime roof space. But the few flights up to Dalston Roof Park (a bar from Bootstrap Company that reboots its look every year) set the creative scene with wicked graffiti on the walls. The £3 entry fee is worth it for the lurid AstroTurf, real-life flora in hanging baskets and makeshift planters, and bunting flapping in the breeze. Or in the storm, on our visit – there’s no guaranteeing that the Great British summer will actually make an appearance.
With that in mind, the venue offers the shelter of a covered bar and a roofed area in front of the decks, so you can dance whatever the weather. Colour comes from bright beanbags (hang on, we thought we’d left those in the ’80s), allowing relaxed drinkers to carpet the floor as heavily as that AstroTurf.
If that heatwave ever hits, there’s ample uncovered sunshine spots and plenty of deck chairs to lounge with a cocktail – mojitos and caipirinhas do a grand trade, but I tested out the Dalston Sunset, a cheerful blend of cranberry, lychee liqueur and gin that practically screams ‘summer’.
Throughout the season, pop-up food traders will be setting up shop for monthly residencies (Le Bao are currently cooking up a storm on the roof), sunrise yoga sessions will crop up on the regs and those DJs keep coming, so get on up. If the beanbag is in for a revival, perhaps summer will be making a comeback too.
