The best rooftop bars in Soho and Covent Garden

Up on the seventh floor of Broadwick Soho hotel, Flute pays tribute to a famous flute maker who resided on Broadwick Street in the 19th century. And wetting your whistle is just what you'll be doing here, at this outré, OTT terrace with views of the Soho skyline. There's also plenty of animal print, an onyx bar, cork walls and lots more seriously camp decor. Cocktails are inspired by movies shot in Soho – make ours a Peeping Tom, with rum, sherry and acai berries.

As central London views go, this one is iconic – the bar on top of the Trafalgar Hotel is in the direct eye line of Admiral Nelson. For that alone, this rooftop deserves a visit. Selfie stick optional.

Up on the sixteenth floor and affording 360-degree views of the capital from its centre, The Nest Rooftop Bar is a foliage-filled hangout. It’s perched on top of the Treehouse, a hotel with a focus on sustainability. There’s an outdoor terrace that wraps around the building and is filled with loungers. The bar back inside produces what they‘re calling ‘forest-to-glass’ cocktails.

Radio Rooftop has secured its status as one of central London’s prime rooftop drinking destinations. The terrace is much like a slick Ibiza sun lounge – although you probably won’t find such plush blankets and patio heaters in the Balearic Islands. It reopens after a swanky refit – and new bar menu stacked with sake and shochu – on June 28, 2024.

A rooftop cocktail bar overlooking Leicester Square and the rest of central London from the Hotel Indigo’s ninth floor. With its wraparound balcony, come here for good views. Look – you can even see the London Eye!

A hotel just behind Covent Garden Piazza, come for one of the quietest rooftop bars in the city. Serving up solid renditions of classic cocktails, the bar on Amano’s seventh floor is a good shout if you want views of the big landmarks without having to bellow over the din of several dozen Aperol drinks, and it also has some indoor seating for when the heavens inevitably open.

Scale the flagship branch of John Lewis to find the greenhouse-inspired 1864 Rooftop Bar & Kitchen (named after the year the high street department was founded) from cafe champs Benugo. Throughout the summer there'll be DJs on Friday and Saturday nights and menu of negronis and margaritas to compliment the pretty damn decent views of Oxford Street. 

It doesn’t get much more Insta-friendly than Alto, a florally bedecked rooftop bar and restaurant on top of Selfridges that takes Italian extravagance to a whole new level. Back off, Gloria, they did it first.

One of three Aqua venues at this Argyll Street venue – including Aqua Spirit and Aqua Nueva – Aqua Kyoto's outdoor terrace is perched above Regent Street and offers some serious rooftop views. 

It might not have the most enormous or glamorous open-air area, but rooftops on Piccadilly really are hard to come by. Besides, the attached greenhouse-style Terrace restaurant and bar is a sight to behold in its own right.