12 London Restaurants Where the Food Matches the Views (2024)

Swan at the Globe

The dining rooms with sweeping vistas where dinner isn’t just an afterthought

by James Hansen and Daisy Meager May 19, 2022, 2:33pm BST

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| Swan at the Globe

Lebanese entrepreneur Ayman Assi’s canal-side restaurant is a true beauty, looking out over the barges and waving reeds of the water in Harlesden. Assi’s hummus beiruty, rich and heady with garlic and topped with minced lamb, is a must-order.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Pretend to be in Cornwall in southwest London at Rick Stein’s outpost in Barnes. Nab a Thames-side table and sip sundowners curated by the capital’s esteemed bartender Ryan Chetiyawardana before a fishy feast. The kitchen bangs out Stein classics like Dover sole à la meunière or Indonesian-inspired sea bass, prawn and cod curry. Pull up a chair at the seafood bar for shellfish on ice— oysters and langoustines — plus razor clams and mussels.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

On the north bank of the Thames in Hammersmith, the pioneering River Cafe feels like it’s been serving Italian dishes to the rhythm of the river’s lapping against its banks forever. Soak up evenings in the garden terrace which leads down to the river, according to the kitchen’s picks for the season: whatever the weather, there’s always the chocolate nemesis for dessert.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

For lunch or dinner on the water, hop aboard The Prince Regent and dive into a five-course, seafood-focused menu courtesy of the London Shell Company. What runs the risk of being a gimmicky concept restaurant, is in reality, just great food in a fun setting. Set sail from Paddington Central and journey down Regent’s Canal and through dishes like zingy, briny Dorset estuary rock oysters, delicately braised squid with borlotti beans, and scrape-the-plate-clean crab tortellini with beurre blanc and seaweed. There is also a “static” lunch service during the week.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Chris Galvin is the chef-patron of this fancy Michelin-starred restaurant on the 28th floor of the Hilton at Park Lane. As well as dishes like langoustines with pickles and truffle gnocchi, diners are treated to 360º views of London’s skyline.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Blow-out territory. Peter Sanchez-Iglesias’ rooftop looker at the area’s coolest hotel is the best of London’s newest nu-hotel restaurants, combining the city’s critics’ perma-obsession with “FuN ReStAuRanTs,” decent-to-excellent Spanish and Mexican dishes, and the kind of prices that are prohibitive to having a normal one and must lead to “having a normal one” instead. The tortilla with caviar is pretty but no-one in recorded history has ever eaten it, so rely on the deep-water shrimp on ice, mangalitza pork, and mushroom “bomba rice” instead.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

A riverside restaurant at one of London’s theatrical institutions is never going to frighten the horses, so don’t come expecting culinary drama. But the Swan’s food is better than it has a right to be for having both views and the need to cater to an audience’s whims, with its 2010s restaurant tropes (burrata; crudo; hispi cabbage; racks of lamb) reliably well-executed.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

If insistent on dining at the Shard, where the altitude and breathtaking views are only matched by the menu prices, Hutong is the best bet, with decently executed Sichuan staples and even some unexpectedly strong xiao long bao, made with Iberico pork.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

• Open in Google Maps

“Drinks, snacks, views” is the strapline for Forza Wine — and it does what it says on the tin. But of course, this spot is by the people behind relaxed pasta joint Forza Win, so it delivers all that in an effortlessly cool and unpretentious way. The chilled out atmosphere invites languishing over another glass of wine and grazing on those snacks: panzanella, cauliflower fritti, skirt steak with confit garlic. Get one of everything — there’s a reason one of the choices is “the whole menu” —but leaving room for whatever soft serve is on offer is a must.

• Open in Google Maps

It wouldn’t be right to miss Peckham’s multi-story car park stalwart, which opens for the summer. Frank’s dependable negronis and spritzes — and incredible views across London — are the perfect accompaniments to a lingering summer eve. Food is ideal for snacking and sharing: think datterini tomatoes on toast, barbecued lamb ribs and double-fried plantain.

• Open in Google Maps

Perched on the edge of the lake in Victoria Park, Pavilion’s domed building slings some of the city’s best pastries, buns and breakfasts. Come the weekend, the benches outside are filled with the hungover and hungry feasting on vegetarian fry-ups, Sri Lankan string hoppers with dahl and stacks of fluffy pancakes. Grab a couple of turmeric buns to go, then walk it off around the park.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Lebanese entrepreneur Ayman Assi’s canal-side restaurant is a true beauty, looking out over the barges and waving reeds of the water in Harlesden. Assi’s hummus beiruty, rich and heady with garlic and topped with minced lamb, is a must-order.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Pretend to be in Cornwall in southwest London at Rick Stein’s outpost in Barnes. Nab a Thames-side table and sip sundowners curated by the capital’s esteemed bartender Ryan Chetiyawardana before a fishy feast. The kitchen bangs out Stein classics like Dover sole à la meunière or Indonesian-inspired sea bass, prawn and cod curry. Pull up a chair at the seafood bar for shellfish on ice— oysters and langoustines — plus razor clams and mussels.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

On the north bank of the Thames in Hammersmith, the pioneering River Cafe feels like it’s been serving Italian dishes to the rhythm of the river’s lapping against its banks forever. Soak up evenings in the garden terrace which leads down to the river, according to the kitchen’s picks for the season: whatever the weather, there’s always the chocolate nemesis for dessert.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

For lunch or dinner on the water, hop aboard The Prince Regent and dive into a five-course, seafood-focused menu courtesy of the London Shell Company. What runs the risk of being a gimmicky concept restaurant, is in reality, just great food in a fun setting. Set sail from Paddington Central and journey down Regent’s Canal and through dishes like zingy, briny Dorset estuary rock oysters, delicately braised squid with borlotti beans, and scrape-the-plate-clean crab tortellini with beurre blanc and seaweed. There is also a “static” lunch service during the week.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Chris Galvin is the chef-patron of this fancy Michelin-starred restaurant on the 28th floor of the Hilton at Park Lane. As well as dishes like langoustines with pickles and truffle gnocchi, diners are treated to 360º views of London’s skyline.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Blow-out territory. Peter Sanchez-Iglesias’ rooftop looker at the area’s coolest hotel is the best of London’s newest nu-hotel restaurants, combining the city’s critics’ perma-obsession with “FuN ReStAuRanTs,” decent-to-excellent Spanish and Mexican dishes, and the kind of prices that are prohibitive to having a normal one and must lead to “having a normal one” instead. The tortilla with caviar is pretty but no-one in recorded history has ever eaten it, so rely on the deep-water shrimp on ice, mangalitza pork, and mushroom “bomba rice” instead.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

A riverside restaurant at one of London’s theatrical institutions is never going to frighten the horses, so don’t come expecting culinary drama. But the Swan’s food is better than it has a right to be for having both views and the need to cater to an audience’s whims, with its 2010s restaurant tropes (burrata; crudo; hispi cabbage; racks of lamb) reliably well-executed.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

If insistent on dining at the Shard, where the altitude and breathtaking views are only matched by the menu prices, Hutong is the best bet, with decently executed Sichuan staples and even some unexpectedly strong xiao long bao, made with Iberico pork.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

• Open in Google Maps

“Drinks, snacks, views” is the strapline for Forza Wine — and it does what it says on the tin. But of course, this spot is by the people behind relaxed pasta joint Forza Win, so it delivers all that in an effortlessly cool and unpretentious way. The chilled out atmosphere invites languishing over another glass of wine and grazing on those snacks: panzanella, cauliflower fritti, skirt steak with confit garlic. Get one of everything — there’s a reason one of the choices is “the whole menu” —but leaving room for whatever soft serve is on offer is a must.

• Open in Google Maps

It wouldn’t be right to miss Peckham’s multi-story car park stalwart, which opens for the summer. Frank’s dependable negronis and spritzes — and incredible views across London — are the perfect accompaniments to a lingering summer eve. Food is ideal for snacking and sharing: think datterini tomatoes on toast, barbecued lamb ribs and double-fried plantain.

• Open in Google Maps

Perched on the edge of the lake in Victoria Park, Pavilion’s domed building slings some of the city’s best pastries, buns and breakfasts. Come the weekend, the benches outside are filled with the hungover and hungry feasting on vegetarian fry-ups, Sri Lankan string hoppers with dahl and stacks of fluffy pancakes. Grab a couple of turmeric buns to go, then walk it off around the park.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare