Advertisement
UK markets close in 8 hours 6 minutes
  • FTSE 100

    7,948.31
    +16.33 (+0.21%)
     
  • FTSE 250

    19,812.73
    +2.07 (+0.01%)
     
  • AIM

    742.97
    +0.86 (+0.12%)
     
  • GBP/EUR

    1.1681
    +0.0012 (+0.10%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2610
    -0.0029 (-0.23%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    55,952.41
    +537.38 (+0.97%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,248.49
    +44.91 (+0.86%)
     
  • DOW

    39,760.08
    +477.75 (+1.22%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    81.83
    +0.48 (+0.59%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,213.20
    +0.50 (+0.02%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • DAX

    18,479.98
    +2.89 (+0.02%)
     
  • CAC 40

    8,226.86
    +22.05 (+0.27%)
     

Sun and Sancerre: the best al-fresco restaurants in London

Chiltern Firehouse
Chiltern Firehouse

Never let it be said that London can’t do al fresco dining every bit as well as our continental neighbours – you just need to know where to go. From sitting in a suntrap courtyard to admiring the skyline from on high, here are our 10 favourite restaurants for eating outside  

Boulestin 

This plum St James’s site (named after the Covent Garden restaurant that for much of the 20th century was London’s most expensive) feeds French brasserie fare to the hedgies and auction-house grandees of SW1.

Boulestin
Boulestin

Boulestin’s 18th-century courtyard’s official name is Pickering Place and is said to be London’s smallest public square – as well as being the location for the last-ever pistol duel in the capital. Set your body clock to summertime by ordering one of the sunnier dishes on the menu: a sweet and savoury salad of asparagus, goats’ cheese, smoked duck and grilled peaches, say, washed down with a crisp glass of Côtes de Provence rosé. 5 St James’s Street, SW1A 1EF; 

ADVERTISEMENT

boulestin.com

Chiltern Firehouse

Soak up the glow of celebrity as well as the sunshine in the courtyard of what remains one of London’s most star-spangled nosheries.

Chiltern Firehouse
Chiltern Firehouse

Priority is given to diners with a restaurant reservation but try your luck with a walk-in: eating alfresco is by far the easiest way to score a table at Chiltz. Down rock oysters freshly shucked from the cart or pick something from Nuno Mendes’s lunch menu: the steak tartare is one of the best in town, the lobster and crab omelette brunchtime bliss. Convinced that we’re having a genuine heatwave? The courtyard is open for breakfast, too. 1 Chiltern Street, W1U 7PAchilternfirehouse.com

Coq d’Argent

The secret garden atop No.1 Poultry that first made the City a dining destination in the late Nineties remains as mesmerising a spectacle as ever, an oasis of greenery affording ever-changing views of the Square Mile skyline.

Coq d'Argent
Coq d'Argent

Order from the simpler grill menu on the bar terrace (veal cutlet and pesto, yellowfin tuna steak) or go full-on French with côte de boeuf and suprême de poulet with the à la carte menus on the restaurant terrace. Early birds can join Fat Buddha Yoga in the garden followed by eggs Florentine or a full English; come the evening, there’s live jazz on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday and a Champagne cocktail bar courtesy of Moët & Chandon. 1 Poultry, EC2R 8EJ; coqdargent.co.uk

Ham Yard

If eating outside in Soho summons up images of sitting at a tiny pavement table while motorcycle couriers elbow your champagne into your Caesar salad, you haven’t been to the super-civilised courtyard outside the Ham Yard Hotel, which has been extended in size for 2016 and is taking reservations for the first time.

Hamyard
Ham Yard

Parasols and oak trees provide shade, a bronze sculpture by Tony Cragg the focal point, and loads of wine by the glass plentiful excuses to linger. The monthly changing Brit-cum-Med menu suits the al fresco setting – roast Atlantic cod with artichoke barigoule, olives and marjoram, say – and there’s an ice-cream cart filled with home-made ice-creams, frozen yoghurts and sorbets. 1 Ham Yard, W1D 7DT; firmdalehotels.com

Hush 

Pity the poor tourists unaware that just a few well-shod steps from Bond Street lies one of the most captivating of London’s al fresco eating spaces, a carefree oasis hidden away in a cobbled courtyard.

Hush
Hush

Kick back with a couple of Bubblegum Martinis and get nostalgic for the late Nineties, which is when Hush first opened and where the spirit of the menu remains in the likes of beef carpaccio, monkfish and chorizo, and chermoula-spiced chicken. From 12 June, the courtyard will be transformed into Hush Riviera with bunting and nautical stripes, fake grass underfoot and a fruits de mer menu of lobster, oysters and langoustines. 8 Lancashire Court, London, W1S 1EY; hush.co.uk

The Ivy Chelsea Garden

Ivy offshoots are sprouting up all over town (and very nice they are too) but this Chelsea sapling has put down the strongest roots. The reason? The expansive terrace (tucked behind a handsome dining room) bounded by climbing roses, draped with trailing wisteria and studded with  pergolas, fountains and Lloyd Loom furniture.

The Ivy Chelsea Garden - Credit: Paul Winch-Furness
The Ivy Chelsea Garden Credit: Paul Winch-Furness

It’s like a dress rehearsal for a Caprice Holdings entry to the Chelsea Flower Show. New on-theme dishes include a Pugliese burrata salad of raw veg with herbs, toasted seeds and watercress, and line-caught swordfish with red-pepper sauce, cherry tomatoes and baby basil – but give me the steak, egg and chips any day. Great for breakfast and brunch too. 197 King’s Road, SW3 5ED; theivychelseagarden.com

The Lighterman 

This King’s Cross newcomer solves the problem of never being able to bag an outside table the moment the sun starts to shine by offering three big al fresco areas across three levels: a canalside terrace, seating on Granary Square, and a wraparound terrace on the top floor.

The Lighterman
The Lighterman

The Lighterman is a pub, dining room and bar, but before you dismiss it as downmarket, know that it’s from the same people as Belgravia fave The Thomas Cubitt and it was designed by Stirling Prize-winning architects Stanton Williams. The food is classic modern stuff (crispy squid, Herdwick lamb chop, octopus with salsa); wash it down with craft ale, cocktails and bucketloads of rosé. 3 Granary Square, London, N1C 4BH; thelighterman.co.uk

The Ritz

The Ritz is famous for being one of the most beautiful dining rooms in London, but outside is even prettier, a terrace enclosed by the lush canopy of Green Park, where diners sit on sturdy cast-iron chairs atop stripy green cushions that match the awning above, tables are laid as assiduously as in the restaurant proper, and a silver ice-bucket sits by your side (not that you would ever need to pour anything yourself).

The Ritz
The Ritz

Luxury with a light touch is the calling card of the menu – Norfolk crab with Sevruga caviar, turbot with truffle and champagne – while after 3pm an afternoon menu touts canapés, cigars and Veuve Clicquot by the glass (including vintage 2008 for £32). Just don’t forget to wear a jacket and tie, no matter how warm it is. 150 Piccadilly, W1J 9BR; theritzlondon.com

The River Café

There is nowhere else I would rather be on a hot day than sitting here by the river in Hammersmith. The River Café is the Italian restaurant of your dreams; no wonder that if you ask any chef about their favourite places to eat, they will invariably namecheck it.

The River Café
The River Café

The simple, seasonal food is as its best in summer and much of what you see in the garden around you – herbs, salad leaves, edible flowers – ends up in the cooking, which even if it hasn’t been grown on site is as fresh as can be. Chargrilled squid with chilli, sea bass carpaccio, buffalo ricotta ravioli: the roll-call of classics tastes better here than it does anywhere else. Thames Wharf, Rainville Road, W6 9HA;  rivercafe.co.uk

Sushisamba

Quite simply London’s most spectacular al fresco spot (and the highest in Europe), Sushisamba’s East Terrace runs right to the edge of the Heron Tower, 39 floors above the Square Mile pavements, with birds on the wing for company as well as City diners.

Sushisamba - Credit: Ming Tang-Evans
Sushisamba Credit: Ming Tang-Evans

The sushi is adorned with spanking fresh tuna belly, snow crab and sea bass, while the samba comes courtesy of ceviche, taquitos and churrasco. Outside tables are given to those who have a reservation in the main restaurant; if you’ve less of a head for heights (or eating isn’t an issue), have a drink at the bar on the Orange Tree Terrace, where the view (and the drop) are reassuringly at arm’s length.  Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4AY; sushisamba.com

Angler

This D&D London restaurant is housed in a boutique five-star hotel in the heart of the Square Mile: so far, so corporate. But peek behind the plate glass and Angler is worth getting hooked on, not least for its west-facing rooftop terrace where you can soak up the afternoon sun (and shelter under a retractable roof should summertime abruptly end).

Angler
Angler

Michelin-starred British seafood is the catch of the day – Cornish turbot, Dover sole, Newlyn cod – accompanied by up-to-date ingredients, often with an Asian accent: bonito dashi or white tea, say. To drink, the heavyweight global list is a white-wine lover’s dream. South Place Hotel, 3 South Place, EC2M 2AF; www.anglerrestaurant.com

Incredible outdoor restaurants around the world
Incredible outdoor restaurants around the world