• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
  • Gin
    • The Basics
    • gin tasting
    • gin club outings
    • cocktails
    • ginspiration
    • gin guides
    • Scottish Gin
  • Travel
    • UK
      • London
      • Bath
      • Cornwall
      • Edinburgh
      • Kent
    • Europe
      • Amsterdam
      • Denmark
      • Finland
      • France
      • Greece
      • Iceland
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Malta
      • Russia
    • Middle East
      • Dubai
      • Jordan
      • Oman
      • Saudi Arabia
    • South East Asia
      • Hong Kong
      • Laos
    • India
    • Central America
      • Cuba
      • Mexico
    • Africa
      • Kenya
      • South Africa
      • Tanzania
    • New Zealand
  • food
    • Brunch
    • Sunday lunch
    • afternoon tea
    • Girls Dinner
    • recipes
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

What's Katie Doing?

Gin Travel Food

May 20, 2019

London rooftop bar crawl

What do you do on an average Saturday afternoon with friends? Well my flatmate and I decided to hit up as many rooftop bars in London, as ‘research’ ahead of the Summer properly starting. Here are my top tips for where to head for rooftop bars in central London.

Cocktail class held in front of Nelson's column

Drinks with a view

London rooftop bar crawl

We started off in Trafalgar Square after brunch at the National Gallery Cafe.

The fountains of Trafalgar Square with the National Gallery in the background

Classic Trafalgar Square view with the National Gallery in the background

So it made sense to check out the nearest rooftop and luckily there is one overlooking Trafalgar Square. Here’s our planned route to hit up 5 rooftop bars in London:

 

The Rooftop St. James

Our first stop was the Trafalgar St James hotel. When you head into the hotel reception make sure to register at the desk next to the Rooftop sign. If you are a hotel guest then they keep back tables for you, otherwise you’ll need a reservation or to turn up early like we did.

Why drink at The Rooftop St James?

For the views! Overlooking Trafalgar Square on one side and Parliament on the other, they are really quite stunning.

Menu with the London Eye in the background

Views of the London Eye in one direction

 

Views of Nelsons column and St Martins in the Field

Views of Nelson’s column and St Martin’s in the Field

What to drink?

Here Laura went for a a champagne cocktail with Bulleit bourbon, Manuka tea syrup and apple. I stuck to my favourite cocktail – the negroni. This one was a white negroni with Sipsmith’s VJOP, Cocchi, Mondino Amaro, grapefruit bitters and woodsmoke (apparently – it wasn’t that smokey). When Becki joined us she chose a spiced espresso martini.

Katie sniffing her negroni, with Lauras champagne cocktail in front

Getting ready to dive into my white negroni The Gunpowder Plot, with Laura’s Teatime in the front

 

The bar here used to be called Vista and I’ve visited when Bloom gin did a take over: Bloom bar @ Vista

 

 

Radio Rooftop, ME hotel

Walking along the Strand from Trafalgar Square, dodge the tourists and escape into the luxury of the ME hotel. Walk through the reception right to the back, past the ground floor bar and turn left to find the elevators. The final lift on the left allows you to access the rooftop level without a key card (otherwise you need to be a hotel guest with a key card to operate the lifts).

Why drink at Radio Rooftop?

To people watch! We were fascinated by all the different people that came up to this bar. Again as a hotel bar they keep back tables for hotel guests, but this place books up quickly and everyone wants a coveted outside table when the sun comes out. I’d definitely recommend booking if you are in a big group, you want to eat or are hankering for a particular table.

There are some decent views of the river if you can get a spot out on the right side of the balcony, but it seems people come here more for the vibe. It definitely has an Ibizan feel!

https://whatskatiedoing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_2244.mp4

Getting into the vibe

 

View across the river to the Shard and Sea Containers House

Looking across the river to our next target: Sea Containers House

What to drink?

Everyone else seemed to be hitting up the Aperol Spritz – I think this is their signature spritz. We also saw people drinking fizz, however we hit up a selection of their summer cocktails.

Tropical punch cocktail with fruit on top

Beckis tropical punch – kinda like an alcoholic smoothie!

 

My bitter cocktail – Ruby Spark, made with vodka, rhubarb & cacao liqueurs, vermouth

 

Coupe glass with pink cocktail garnished with orange peel

Lauras sour Hummingbird cocktail with Pisco

 

12th Knot, Sea Containers

It’s a bit of a trek down to the river and along to Sea Containers House. We walked along the North side of the river and crossed over Blackfriars Bridge to avoid the tourist groups. When you get to Sea Containers House you need to go into the hotel and walk to the reception at the back. There is a special lift to 12th Knot tucked in the corner.

Why drink at 12th Knot?

We were warmly welcomed at the entrance and they quickly found us a table at the window (inside, but floor to ceiling windows ensure a great view). Whilst we had a time limit on how long we could use the table, it was a generous 1.5 hours – perfect for our bar crawl! At this time the sky was clouding over, despite it still being warm out. So we didn’t want to tempt fate and try for the balcony seats despite the views across to St Paul’s.

12th Knot menu held up in front of the balcony with St Pauls Catherdral in the background

Menu, balcony and St Pauls Cathedral, in that order

What to drink?

We were really wowed by our drinks! Becki ordered a Milky Whey Colada, which surprised us all being completely clear. It was so clever how they used a milk wash to clarify the drink and still keep the flavours of a pina colada.

I stuck with my ‘bitter’ choice with a rum and vermouth cocktail, topped with a coffee foam. It worked really well as a variation on a classic aperitivo drink.

 

Fried chicken on sticks, sliced squid rings and chips with parmesan on top

We decided it was sensible to get some snacks in at 12th Knot – we got the buttermilk fried chicken with black garlic aoili, the parmesan fries and the fried squid – all very good!

 

Confession time… This is where the London rooftop bar crawl actually ended. I had to go and get changed to meet someone else and so Laura and Becki didn’t actually make it to Madison. (Although we had discussed it and could almost see it from 12th Knot!). So here are some bonus suggestions to complete your rooftop bar crawl in London, based on previous experiences:

 

Madison, St Paul’s

Across the river right by St Paul’s Cathedral, Madison is at the top of the One New Change shopping centre. Walk through the ground floor of the shopping centre to find the special lift to access Madison. Be warned that there may be a queue to go up! Again, whilst you can turn up, there is no guaranteed access unless you have a booking or are super early.

 

Why drink at Madison?

That view of St Paul’s Cathedral! Because of the view this place attracts a lot of tourists, as well as city types during the week.

View out of the window to the dome of St Paul's Cathedral

You are up at Dome height in Madison

 

https://whatskatiedoing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/20150414_152352_001_001.mp4

The lift up to Madison rooftop

What to drink?

Here it feels most appropriate to raise a glass of Champagne in the direction of St Paul’s, but their wine is also good.

 

The Sky Garden

To access the Sky Garden you do need to book a time slot – so it’s not a turn up and access thing. This is due to the security and crowd management in the building (think airport style scans before you get in the lift). You exit at the 35th floor and the garden is spread out over several floors and wraps 360 degrees around the restaurant and brassiere. You don’t need to book at the restaurants to drink though – there is a bar as you enter in front of the balcony area.

 

Why drink at Sky Garden?

An alternative view across the river – you can see the Shard, Tower Bridge, and Canary Wharf to name a few views. It’s also lovely to be drinking in a garden, but 35 floors above the rest of London with 360 degree views.

View of the Sky Garden and bar

View of the Sky Garden and bar (from the Sky Garden website – my low light photos did not turn out great!)

 

What to drink?

Definitely try out the cocktails here!

4 cocktails lined up on the Sky Garden bar

Our cocktail line up – one of everything please!

Chocolate coin embedded into the ice ball in the cocktail

The surprise at the bottom of the ice (a chocolate coin!)

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

#beautiful #cocktails #birthday #birthdaygirl #midweekdrinks @whatskatiedoing @misslbeverley

A post shared by Sarah (@manicsara) on Mar 2, 2016 at 3:44pm PST

 

If you fancy eating at the Sky Garden, check out my review of the Darwin Brasserie: Girls Dinner @ Sky Garden

 

So which rooftop bar(s) are you going to be hitting up on your next trip to London? Let me know in the comments below:

 

London rooftop bar crawl on What's Katie Doing? blog

Pin me for your London rooftop bar inspiration!

 

Follow me on social media:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Google+
  • Pinterest

Related

Filed Under: cocktails, Gin, London, UK

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Inka Larissa says

    May 20, 2019 at 6:39 pm

    Rooftops and cocktails – I need to make it to London soon!

    Reply
    • Katie says

      May 20, 2019 at 6:46 pm

      Yes you do! It was so much fun trying the rooftop bars out Inka!

      Reply
  2. Linda (LD Holland) says

    July 14, 2019 at 12:10 pm

    Thanks for this great list of rooftop bars. I would be looking for an Aperol Spritz at any patio bar we visit. I was glad to see that we will be able to find it on at least one of the rooftop bars. The views from these bars would certainly be worth the wait. The Sky Bar looks like a lovely spot with the 360 degree view.

    Reply
    • Katie says

      July 14, 2019 at 12:11 pm

      You’ll be able to get a spritz at most bars – it’s the drink of the Summer Linda!

      Reply
  3. Renata says

    July 16, 2019 at 1:53 pm

    I haven’t been to London for a couple of years and miss it badly! Loving roof top bars, this is a great post that I will certainly pin. I’ve been to another roof top bar close to Tottanham Court which was great too. From your post, my favorite view is the one of Sea Containers House and my drink would be the Hummingbird….to be honest, for the color 😉

    Reply
    • Katie says

      July 16, 2019 at 1:59 pm

      ? there’s no shame picking the prettiest drink!

      Reply
  4. Andrei says

    July 16, 2019 at 2:16 pm

    Thanks for this drink guide. Will need to taste 🙂

    Reply
    • Katie says

      July 16, 2019 at 2:27 pm

      Yes you do Andrei!

      Reply
  5. Carolina Colborn says

    July 16, 2019 at 2:56 pm

    I didn’t know the Sky Garden is considered a rooftop bar. We were there! I was going to say I haven’t been to one. But, yes, the views are exquisite in those high up in the air places!

    Reply
    • Katie says

      July 17, 2019 at 11:18 am

      Well it’s not ‘open air’ but there is nothing above you, so that counts as rooftop Carolina! It’s a lovely view and the garden is so pretty too.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Girl out and about in London. I love gin, good food and travelling and I share it all on the blog, enjoy!

Popular Posts

Top Three in South Africa on What's Katie Doing? blog

Categories

Instagram

Twitter

Tweets by @katiebhughes

Gin Judging

 

Proud supporter of International Scottish Gin Day

 

Archives

Copyright © 2021 · Brunch Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Copyright © What's Katie Doing? 2016. Site designed by Kate Jordan Design.
Menu
  • About
    ▽
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
  • Gin
    △
    • The Basics
    • gin tasting
    • gin club outings
    • cocktails
    • ginspiration
    • gin guides
    • Scottish Gin
  • Travel
    ▽
    • UK
      △
      • London
      • Bath
      • Cornwall
      • Edinburgh
      • Kent
    • Europe
      ▽
      • Amsterdam
      • Denmark
      • Finland
      • France
      • Greece
      • Iceland
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Malta
      • Russia
    • Middle East
      ▽
      • Dubai
      • Jordan
      • Oman
      • Saudi Arabia
    • South East Asia
      ▽
      • Hong Kong
      • Laos
    • India
    • Central America
      ▽
      • Cuba
      • Mexico
    • Africa
      ▽
      • Kenya
      • South Africa
      • Tanzania
    • New Zealand
  • food
    ▽
    • Brunch
    • Sunday lunch
    • afternoon tea
    • Girls Dinner
    • recipes
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter