Best-of list · Rooftop Guides
The 9 best rooftop bars in London for 2026, from Aqua Shard and Sky Garden to Frank's Cafe in Peckham. Heights, prices and best times, ranked.
The short answer
9 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.
London's rooftops answer to two things: the Thames and the conservation rules that cap new towers. The nine below are the rooms where the view earns the lift ride. Most want a booking, and even the free one, Sky Garden, needs a timed reservation.
Aqua Shard occupies level 31 of the Shard, a three-storey atrium bar above London Bridge. The British Icons list runs ten signature serves from £18, with six zero-proof builds from £12. It opens at 11:30am on weekdays, earlier at weekends, and trades until 1am Thursday to Saturday. Order a stirred classic and take the window line at dusk. Walk-ins are welcome, but book for a guaranteed seat.
Full listing & hours →Sky Garden tops the Walkie Talkie at 20 Fenchurch Street, its Sky Pod Bar set 43 floors up among the planting. Entry to the garden is free but timed, so reserve ahead; the bar takes walk-ins from 7am for coffee. It runs to 1am most nights with late DJ sessions. Order a gin highball and face the Thames. Best for an early weekday visit before the after-work crowd.
Full listing & hours →Madison sits on the penthouse of One New Change, its terrace level with the dome of St Paul's. The London Lifestyle Awards named it Bar of the Year two years running. It runs 10am to 11pm daily, with the sunset slot the one to book. Order a sharp martini and take the western rail as the cathedral lights up. Best for a date that needs to land.
Radio Rooftop crowns the ME London on the Strand, reopened after a £2.5m refit. The tenth-floor terrace looks across to St Paul's and the South Bank. It serves brunch through to late cocktails daily. Order a spritz and arrive before the evening DJ sets lift the tempo. Best for a polished early drink; the room leans social and loud after dark, not a quiet nightcap.
Sushisamba spans the 38th and 39th floors of Heron Tower at 110 Bishopsgate, home to the highest outdoor terraces in Europe. The newer SambaRoom cocktail lounge sits on 39 with DJs and 360-degree City views. Order a Japanese-Peruvian build and a plate from the robata. Best booked for the terrace at golden hour; the lift queue alone tells you to reserve ahead.
Netil 360 holds a rooftop above London Fields in Hackney, now permanent after years of seasonal trading. Natural wine, craft beer and stone-baked Neapolitan pizza, with weekend DJs across soul, house and disco. It opens year-round at 1 Westgate Street. Order a glass of something low-intervention and take the skyline edge. Best for an East London afternoon that drifts into a dancefloor evening.
Frank's Cafe runs each summer atop a Peckham multi-storey car park, the Bold Tendencies arts project below it. The 2026 season runs 15 May to 12 September, Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 11pm. Campari and the house Negroni are the order; no reservations, so arrive early for a sunset rail seat. Best for a warm-evening drink with the city laid out and prices that stay human.
The Rooftop at the Trafalgar St. James sits seven floors above Trafalgar Square, open year-round under a retractable roof with heaters and blankets. The view takes in the square below and the skyline beyond. It serves a seasonal European menu alongside the cocktail list. Order a stirred-down classic and take the corner facing Nelson's Column. Best for an all-weather rooftop when the open-air rooms shut for winter.
The Queen of Hoxton works a Shoreditch corner with a seasonal rooftop that reinvents itself each summer; 2026 brings a Bajan rum-shack takeover with open-air DJ sessions. Frozen daiquiris and margaritas lead the warm-weather list. The rooftop runs spring through autumn, the ground-floor bar year-round. Order a frozen build and claim a bench for a Sunday session. Best for a loud, social East London afternoon.
Full listing & hours →Beyond the 9
Aviary sits on the tenth floor of the Montcalm Royal London House in Finsbury Square, where the terrace looks across the City skyline. Square Meal flags the weekend Birdsong Brunch and the seafood towers as the draw. Book the rooftop before it closes at 10pm.
Oblix sits on the 32nd floor of The Shard, split between a grill and a bar with views east to west across London. Yelp reviewers rate the skyline and the live piano. Take the bar side for drinks without the full menu.