LDNGuide
The 26 Best Outdoor Restaurants In London
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
London’s climate makes for an extremely indecisive striptease. On, off, on, off. But, in the brief moments it’s hot and glorious outside, you need to be ready to take advantage. Which is where we can help. These are the very best of London’s restaurants for eating excellent food outside.
When the weather's playing ball, check out London's best rooftop bars, rooftops that do good food, and excellent pub gardens too.
THE OUTDOOR SPOTS
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
The gravity-defying slices at this pizza pop-up inside a Hammersmith pub hold their own and the tomato sauce is rich and basil-heavy, with the perfect distribution of melted mozzarella and a sprinkling of parmesan. On a summer's day, the scene outside the pub will tempt you to stay all afternoon. Diners put their order in and hover outside, waiting for one of the street-facing tables to free up. Just remember to pre-order for weekend pies, and don’t leave without trying the calzone.
photo credit: Koray Firat
One sniff of your smoke-fragranced clothes is enough to send your senses right back into the mix of Tsiakkos & Charcoal. The lively Greek spot in Notting Hill isn’t just a good neighbourhood restaurant, it’s a great night out. Sizzling souvlaki, ice-cold beers, and outdoor voices are the name of the game here. Get the £35 a head meze option—it’ll get you everything on the menu, from garlic-heavy, vampire-proof tzatziki to gooey slow-roasted pork shoulder—and sit out in the covered courtyard for a fun evening.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
During the day, Pophams is London Field’s swishest and slickest bakery-cum-cafe. The irresistible aroma of freshly baked croissants and rosemary twists waft outside of the light-filled industrial space. Sambas, Hokas, Salomons—they all move quickly here when there’s a spot free on one of their outside tables. In the evening, dough is boiled instead of baked, and delicate handmade pastas are served. And, best of all, at night you can book the alfresco terrace.
Italo has the kind of freewheeling vibe that defined Bonnington Square in the 1980s. The deli and cafe is one of London’s most idyllic locations for an alfresco lunch that spills out on to the pavement. A meal can involve anything from ciabatta filled with goats’ curd and braised leeks, fresh pasta, or whipped ricotta french toast topped with blueberry sauce and maple syrup. Just know that if you’re sitting down at midday, it’s more than likely that you won’t be leaving until late afternoon.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
It’s easy to understand why the word ‘cult’ features in this Dalston restaurant’s name. There’s the sensual coupling of things like bone marrow and Dorset crab on toast. The buzzing open barbecue syphons a permanent waft of pork chop and smoked potato across the covered terrace. And there’s a feelgood mood that’s like taking a bubble bath in 60 pints of IPA. This place will quickly enter your rotation of ultimate places to gather a few mates for good times and great food.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
On a corner of Kingston filled with restaurants, Poor Boys is known for having queues that go all the way down to the river on a sunny day. Don’t be tempted to give up. Excellent comfort food, a lively dive bar atmosphere, and laid-back service make this New Orleans-inspired restaurant a go-to for a casual catch-up. Grab one of the table-barrels outside and share a meaty brisket feast between a group, or just silently concentrate on a solo portion of chicken popcorn and a beer.
Glaring sunshine, a gentle breeze, and a salad of salt cod, pink firs, and egg—The Garden Museum Cafe has got summer locked down. This peaceful canteen by the Thames, inside St Mary-at-Lambeth church, is a serene space doing British dishes. During the spring and summer months, tables and chairs are brought outside so you can enjoy a lunch (or dinner on weekends) of wild halibut and seaweed butter sauce, in a courtyard that’s been there since at least 1062.
On a sunny day, a terrace table overlooking the water at Scott’s, a seafood restaurant in Richmond, is one of the best ways to spend an afternoon in this city. The menu is a love letter to the big blue sea. You’ll find oysters, caviar served with blinis and crème fraîche, and a whole dover sole that’ll make you consider turning pescatarian, just for an excuse to have this once a week.
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
Campania probably has the most romantic outside seating in London. Its handful of alfresco tables are on a cobbled street off Columbia Road, candlelit come evening, and (preferably) piled with risotto and pappardelle. The setup is perfect. And your organisation or luck will have to be the same—the pavement seats at this Italian restaurant fill up quickly all year-round. Menu-wise, just make sure you ask them to send gnudi.
A meal outside at Italian restaurant Ciao Bella is one of London’s great pleasures, mainly because you kind of don’t feel like you’re in London. The covered outside terrace on Lamb’s Conduit Street is best suited to early evening meals with a bottle of wine, nicotine, and even more wine. It’s a rare restaurant that’s bang in the middle of London, and just the right balance between comfortable and crowded. Plus, when do you ever not want a good plate of pasta?
Forza Wine, an Italian place way up high on Rye Lane, leans more restaurant than bar. Once you see a couple happily sharing an oil-drenched panzanella on a roof in the sun, you’ll understand why. Even the inside seats feel kind of outside here and it’s one of London’s most glorious summertime eating and drinking locations. The indoor-outdoor thing works well for the inevitable summer showers too.
This much-loved Caribbean spot is a dreamy setting for a summer’s day. There’s plenty of long bench seating on the front patio, rum and Ting on the menu, and perfect summer food like codfish fritters or pepper prawns. If you’re in a group, share the lot alongside some roti and jerk chicken. Plus their all-vegetarian sibling restaurant Veg & Tings is next door and has an equally lovely alfresco setup, making this corner of Brixton Village Market one of London's best suntrap courtyards.
Kudu’s little oasis out back was very much previously the bin-and-cheeky-cigarette area. Now, the South African-inspired spot in Peckham has transformed the space into a colourful, covered, and altogether idyllic-looking garden. You can’t book the outside space, so if you want to settle in and break some of that lardon butter bread with friends, arrive early.
Oh Llewelyn’s. Lovely, lovely Llewelyn’s. This Herne Hill restaurant is the kind of place you expect to see in a Richard Curtis film. It’s popular, so it’s worth booking ahead for the chance to eat some delicious modern European food, sit in the shade of the square’s tree, and get in some top people-watching. If it’s packed, their next-door wine bar and deli Lulu’s is just as lovely.
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Morito remains one of the most reliably delicious places for pretty much any occasion. The North African and Spanish-inspired menu changes, but it’s hard to go wrong. Roast quail, seafood rice, any croquette, and cheese fritters are favourites. Oh, and roast cauliflower salad. You’ll more than likely be perfectly happy with everything. The Exmouth Market spot is still the best, with tables out on one of London’s nicest pedestrianised roads.
If seafood manti and crispy calamari in a secret and Santorini-feeling patio (with Santorini prices) sounds like just the ticket, then Mazi’s your place. The upmarket Greek spot in Notting Hill has a lovely white-walled back garden that’s made for couples and groups looking to be transported.
Sunsets and siu mai dumplings: a match made in heaven. The people who run My Neighbours The Dumplings clearly thought similarly, as the front terrace of their Clapton location is made for this combo, and the veranda in their Victoria Park branch is similarly lovely on a summer’s day. A glass of ice-cold sake is mandatory.
Set inside a giant greenhouse in Richmond, Petersham Nurseries feels a million miles away from the city and all the noise and discarded hot wings that come with it. Yes, the seasonal Italian food is expensive, but it’s also fantastic and worth splashing out on for a special occasion. And the charming, covered glasshouse was made for summer days.
It doesn’t get more Soho classic than Quo Vadis. A few glasses of wine, their smoked eel sandwich, a little eavesdropping. Sign us up any day, any week, and any lifetime. Plus their outside seating, a mixture of boothy type things and tables on Dean Street, is great.
If there’s a big occasion coming up, then suggesting the River Cafe would be a very good idea. Nabbing one of the garden tables and praying for the sun to shine feels like the way to go. Sure, you’ll need to book way ahead. And it’ll be very pricey. But eating some of London’s best Italian food in an idyllic space that looks over the Thames is, almost, priceless.
Buzz yourself into the old Shoreditch schoolyard and enjoy a long lunch or a relaxed supper filled with cod’s roe, chatter, and a glass of something bubbly. We like to think of Rochelle Canteen, with its glass greenhouse and park-like benches, as London’s little Garden of Eden.
Sager + Wilde’s outpost on Paradise Row ticks all the boxes you’d expect of an east London restaurant. It’s housed in an old railway arch, with artfully distressed furniture, small plates of French and Italian-leaning food, and a nice list of wines by the bottle or glass. Come summer, the spacious terrace is excellent to lounge around on with a group of mates.
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If you like your oysters with a side of “check out that view”, then you’re going to be really into Seabird. This isn’t another rooftop cocktail bar masquerading as an overpriced Mediterranean restaurant. No, it’s actually home to some of London’s best oysters and with their Southwark roof terrace, it’s a special combination.
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Sumi is a down-to-earth spot on Westbourne Grove, with a calming interior and a covered front terrace. Despite being a lot more low-key than sister restaurant Endo at the Rotunda, the sushi here is still pretty special. The nigiri is exceptional, and if you’re not in the mood to spend £100+ on lunch, then stick to the raw fish and steer clear of the ‘main’ section.
Towpath Café is so summery that it’s, quite literally, only open when the season is right. The Hackney canal-side spot is always rammed when the sun is shining, and that’s not just because it’s a lovely place to be. The sandwiches and salads and things on toast—from confit garlic and goats' curd, to enormous bull’s hearts tomatoes—are all simple and delicious.
Restaurant gardens—especially leafy ones—are fairly special spots in London. Which is why Theo’s, with its saucy Neapolitan pizza and Camberwell green space, is foolproof. Come for strong drinks and the finest homemade chilli sauce in the garden or on the pavement out front.
