5 of the best restaurants in London with a view

Dining at a London restaurant with a view and memorable food can certainly elevate a meal. London is increasingly filled with sky-high restaurants for enjoying the city from above, yet being elevated is not essential. Some of the best dinners with a view feast on the capital’s vast, verdant parks or the riverside.

Joia has an impressive aerial perspective on lunch with a view: floor-to-ceiling windows offer closeups of Battersea Power Station’s chimneys and views over Chelsea’s Royal Hospital and the Royal Albert Hall. Joia is the London outpost of Portuguese star chef Henrique Sa Pessoa whose Lisbon flagship Alma has two Michelin stars. Pan con tomate on chargrilled sourdough lasciviously draped with nutty bellota is outstanding, only eclipsed by the must-order scarlet carabineros prawns bathed in a fish broth augmented with orzo. Be sure to add the prawn head juices to the broth. The dining room is a deco observation deck of dusty pink and mint green with Miro-ish hanging sculptures, perfect for a romantic restaurant date with a view.

For brunch with a view in London, Decimo at The Standard hotel’s retro groove with a full quota of macramé, tacos and cacti, is just the ticket. The Spanish-Mexican menu comes courtesy of Peter Sanchez-Iglesias and the standard is very high, with a huge woodfire grill the focus of the kitchen. Visit for dinner and the para picars are a must. Ham and cheese croquetas ooze salty, smoky deliciousness, while grilled red pepper with sherry vinegar dramatically served like a tartare on a marble plinth with scorched sourdough eclipses any pan con tomate. Swalty, succulent Iberico pork is outstanding, and strawberries doused in a mild chilli syrup finished with soft Italian meringue and lime sorbet are a zingy original. The margaritas are peerless.

Enjoy a gastronomic lunch in London with a view at Allegra to experience the quiet brilliance of chef Patrick Powell, whose menus ripple with culinary creativity. The technical meticulousness of pistachio choux bun snacks filled with rich chicken liver parfait and topped with glossy black garlic and shards of pickled mandarin augurs well. A £42 set lunch includes steak tartare with beetroot and blackberry, and a next-level raspberry and lemon verbena mille-feuille. Diners can also eat from an ultra-sophisticated snack menu outside on the sumptuously landscaped terrace full of stunning plants and the most sophisticated garden furniture in town. There are oysters, fried chicken and burgers given the haute Allegra treatment.

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Is Oblix at The Shard among the most romantic restaurants in London with a view? Many clearly think so judging by the body language of fellow diners and their oyster consumption! The menu plays fairly safe though is well honed. Tempura crab cakes with wasabi mayo and smoked cedar wood black cod with pickled fruit stand out; the pecan and chocolate tart with ice cream too. There’s a luxury, loftily priced afternoon tea to tempt with lobster rolls and enticing pastries, while the view itself is stupendous and demands full attention, especially at sunset.

Head to the glamorous Sam’s Riverside right on the Thames Path for a view of the River Thames at its loveliest. The outrageously moreish parmesan churros paired with a glass of Gusborne Blanc de Blanc are a must to start. Dishes come out steaming hot and are extremely accomplished, and, invariably, have a bold twist. Mussels cooked with cider, belly of pork, samphire and chilli butter is an exceptional combination, there’s cold beetroot and buttermilk soup with cucumber, dill and egg, and a splendid whole brill with a punchy chicken and anchovy jus scattered with fresh peas that exudes summer. Desserts are a delight too: chocolate fondant with the surprise of boozy cherries, and an ethereal, fluffy strawberry and mint soufflé with clotted cream ice cream. The Sunday roasts with a view of London’s river are epic.

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