Sunshine spritzes! The best rooftop bars in Kensington and Chelsea
Heatwave chic is now a thing (you heard it here first). So prepare your finery, as we’re off to West London: here are the best rooftop bars in Kensington and Chelsea to book to impress your Square Mile mates.
It comes following our recent guides to rooftop bars in the Square Mile and our guide to Soho and Covent Garden, which if you missed, you can read on our website.
For now though, it’s boiling, so get yourself a booking at one of these.
The best London rooftop bars in Kensington and Chelsea
The Berkeley Terrace & Rooftop
The naughtiest of treats is being served on the terrace of The Berkeley Bar. Their Anya Sgroppino features tequila, vermouth and raspberry brandy, all of which douses lime salt and agave sorbet. Served in a coupette, it stirs into a sort of slushy margarita. Other drinks on the seasonal cocktail menu, SW1 Sips, which is inspired by local legends of the area, include The Double-O, inspired by Ian Fleming’s Belgavian home, The Courtly Pimm’s, a nod to the Royal Court Theatre, and the Barracks Brew, a love letter to nearby historic pub The Grenadier. While the hotel’s rooftop bar is typically reserved for guests, it has been thrown open for the summer months, and this year their Capri in the City theme means Amalfi lemon will almost certainly feature in the cocktails, along with plenty more that’s zingy and local from Europe, and there’s pizza and focaccia too.
l Wilton Place Knightsbridge London SW1X 7RL, maybourne.com
The Roof Gardens
On the roof of the Art Deco Kensington building that houses the Metro and Daily Mail newspapers, this bar and members’ club formerly known as the Kensington Roof Gardens was originally opened in the 1930s. It retained its glamour through to the late 2010s, when Richard Branson’s Virgin owned it, and dumped a load of flamingos up there for added flare. In the years since, it has struggled financially, despite retaining its identity as a celebrity haunt (the Beckhams are some of the A-List regulars). The bar and venue has become a private club, although members can sign in friends, so – if you’d like to be amongst the capital’s highest rooftop palm trees – start buttering up the pal with the membership.
99 Kensington High Street, London, W8 5SA, go to theroofgardens.com
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Bluebird Chelsea
The King’s Road still retains some of its 1960s bohemia cool. Mick Jagger, Leonardo DiCaprio and Machine Gun Kelly love the newly opened Rex Rooms club, which even on weekdays welcomes punters until the small hours. Which is quite something in this post-clubbing age. Further up the road, Bluebird Chelsea is another of the street’s institutions. That suntrap terrace has seen the great and good at their very best and very worst. The bar and restaurant shows the major sporting events, like Wimbledon, and alongside punchy cocktails, iconic modern European dishes on the menu include Marmite tart, crispy duck salad, sucking pig, Sunday roasts and Essex lamb chop.
350 King’s Road, London, SW3 5UU, bluebird-restaurant.co.uk
Harvey Nichols Terrace
A perennial Knightsbridge favourite, the fifth floor terrace bar and restaurant at Harvey Nichols focuses on champagne and afternoon tea, with brilliant views over Knightsbridge. The restaurant also serves lunch, with a best of British ingredients perspective. Currently on the menu for late-spring, roasted Scottish salmon with spinach, sugar snap peas and bisque blanc jus, Cornish crab linguini, courgette cream and rocket and grilled whole baby chicken with salsa verde. All the better with those lovely Knightsbridge views.
109–125 Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7RJ, go to harveynichols.com
Hanover Bar, Mandarin Oriental Mayfair
This fairly new rooftop bar has a smattering of outdoor seating with views over Mayfair and Hanover Square, but the seating is in short supply, so book ahead. The cocktail menu celebrates local heroes, as well as Mayfair’s broader literary and creative legacies. Out of a strong list, don’t miss The Bond, an homage to the fashion street of the same name, with vodka, gin, Lillet Blanc, lemongrass and coconut oil. In a martini glass, it’s also inspired by a certain literary character who was dreamt up in the bars around here by Ian Fleming, who famously – much like his character – enjoyed a martini. Also worth your time is The Muse, with rum, Oolong tea and grapefruit, inspired by The Royal Academy of Arts. There is finger food too, including tacos and Wagyu hotdogs. 22 Hanover Square, Mayfair, London,
W1S 1JP, UK, Go to mandarinoriental.com/en/london/mayfair
Brooklands
While the scourge of beige interior design continues its reign across the capital, Brooklands – named after the famous British racetrack – takes a discernibly different tack. On the roof of The Peninsula hotel, brash steel interiors give the impression of being near – or perhaps within – racing cars and aeroplanes. A metal plane the length of the ceiling makes a huge impression in the restaurant, and novelty features include wall murals dedicated to historic motor cars and aviation (the restaurant is a general love letter to a glamorous bygone era of travel). There’s a decent outdoor terrace with great views over Hyde and Green Parks.
The Peninsula, 1 Grosvenor Pl, London, SW1X 7HJ, peninsula.com
Sachi
Contemporary Japanese and pan-Asian food is the focus at this rooftop bar, which has plenty of space for large groups as well as a retractable roof, making this a safe bet if, god forbid, we get a rainy British summer. Live DJs uplift the vibe by laying down dance music at the weekends and on busy evenings, and alongside the robata and sushi dishes, there’s a fine list of Japanese whisky, sake, wine and cocktails inspired by Japanese proverbs, such as the What Goes Around Comes Around, with Suntory Hibiki whisky, cherry liqueur, Campari and bitters.
19 Motcomb Street, London, SW1X 8LB, sachirestaurants.com