Best 5 Rooftop Bars in London With Views: Bund, Lucky Cat, Samba Room, Gong & Florattica

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London’s skyline is one of the most dramatic in the world – a mix of centuries-old domes, glass towers, and iconic landmarks that looks even better when you’re sipping something cold and sparkling above it all. Whether you’re a Londoner looking for your next favourite haunt or a visitor wanting to see the city from an entirely new angle, the best rooftop bars in London do far more than serve great cocktails – they turn a night out into a full-on experience. From a secret speakeasy hidden behind a mirrored wall in Mayfair, to a floral-ceiling hideaway above Aldgate, to the highest bar in the city perched 60 floors above the streets – London’s rooftop bar scene is extraordinary, and these five are the ones genuinely worth the lift ride.

Pull up a seat, pick your view, and let’s get into it.

Bund: Shanghai Glamour, Hidden in Plain Sight

Slip through a mirrored wall on the 28th floor of the London Hilton on Park Lane and you’ll land somewhere altogether more cinematic: Bund, the high-energy lounge tucked discreetly behind Shanghai Me. The concept borrows its hush-hush glamour from 1930s Shanghai, when royalty and the city’s elite slipped into hidden speakeasies to unwind in style – and that same indulgent, secretive mystique lives on here, perched high above Mayfair’s rooftops.

Expect moody lighting, sleek Shanghai-noir interiors, and a drinks list that wanders from Japanese whisky and single malts to sake by the ochoko and Asian-inspired lemonades, made for lingering long after the sun dips behind Hyde Park. Open late Thursday through Saturday – with last entry stretching to 2.30am at the weekend Bund is less a bar with a view and more a view with a backstory, proof that London’s most seductive skyline moments sometimes happen behind a wall you’d never think to push. Cheers to secrets worth keeping!

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Address: 28th Floor, London Hilton on Park Lane, 22 Park Ln, London W1K 1BE

Lucky Cat at 22 Bishopsgate – London’s Highest Rooftop Bar

Perched atop the towering 22 Bishopsgate, Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsay is not just a bar – it’s an altitude-defying adventure. As London’s highest bar, it offers a cocktail of breathtaking 360° views and Asian-inspired elegance. Imagine sipping on a Gohan Old Fashioned, a whisky blend kissed with sushi rice, while the city sparkles below. Inspired by Tokyo’s 1930s Kissa Clubs, the vibe is electric yet intimate, with DJs spinning tunes late into the night. Whether you’re rolling the dice with a Lucky Negroni or savoring the artistry of the raw bar, Lucky Cat is where sky-high dining meets sky-high style. Cheers to that!

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Addres: Floor 60, 22 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4BQ

Samba Room Bar, Heron Tower – Brazilian Glamour Meets the City Skyline

Nestled on the 39th floor of London’s iconic Heron Tower – one of the tallest towers in the City of London, soaring 230 metres into the skyline – the Samba Room Bar is where cocktails meet clouds. Guests arrive through a gilded canopy entrance and mirrored walkway, a suitably dramatic prelude to floor-to-ceiling windows framing jaw-dropping views across East London. The decor is a chic blend of mid-century Brazilian charm and modern elegance, all soft curves and retro furnishings, creating a vibe that’s equal parts cosy and glamorous. Sip on a Jasmine Whisper or a Brazilian Negroni while the city twinkles 175 metres below – yes, that’s higher than the London Eye – and let the kitchen’s Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian-inspired bites do the rest. Whether you’re here for the handcrafted cocktails, the small plates, or simply to soak in the panoramic vistas, Samba Room promises an unforgettable, sky-high experience. Cheers to sky-high sophistication!

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Address: 39th Floor, 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY

Once a week, the glamour turns up the volume. Every Friday from 11.30pm to 3am, Samba Room sheds its polished cocktail-hour persona and transforms into Rio After Dark, a late-night celebration channelling the electric pulse of Rio de Janeiro’s legendary after-hours scene. Think DJs spinning into the small hours, the East London skyline shimmering through floor-to-ceiling glass, and a crowd that’s come dressed to dance rather than just sip. It’s proof that 39 floors up, London knows exactly how to throw a proper party – book ahead, because this is one rooftop night out that fills up fast.

And if Fridays are Rio’s after-hours pulse, Saturdays belong to the decks. From 10.30pm to 3am, Saturday on the Decks turns the lounge into a high-energy party in the sky, with resident DJs, surprise guest sets, and the kind of vibrant entertainment that makes 39 floors feel like the centre of London’s nightlife. Two nights, two different kinds of magic – either way, Samba Room is worth staying out late for.

Florattica: Bloom with a View

Eleven floors above the bustle of Aldgate, in The Minories, Florattica Rooftop Bar turns the City skyline into a backdrop you can’t stop staring at. Perched atop Canopy by Hilton London City, this East London hideaway trades the usual glass-and-steel rooftop look for something far prettier – a jaw-dropping 120-square-metre hand-wired floral ceiling, recognised as one of the largest flower installations in the UK. It took the floral design studio Phohm three full days to weave it together using preserved gypsophila, achillea, and bloom broom, a nod to the silk-weaving Huguenots who once shaped this corner of London.

Settle into the heated terrace as the sun dips behind St Paul’s Cathedral, the Gherkin, and Canary Wharf, cocktail in hand from a menu built on botanical, floral-forward flavours. Florattica’s already picked up a PIN from The Pinnacle Guide and a cult Instagram following snapping selfies under its blush-toned floral arch – proof that London’s prettiest rooftop bar doesn’t always need to be the tallest, just the most bloom-worthy. Cheers to petals, prosecco, and a panorama that earns the lift ride!

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Address: 11th Floor, 11-15 Minories, London EC3N 1BJ

Gong Bar at The Shard – The Highest Hotel Bar in Western Europe

There are rooftop bars with views, and then there is GŎNG – the bar that makes every other high-rise in London feel like a ground floor experience. Perched on the 52nd floor of The Shard, inside the Shangri-La hotel, GŎNG holds the title of the highest hotel bar in Western Europe, and the moment the lift doors open and that wall of floor-to-ceiling glass comes into view, you understand exactly why people make a special occasion out of coming here. The Shard itself tops out at 310 metres, making it the tallest building in the UK – and from GŎNG’s vantage point, the entire city unfurls before you in every direction, from the Thames snaking silver below to the distant blur of the North Downs on a clear day.

The bar takes its name – GŎNG – from the traditional wooden brackets used in ancient Chinese architecture, a subtle nod to the Shangri-La’s heritage that runs through the sleek, understated interiors. There’s no shouting about luxury here; the space lets the view do the talking, with moody low lighting, deep banquette seating, and a hush that feels deliberately at odds with the dizzying height. Come for the cocktail bar, where the menu is crafted with the same precision you’d expect at this altitude, or settle into the Champagne bar for something vintage and celebratory – because if anywhere in London justifies a proper bottle of fizz, it’s 52 floors above Southwark.

For those who want to push the experience even further, the Sky Pool – the stunning infinity-style pool on the hotel’s 52nd floor – sits alongside the bar, one of the most dramatic hotel amenities in the city. Non-hotel guests won’t be taking a dip, but the atmosphere it lends to the space is unlike anything else on London’s rooftop bar scene. Whether you’re sipping a bespoke cocktail as the sun sets over Westminster, or arriving after dark when the city lights stretch to the horizon in every direction, GŎNG Bar is the kind of place that makes you fall in love with London all over again – from the very top of it. Cheers to sky-high indulgence!

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Address: Floor 52nd, Shangri-La The Shard, 31 St Thomas Street, London, SE1 9QU.

So, What’ll It Be?

London never runs out of ways to surprise you – and these five rooftop bars prove that the city looks just as spectacular from above as it does at street level. Whether you find yourself wrapped in the 1930s Shanghai glamour of Bund high above Mayfair, rolling the dice on a Lucky Negroni at the top of Lucky Cat on 22 Bishopsgate, dancing above East London at Samba Room’s Rio After Dark, losing yourself under a ceiling of a thousand flowers at Florattica, or raising a glass of vintage champagne at Gong Bar on the 52nd floor of The Shard – each of these rooftop bars in London offers something that no ground-floor bar ever could: the feeling that the whole city belongs to you, just for the evening.

The best rooftop bars in London aren’t just about the drinks – they’re about the memory you walk away with. The sunset you didn’t expect to be that beautiful. The skyline that stopped your conversation mid-sentence. The cocktail that tasted even better because of where you were standing when you sipped it. These five deliver all of that and more, and every single one is worth booking ahead for.

So go on – pick your perch, dress the part, and raise a glass to London from the top. The city looks good up there. Cheers! 🍹

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