10 of London’s best restaurants serving dinner with a view

Generally speaking, most restaurants that boast astonishing views put less effort into the food. Why bother with impeccable bread, usually the first point of reference when sitting down to dine, when diners are greeted with a panoramic scene of the London skyline. This is a folly: a good restaurant should and must do both. But then countless British diners care more about the ‘gram; their appetite for likes outweighs their appetite for flavour.

Still, this arduous rule is broken some of the time. The restaurants here manage the tricky balancing act of blending fine eating with fine views. In Endo at the Rotunda, we find arguably London’s best sushi “in the clouds” of White City; at Hutong at the Shard, solid northern Chinese classics near the summit of one of Europe’s tallest buildings; at Rick Stein’s place in Barnes, riverside views, where you might share fish with a heron.

The rather clever trick at 22 Bishopsgate, in which both Lucky Cat and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High sit, is that from their windows the Shard across the river looks rather puny, though it is in fact taller. London’s undulations are in its favour. Lucky Cat and RGR share the 60th floor and from both the views are beyond spectacular — perhaps the finest of any in the capital. There is not a London icon that cannot be seen: it is the sort of scope that might open a movie. Food is markedly different between the two. At the 14-seater RGR High, it is extraordinarily detailed French-leaning fine dining, at a steep price; it is, for most of us, an occasion restaurant, perhaps a one-off. Lucky Cat is somewhere one could be a regular: here there is what the group calls “Asian-inspired” food, drawing mostly on Japan and Korea. Expect a fine array of sushi and sashimi, dumplings and bao, and other bits like simply-grilled fish. Three tasting menus are offered for the inquisitive or indecisive, running from £80 to £130. Cocktails are a little pricey, but there’s wine from a reasonable £9.50 a glass.

Sam’s Riverside is a little unfortunate in that it’s sandwiched between the famous River Cafe and the becoming famous Crisp W6 pizzeria. Still, it deserves its own acclaim, in part thanks to the parmesan churros, these best enjoyed with a vodka martini. As for the regular menu, it’s a polished, considered and traditional take on modern British dining. Think scallops with ‘nduja, hake with beurre blanc and samphire, and rack of lamb with carrots and mint jus. Some might find this a little dated, but it must work to the well-heeled of Hammersmith and Barnes for whom money is less of a transgression. Above all else, it’s a lovely local bistro with stunning views of the river and nearby parkland.