Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the last few months, you'll know the Olympics are almost here. And here to see it in is the Hoxton Shoreditch, which is celebrating with 16 days of fun in the sun in its garden, as well as The Den The Library and The Living Room. Hox de Janeiro, as it's been christened, is an all-purpose Brazilian-inspired hangout, where you can chill and soak up the heat with some cocktails, watch the pick of the Olympic events, take part in cocktail and hula-hoop classes (not at the same time, hopefully), and even get a Brazilian wax while you're there. Yep, really.
We know, we know, the image above doesn't exactly look like an outdoor venue, but bear with us: it's a new venture on John Lewis' rooftop at its Oxford Street flagship, created with pop-up experts Night Takes. Aside from the chic indoor area, it will indeed be outdoors, with a lush garden all set to host three of London's most exciting restaurants and traders. Last month was Clapham stalwart The Dairy, July is B.O.B.'s Lobster's first restaurant and August will be barbecue specialists Shotgun. The rooftop will also be home to blooms and veg, as well as hosting games and events throughout the summer.
The Marriott Hotel on Park Lane hides a secret: its roof is home to Notch, a new food-forward, sky-high hotspot, where there'll be Japanese-inspired snacks, canned cocktails and – wait for it – swings where you can sit and watch the world go by. The bar itself is made of reclaimed materials; school science tables sourced from an East London boatyard, bomb-proof lighting from a bomb factory in Wye Valley (you know, just in case) and back bar shelving from a Norwich salvage yard. So take a seat, look down on the sweaty shoppers below, and feel smug. Very, very smug.
A Tribute to Dr Strange at Queen of Hoxton
Queen of Hoxton, 1 Curtain Road, EC2A 3JX; daily until October
Remember the Summer of Love? Of course you don't. But don't worry: you can dive into the 1960s' most liberal, party-laden summer without a time machine – just head down to Queen of Hoxton's newly refurbished rooftop, named A Tribute to Dr Strange, which has been designed to capture the era in all its barmy glory. Feast on Psychedelic Ice-Cream Sandwiches, Beatnik Burgers and Salmon & Garfunkels (we think that dish might have been created name-first), and cocktails, with special events like the Rooftop Film Club, tie-dye workshops, face painting and all that good stuff.
Photograph by Graham Turner
D&D is one of the capital's biggest hospitality groups, so when it gets its head down and plans a terrace at one of its biggest and best restaurants, chances are it'll be one to look forward to. Said terrace, at the vertiginous Coq d'Argent in the City, is bringing in gin brand Tanqueray to curate a cocktail list and pairings for a one-off, three-course, floral-influenced menu created by Damien Rigollet, the restaurant's executive chef. The drinks will be twists on gin classics – Cardamom Martini and Eucalyptus Collins should give you an idea of what to expect. A portion of proceeds will go towards the #LadyGarden cancer awareness campaign, too.
Drinking cocktails on a sunlounger underneath a huge arbour of vibrant tree canopies might not be the first thing that springs to mind when we say “BBC Television Centre”, but after this summer, it should be. London's biggest pergola (that's an archway formed of plants to you and me) is coming to the top of the broadcaster's former headquarters – so big, in fact, it covers the whole area – and it's bringing with it restaurant residencies from burger joint Patty & Bun, rotisserie LeCoq, charcuterie and tapas expert Salt Yard and Chelsea's foraged food restaurant Rabbit. Now that's a tasty line-up.
If you're like us, you plan on spending a significant part of the summer basking in the sun, drinking limoncello and pretending you're in the Amalfi Coast. Luckily for you (and us), the guys at Pococello have made that a hell of a lot easier for you to do, via a pop-up limoncello bar at Cantina del Ponte's terrace. James and Thom (otherwise known as the brothers behind Pizza Pilgrims) and their team have created a range of refreshing summer cocktails, ranging from the simple Lemon Mule (Pococello, lime juice and tonic) to the Poco-Spritz, with Pococello, gin, fresh lemon juice, rose syrup and soda. Vespas optional.
McQueen is named after an American icon, so it's fitting that for the launch of its brand-new outdoor terrace, it partners up with a pop-up snack hawker making something similarly iconic of American culture, the hot dog. Former Hawksmoor chef Richard Sandiford's Rockadollar, which serves up posh 'dogs piled up with sauces, cheese and more – think pork sausage and onglet steak with black sesame and kewpie mayo, or three cheeses with sriracha mayo, leeks and sorrel – washed down with McQueen's signature cocktails, or champagne from a dedicated on-site bar.
