The arrival of more inclement weather needn’t mean the departure of al fresco dining in town. While the long warm nights of smoked salmon and something fizzy in the sun may be over, we can make way for cozier surroundings, autumnal foliage draped about the place and possibly a small cashmere throw. Being the UK, rain is the ever-haunting ghoul known to dampen proceedings and stop play.
But with quite the glut of heated and well-covered outside spaces, we needn’t be averse to restaurants kitted out to assuage such weather-based foreboding. Here, we round up a number of these al fresco options with outside, sometimes rooftop terraces, but which can be or are already covered (and sometimes heated) too, just in case. Once restaurant number one for celebrity spotting, Chiltern Firehouse is less obvious today.
The chances of dining next to Kylie Minogue have diminished a little. But the place remains a hotspot, a fun West London bolt hole equipped and primed for a debaucherous jaunt. On the terrace: oysters, champagne, vodka rigatoni, dainty crab tartlets, fried chicken, roast chicken, all manner of steaks and caviar.
Each and every one helps to bring a wealth of vibes outside once autumn arrives. 1 Chiltern Street, W1U 7PA, chilternfirehouse.com There are few, if any London restaurants better placed to deliver seafood.
This Mayfair institution hardly needs an introduction, but for those who haven’t been, think of dressed crab and plates of oysters, whole roast Dover sole, an.