Queen Elizabeth Roof Garden Bar & Café

Amazing hidden gem on the Southbank! Perfect for a chill afternoon into evening

Cute little roof garden that was unsurprisingly rammed on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Lots of nice little nooks and crannies to perch in, this would be great to hang out in for a few hours. With lots of greenery, definitely one of the nicer roof gardens found in London. Only downside was the limited bar on the roof — no cider in a beer garden? Get it together!

In summer the top of Queen Elizabeth Hall gets transformed into a beautiful roof garden, with trees, bushes and wild flowers. The back area gives the impression of a meadow and you can even sit in logs if you want (or if all the tables are taken).
While it does attract a huge number of people, the hundreds of Southbank visitors tend to miss it. If you don’t know it’s there you may not necessarily think to go up the spirally yellow stairs.
If you do go up you’ll find that there is a nice pop up bar serving drinks (for around £8) and you can sit and enjoy this not so secret roof garden away from all thy crowds.
Personally I really enjoyed the contrast between the big concrete buildings of the Southbank Centre that surround the garden and the wild effect of the garden itself. It was as if in some post apocalyptic time the buildings had been taken over by plants or if someone had let loose a group of tree fairies (to make it a less ominous image) either way It is beautiful place that’s worth a visit.

The bar menu is terrible so my 5 stars are for location, location, location!
Great views of the River Thames and the financial district and a short walk from Waterloo Station this garden bar is a little sanctuary to hang out with friends and drink appalling wine.
Totally worth it.

The view? Unparalleled. The service, appalling. Changed our mind on one item after it had been rung up but before it had been poured, was told a refund wasn’t possible as the manager ‘wouldn’t come upstairs’ :/
Drinks then served in cheap plastic beakers, even though 70% of other customers had glasses and bottles. Told this was for safety, asked about the other people and he just shrugged.
Great location, but a poor, poor operator! Sort it out!

Rooftop bars are one of my favorite hang out spots on a warm, summers day in London and this is a great example of one of the finest!
Walk up the yellow stairs next to the Queen Elizabeth Hall building and you will be surprised by a green oasis with its own vegetable garden, an abundance of places to seat yourself and a bar that serves drinks to match the occasion.
What I love the most about this hidden retreat is not only does it have an excellent location with a great view of the thames, friendly staff and a park-​like feel but that its the perfect place to either read a book without being disturbed or have a drink in the sun with friends on a fine day!

How did I not know about this already?! It’s looovely! Apparently it was created by the folks who run the eden project… and they have done an excellent job of making a small green oasis in the busy-​madness of the southbank.
Located at the top of some bright yellow stairs next to the Southbank Centre… you can head up to the roof of the Queen Elizabeth hall and relax on the grass, and grab a cocktail/​wine if you feel like it.
It’s open 10am– 10pm.
I arrived yesterday at around 5:30, and it was quite empty… but then as people finished work it became more and more crowded with happy, drinking sunbathers! It is a fantastic place for people watching (and shoe watching! I saw about 5 pairs of shoes –on other people’s feet — that really should be in my wardrobe!!)
As well as the grass… there are meadow plants like cows parsley — so it was a teeny bit like being back in the village where I grew up. Only a teeny bit mind, we didn’t have a bar serving mango-​flavoured cocktails in my village!

This is a review for the temporary rooftop garden.
A friend and I had read about this place opening up in the Lodonist at the beginning of Spring, so we went to check it out. Sadly it was a rainy day, so it wasn’t too nice.
The second time we went was one the bright, sunny days that London had and it was brilliant. Great sitting areas, nice «greenery» and good place for coffee and cocktails. The location is right above the bright yellow stairs next to the Queen Elizabeth Hall building. Just a good place to sit and relax above the business of Southbank below. I highly recommend it.