Dining

The daffodils are out, and so, therefore, are the optimistic diners. A couple of rickety tables and wonky chairs are dragged out from their storage and plonked on a bit of uneven concrete on what passes as pavement in London. They are a strange breed, this first flush of outdoor diners who think a tiny ray of weak sunlight breaking through the two-degree cold heralds the start of summer. I’m not talking about the people braving the elements under a leaky conservatory roof, crowded around outdoor heaters and wrapped in blankets, who are best known as smokers or vapers. No, I mean the hardy, ‘freezing fresh air is better than

While most of us won’t be making it abroad to sip Apérols and swan around piazzas at dusk, London offers the next best thing. From rooftop feasts in Mayfair to fine dining among a wildflower meadow, these are the best summer terraces for al fresco drinking and dining. Kutir, Mayfair The rooftop of this Mayfair townhouse-turned-restaurant has been covered with a lush lawn and borders of topiary to create the feeling of a private garden, suspended among the chimneys of the surrounding mansions. Cosy candle lit tables sit among the shrubbery surrounding a glass skylight with views into the restaurant below. Ring the posh doorbell outside to enter. Kutir specialises