The table with the view in any restaurant is the best table in the house, so by rights, the restaurants with the best views in town offer the best tables. Combine that with a great chef and you end up with an unmissable experience. Dinner at London's Post Office Tower was one of the hottest tables in town before IRA terrorism closed it down in the 1980s. Today, with bigger-is-better architecture taking over the capital, new sky high restaurants are sprouting up all over the place. For a classic taste of 'high end' dining, Conran's Oxo Tower delivers consistently good cuisine with views over to the north embankment of the Thames within the body of one of London's most iconic architectural designs. A more modern offering is Gary Rhodes' TwentyFour, floating on the 24th floor of the former NatWest tower at the heart of the City of London. Further up on the 42nd floor, Champagne bar Vertigo offers the highest views in town, occasionally offering the unique experience of seeing a police or weather helicopter flying around below you. Not far away, the 'glass gherkin', as it has become commonly known, houses an amazing glass-clad peak that offers 360 degree views over London, but sadly, only the few thousand business residents of the office block are allowed the privelege of this experience. Below is a selection of our favourite gastronomic hangouts. For that heavenly ambience, you will have to book in advance and don't forget to give yourselves a few extra minutes to get there in the first place.

Twentyfour
Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, EC2N 1HQ
183m, 43 floors
Restaurant and Bar
Level 24 of the tallest building in the City of London.
Used to be the Natwest Tower.
Head chef Adam Grey.
Cuisine - British /Modern European.
A la carte & set lunch menu (changes weekly).
Open Mon - Fri 11.45am - 2.30pm & 6pm - 9pm (Bar is open from 5pm)
Average Price £50 (EUR 72)
Payment Methods All major credit cards accepted
Nearest Tube Bank / Liverpool Street

Windows
The London Hilton on Park Lane
101m, 29 floors - 28th floor
(Hilton London Metropole, 225 Edgeware Road, W2 1JU
91m, 24 floors)
www.hilton.co.uk
Award winning French chef Jacques Rolancy.
Live band every Friday and Saturday.
Exclusive selection of cigars.
Contemporary French cuisine
Seats: 120
Dress code: Smart Casual
Children are welcome and for those under 10 years charges will be half price.
We accept: American Express, Cash, DC, Diners, Mastercard, Visa, Switch Card
Opening hours
Mon - Thurs: 07:00 - 22:30
Fri & Sat: 07:00 - 23:30
Sunday: 07:00 - 14:30

Smiths of SmithfieldTop Floor
67-77 Charterhouse Street, EC1M 6HJ
Tel 020 7251 7950
Email eat@smithsofsmithfield.co.uk
Web www.smithsofsmithfield.co.uk
Price £48.00 Wine £13.50 Champagne £28.75
Opening Hours Mon-Fri 12N-2.45 Sun 12N-3.30 Mon-Sat 6.30-10.45pm Sun 6.30-10.30pm
Wall-to-wall windows with 'great views' across the rooftops to St Paul's.
Chef: John Torode

Portrait
National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, WC2H 0HE
Tel 020 7312 2490
Price £37.00 Wine £14.50 Champagne £31.50
Opening Hours Sat-Wed 10am-5pm Thurs-Fri 10am-8.30pm
Views of Big Ben, Nelson's Column & the Wheel.
Chef: Brendon Fyldes

The Tenth
2-24 Kensington High Street, W8
On the tenth floor.
Views of Hyde Park and the London skyline
www.royalgardenhotel.co.uk

Babylon
The Roof Gardens, 7th Floor, 99 Kensington High Street W8 5SA (Entrance on Derry Street).
Guests can dine al fresco on the terrace overlooking the flamingo pond and London skyline.
Tel: 020 7368 3993
Fax: 0207 938 2774
Email: babylon@roofgardens.virgin.co.uk
Lunch:Monday - Friday 12:00 noon - 3:00 pm, Sunday 12:00 noon - 3:30 pm
Dinner:Monday - Saturday 7:00pm - 11:15 pm
Lunch time specials
Monday to Friday £12.50 for 2 course, £14.50 for 3 course
Sunday Lunch £18.50 for 2 courses, £21.00 for 3 courses

Coq d'Argent
No.1 Poultry
London EC2R 8EJ
Tel: 020 7395 5000
Fax: 020 7395 5050
Restaurant Manager: David Best
Chef: Mickael Weiss
Lunch: Monday to Friday 11.30am-3pm
Brunch: Sunday 12noon-3pm
Dinner: Monday to Friday 6pm-10pm, Saturday 6.30pm-10pm
Bar, Bar Terrace & Central Terrace:
Monday to Friday 11.30am-11pm,
Saturday 6.30pm-11pm,
Sunday 12noon-4pm
Bar & Grill: Monday to Friday 11.30am-3pm, 6pm-10pm
Breakfast: 7.30am-10am
Roof-top garden restaurant.

Fakhreldine
85 Piccadilly, Mayfair
panoramic views from its first floor windows over Green Park.
Re-opened in July 2003 after a 3-month refurbishment, new head chef, exciting menu.
www.fakhreldine.co.uk

Grissini
London Carlton Tower Hotel, Cadogan Place SW1X 9PY
External access via a panoramic lift, spectacular view of Cadogan Place through large conservatory windows.
The domed, glass canopy roof covers a large portion of the restaurant, providing an al fresco ambience.
Designed by David Collins
Open - Breakfast: Monday to Saturday 7.00am - 11.00am
Breakfast: Sunday & Bank Holidays 8.00am - 11.00am Lunch: Monday to Saturday 12.30pm - 2.45pm
Sunday Brunch: 12.30pm - 3.00pm
(Closed for dining until end of August 2003, until further notice).

People's Palace
The Royal Festival Hall SE1 8XX
Overlooking the Thames on London's South Bank - huge and panoramic vista over the river to the city skyline.
Level 3
Grade I Listed monument
Open - Monday to Saturday 12:00 to 3:00pm 5:30pm to 11:00pm
Sunday 12:00 to 3:00pm 5:30pm to 8:00pm

Oxo Tower
See above address *can hire huge private space*
Tel 020 7803 3888
Price £56.00 Wine £14.50 Champagne £33.50
Opening Hours Mon-Sat 12N-2.30pm 6pm-11pm Sun 12N-3pm 6.30pm-10pm
Sheer glass walls put window seats at a premium.

Shakespere's Globe
New Globe Walk SE1 9DN
'Shakespeare's Globe Restaurant has, without doubt, one of the best relationships with the river of any public eating space'
Fay Maschler, Evening Standard
Panoramic views over the River Thames, St Paul's Cathedral, and the theatre.
You don't have to be a theatregoer to visit.
Open 12.00pm - 2.30pm, 5.30pm - 11pm (last orders).
(020) 7928 9444
Capacity: 150 seated
Venue hire: £550+VAT

Tate Britain Restaurant
Decorated by Rex Whistler, whose specially-commissioned mural The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats makes an atmospheric and memorable setting for a meal.
Head Chef Chris Dines
The set lunch is £19.50 for three courses, and the à la carte menu is around £25 per person (plus wine and service).
Open 12.00-15.00 (last orders at 15.00) Monday - Saturday, 12.00 - 16.00 (last orders 16.00) Sundays.
Reservations recommended - 020 7887 8825 fax. 020 7887 8902 or email: tate.restaurant@tate.org.uk.
Carlton London Restaurant Awards 2001 - Most Exceptional Restaurant Wine List
'An oasis within an oasis'
Craig Brown - Sunday Telegraph 1999
A cracker of a restaurant... the room itself is a treasure - the banquettes along the walls, crisp white tablecloths, gleaming cutlery and Whistler's famous mural.
Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2000

Empress State Building
Lillie Road, SW6 1TR
completed July 2003
40,210 m2 offices
2,770 m2 retail
It is the tallest building in the Borough of Hammersmith and the 14th tallest in London.
The building dominates the West London skyline and with 30 floors and an observation deck 320 ft above ground level.
State of the art health and fitness suite on site
Revolving 30th floor bar and a cosmopolitan café style reception with laptop points, wireless networking and areas to hold meetings.

Heights
St George's Hotel, 14-15 Langham Place, Regents Street, W1B 2QS
Tel 020 7291 6257
15 floors above Regent Street
Head chef Stephen Garlick
Price £38.00 Wine £14.50 Champagne £32.00
Open Mon-Sat 11am-11pm Sun 12.30-10pm