The Radio Bar

When you pay a lot for a cocktail it should come with something extra and what I like about Radio bar is that cocktails are served with a view! Not only that, but it’s location above the ME Hotel on The Strand means you can see far and wide over the London skyline.
I’ve been late at night and early evening and the best time is early evening as you get to take photos when the sun’s up and when it’s set and London’s all lit up. And that’s why you visit a bar like Radio — to take lots of pics on social media to show your mates what fancy places you go to. Or is that just me? I know its not as there must have been 20 people taking a pic at the same time as me.
Be warned that it’s not for the spontaneous — if you think you might want to go then you need to email or call to get on the guest list. It’s worth doing for the view and the subsequent show off status updates, I think.

Radio Bar sits at the apex of the chic ME Hotel London and is a rooftop bar with a stunning view. Can’t tell you how happy I am to have found it, given that it’s under a 10 minute walk from work. And also, how sad I am that it took me this long!
The cocktails are actually fabulous. Yes, you are going to shell out like 12 quid, but honestly, that’s what non-​happy hour London is like anyway. So I found no reason to complain, especially given how unique the menu is and the quality of the alcohol used. Some of the ones I will be back to try:
London Horizon — bombay sapphire, green tea cordial, lemon, egg white
Noir Nights — ciroc, blackberries, cranberry, crème de peche
*Thames River Iced ME — grey goose, bombay sapphire, bacardi, el jimador, peach liqueur, lemon, and ting (Jamaican grapefruit soda)
*Vodka, Gin, and Tequila? SOUNDS LIKE A KILLER
My ‘AM/​FM’ was a delicious mix of bacardi, chambard, mint, lemon, passion fruit
Glass walls and spiky industrial steel décor on a black and white layout makes for a sleek look and feel. The outside is absolutely gorgeous, with large comfortable couches and covered seating along it’s pyramid structure. You will need to dress up for this one as it definitely has a club feel and there is a queue before they let you in and up the shiny elevators. My only complaint is that it is packed — even on a Tuesday night at like midnight. Also, it took a good 30 minutes to get the drinks brought to the 5 of us.

On a recent visit to London, this was a very fortuitous find!
Pros:
–Close to many of the theatres, ie, perfect if you want to carry on for a drink or two after
— The views. Oh my. Gorgeous views over lovely London. What more needs to be said?
–Warmth! It’s London, it’s a rooftop bar, it gets cold! No matter, these guys have you covered. There are outdoor heaters, and if that’s not enough, cover yourself in one of the fleece blankets scattered around, viola! Still cold? Don’t worry, the bar has an indoor part as well and you can still enjoy the ambience and the views.
–Cocktails. Mmm, cocktails. There were good alright.
–Space. Well, at least when we were there. It wasn’t packed. It was a Sunday evening though, do perhaps that has to do with the fact it’s a night for holidayers or hardcore revellers only.
Cons:
–Price. Well… Those drinks… Can be a little pricy. Do you really might need to stick to just one so as not to break the bank.
–Queues. As above, it was pretty good when we went. On a Sunday. We walked straight in. But I’m told there’s queues at other times, so beware. Don’t know if they take bookings as we walked in unplanned off the street, but might be worth looking into that.
Overall, we loved this place. Yes it’s a bit dear, I do get the sense that unless you’re loaded you wouldn’t come here every night, but to treat yourself every once in a while, this is a great spot. While we were there, in walked in what looked like an Indian Maharaja (yes, seriously) all decked out in traditional garb, and his equally impeccably dressed bedazzling female companion. And if it’s good enough for the maharaja: it’s good enough for me and you too!

After my dinner at Cucina Asellina, I headed up to the popular Radio bar upstairs which located in the same building, ME London hotel. Usually you will need to book in advance to get inside Radio Bar, but we were lucky to secure entry by walk in as it was a cold Monday night. But the view of this rooftop bar is still incredible with one side overseeing Big Ben and the London Eye. Cocktails are mostly modern creation with heavy use of fruit juices and sweet ingredients to make it more popular with a wider audience, such as mine Zacapa long serve with strawberries and vanilla. Nothing wrong with it, very refreshing, but you might prefer something more bold and robust if you are used to your classic cocktails. Services is top notch with good attention to detail, but bear in mind there is a 15% service charge.

Nice view in a hip venue but the servers and host staff are pompous and rude. Drinks are overpriced and served in plastic even if you sit inside. Come for the view and a overpriced drink and then go elsewhere.

I came here on a work party and we had reserved a section as there were around 30 of us. When we arrived, we were told that we had no reservation because we had not confirmed the email. This was only because they had got the email address wrong and so we weren’t able to confirm it, when they should really have also tried to ring us to double-​check rather than cancelling the reservation out right which they could already see would have raked them in some serious £££. Anyway, we all got some drinks and enjoyed the views outside while they managed to clear an area for us.
Once we had this area, the night was amazing. We had a booth with sofas and outdoor heaters and all mingled around drinking cocktails. It’s here that I’d usually complain about the overpriced drinks — luckily the company was paying for these so I’m not complaining!
The views were incredible. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to see the views all the way around because there are seating areas around the sidelines so it’s hard to see from the side unless your seats are there. The whole rooftop bar is lit beautifully with such a nice atmosphere.
Despite the error to start with, the staff sorted it out really quickly for us and gave us a lovely seating area which meant the whole night was such a success.

Of course you should go here on your first Tinder date, and the reasons are as follows.
1) The view is a conversation starter on its own
2) It’s centrally located, which means your Über fair wont be exorbitant
3) The drinks are a tad on the pricey side, but how else are you going to figure out if Dave who takes pictures with sedated tigers on Machu Picchu is a gentleman? #AmIRightTho
Good drinks and outdoor warmers available (but cold enough to get some nip slip action, if you know what I mean, and you do.)

I went here for the first time after planning it for so long and by chance on a random night out ended up here, and it was amazing. Not too packed outside, beautiful views of London and their «kiss from a rose» champagne cocktail is the best from their cocktail menu. Next time round will definitely try the wine. It’s not a pretentious place either, as with many high end places in London seem to be. Perfect for summer evenings.

Oh my, I am not a bar person but I am really impressed by this place. It was before Christmas and we booked a table for about 20 people and there was a minimum charge but we got over that quickly.
The weather was a tad cold but they had heating outside on the terrace and so the people who sat under the heat lamp was fine whilst the other ones had to down more alcohol to keep warm.
The décor is very classy, the view over London amazing, and the clientele are all very posh looking and looked like a lot of people were having a good night out.
Drinks were quite expensive as per usual. I had the cocktail called «Winter in Pink» and severely regretted it. It tasted a bit like medication. Otherwise, the boys ordered red wine, and also two tiny kegs of mulled wine which tasted really nice actually!
Food was decent, had calamare and some other bits and bobs and whilst not the best food, it fills the belly.
Conclusion: Good place to go to impress mates on a night out.

If this is the best rooftop bar in London, than I’m not impressed. The crowd was just ok and décor as meh.

Yes this is a fantastic looking rooftop and yea the views are amazing but everything else about this place just doesn’t quite match up.
The service is a slow as a snail and it feels like the waitresses are too busy enjoying saying no to people to help.
We tried to book a table for drinks, we were quite happy to reach a minimum spend however we were told we couldn’t book a table if we were not eating. We were told to turn up and tables were given on a first come first served basis.
When we arrived, what a surprise we couldn’t get a table (it was 4pm). we managed to squeeze on the end of a booth that had a couple of different groups on it and at 5pm were told we would need to move as someone had booked the table for drinks. You can imagine at this point we were so confused about their booking process it was getting annoying. So we phoned around and managed to get a table on the terrace at OXO. It took us another 20 minutes just to pay our bill.
I have been here a few times and yes i may return again in the future but its certainly not the best rooftop in town.

This is a place to be seen while drinking expensive cocktails and nibbles. I spent £12 on a cheese board that consisted of 4 thin slices of manchego.
The views on a sunny day are worth the haughty atmosphere and stratospheric prices — but only for two rounds.

My favourite rooftop bar in London. Great drinks, amazing views and the DJ is amazing.
Saturday nights can be a little bit Essex but everyone’s well dressed and there’s usually a good party vibe.

Upscale rooftop bar. Kind of sleek and futuristic. Unimpressive beer list.
Not my kind of place, really.

Bars that are opening late with a beautiful view seem to becoming a thing in London. Not that I mind, mind you, it’s actually one of my favourite things.
Radio Bar is on top of the ME Hotel and it’s a beautiful edition. Dark, mood lit bar with DJ club music playing on the weekend, well-​dressed staff who know how to make a good cocktail and a view that is stunning.
The bar considers itself high class so they will look at you a little strange if you come in with casual clothes on the weekend (and may even make a comment about it, as they did for me.) They’ll still most likely let you through the hotel and up the elevator into the bar though.
We tried a few cocktails, one their special winter drink which came in a glass teapot and was as warm as it was alcoholic-​ly delicious. There drinks are as strong as they are expensive though, so both a dangerous combo.
We also tried to Kentucky Fried Cauliflower, which was really unique. Lightly battered and fried veggies with a sweet sauce. Really unusual, really good.
Call for reservations if you want to come as it’s always packed. A good spot for a upscale drink.

The Radio Roof Top bar is situated just off the strand, opposite the Waldorf Astoria.
There was a small q to get in but the weather was good so that wasn’t a problem. (this is the only semi negative thing I can say about this place)
When we got in, it was well worth the wait! The views are amazing! There are two balconies with views around London.
The drinks were really nice. A few good cocktails and also some nice red wine. Staff were good. very professional and helpful!
Great place for a few drinks and open til 3 at the weekend!
Check it out!

My friend and I came here one Saturday early evening during the heatwave as we just wanted to lounge somewhere with a large cool glass of vino! This was the perfect place!
The entrance is a little tucked away to the side of the entrance of the ME hotel in Aldwych. They have quite a strict door policy but since it was just the two of us, we didn’t have any problems. Stunning views over the city, and they have these comfy outdoor cabanas, on which you can ust sit and chat for hours. Our one bottle of wine soon turned into a second! We arrived just before the Saturday night crowd and so easily secured a spot outside.
We got peckish and so tried a few things from the bar menu. The goats cheese and beetroot salad, the beef satay skewers, tempura soft shell crab and bread with babaghanoush and houmous. All beautifully presented, super tasty and delicious; if a little on the small side. Loved that the houmous had a little cayenne kick to it.
This place isn’t cheap (ca. £90 for 2 bottles of wine, our food and service) and the crowd is a bit suspect (a little rich Eurotrashy for my taste) but definitely worth going to for the views. I think it’s quite a good date place if you want to treat your lady ;)
My tip if you’re going on the fly is to go early and in a small group. If a larger group then I’d advise booking, although for booking a table there is a maximum number of 12 and the minimum spend per person is £100 on bottles or so I was told!

We waited an embarrassingly long time to get in for after work drinks on a beautiful Thursday evening, but scarily enough it was still probably worth it. The view knows what it’s doing.
Regarding the crowd, let’s just say that not feeling old for once was nice. Lots of Russians glad handing bouncers and the requisite plastics, but like the song/​Bible says there’s a time for everything. Right? Drinks ran £13 so limited myself to ten (psych). Worth checking out, but having been there I’m not eager to go in cold again, if someone were greasing the process however…

The Radio Bar is perched on top of the ME hotel and the view is especially lovely. Four of us stopped by for a quick drink on a Thursday afternoon. We wanted it to be quick, but after ordering, our drinks took especially long to get to us. I think 4 drinks took maybe 25 minutes to get to our table? If the drinks weren’t good then I would’ve docked them on the star rating but I think this day we were just being a bit impatient because we had to get somewhere. The drinks are pricey, of course, you’re paying for the view. I would like to come back sometime and check out the night scene.

Summary: Gorgeous views of the city. Ideal to know someone staying there and to go early on beautiful days. Call early in the day for a reservation. The phone line ties up as it’s 1 line for all the different «stuff» in the hotel. This is similar to the Gansevoort hotel vibe if you’re from NYC.
The Atmosphere: The whole hotel is 1 very thoughtful club and if management is smart, they would just do some crazy event that involved all of the spaces. I mention this because reception — located in the center of the hotel on floor one, has walls like a pyramid with a point that ends on the bar. It’s really cool to look down at that as well as the gorgeous 360 views of the city. Even before you step onto the terrace, you’ve got this image of Big Ben in front of you.
The Décor: White and modern is the look which is perfect as it takes nothing away from the brilliant view.
The Drinks: I would say they are on the better end of mixology. I found my bloody mary to be perfection — a rare thing outside of vegas or a few favorite spots here and there. I watched them makes loads of other delicious concoctions; real recipes. Ladies will love this spot for the mixology for sure.
The people: I would say it was a scene. Some tourists from the hotel, some locals in full regalia. Men are in suits and look smart. Ladies are typically wearing their best, though I was more casual.
This place hasn’t been open for long and — and at that — not in nice weather. My guess is that by fall, this place will be impossible to get to. So Unilocalers… I HIGHLY recommend you have a look now before it becomes just too much effort.
Other: If you can’t get in, there are a few other options in the hotel to check out. Reception in theory hasn’t yet become popular, but it’s cool enough were I could see it one day being a place for flow through given the cool walls.