Cafeography
London

Outdoor seating cafés in London

Pavement tables, park cafés and market terraces, for the dry days.

Photo: Dylan Bueltel, Pexels License

London's pavement tables stand on firmer legal ground than they did before 2020. The Business and Planning Act 2020 created a fast-track pavement licence for cafés, bars and restaurants, and the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 made it permanent from 31 March 2024. Councils may charge up to £500 for a first licence and £350 for a renewal, and licences are expected to run for two years.1

The weather sets the season. At Kew, the Met Office's 1991–2020 averages give about 114 days a year with at least 1 mm of rain. July is both the warmest and the sunniest month, with average highs of 23.8 °C and about 222 hours of sunshine, while December averages 53 hours of sun and highs of 8.9 °C.2

Local tip: For terrace weather, aim for July, London's sunniest month; on a Saturday, pair Broadway Market's stalls (09:00–17:00) with a table at The Bach, which opens at 08:00.23

Where these cafés are: Hackney & London Fields (43), Soho & Fitzrovia (38), South Bank, Borough & Bermondsey (25), Islington & Angel (25), Bethnal Green & Mile End (21), Bloomsbury (21), Shoreditch & Hoxton (18), Marylebone (16), The City (13), Covent Garden & Holborn (11), Spitalfields & Whitechapel (11), Camden, Primrose Hill & Kentish Town (11), Battersea & Nine Elms (10), King's Cross (10), Chelsea, South Kensington & Knightsbridge (10), Clerkenwell & Farringdon (10), Elephant & Castle & Walworth (10), Paddington & Bayswater (9), Kennington, Vauxhall & Stockwell (8), Peckham & Camberwell (7), Westminster, Victoria & Pimlico (7), Kensington, Earl's Court & Fulham (6), Rotherhithe & South Bermondsey (5), St John's Wood, Maida Vale & Kilburn (5), Notting Hill (4), Mayfair & St James's (4), New Cross & Deptford (3), Wapping, Shadwell & Limehouse (3).

At a glance

364Cafés listed
163With opening hours
00:00Earliest opening
00:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: La Forchetta, from 00:00 (Mon–Fri Open 24 hours · Sat 00:00–16:00, 21:00–00:00 · Sun 00:00–07:00, 21:00–00:00).
  • Closes latest: Café Hebe, until 00:00 (Tue 08:00–17:00 · Wed–Thu 08:00–23:00 · Fri 08:00–00:00 · Sat 09:00–00:00 · Sun 09:00–16:30).
  • Most listed streets: Broadway Market (6), Great Eastern Street (5), Chiltern Street (4).
  • Most common features: indoor seating (58%), card payment (26%), vegetarian options (25%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in London.

Where London's café terraces cluster

Hackney has the most cafés with outdoor seats, ahead of Soho & Fitzrovia, with Islington & Angel and South Bank, Borough & Bermondsey level in third. Broadway Market is the busiest strip: The Bach at number 12, Third Culture Deli at 29 and l'eau a la bouche at 35–37 all put tables out, and the street market runs Saturdays 09:00–17:00 and Sundays 10:00–16:00.3 Mare Street adds Running Late at 249A and Marina Cafe at 422.

In Marylebone, Chiltern Street has a run of pavement tables, including The Monocle Café at number 18, open until 20:00 Monday to Saturday, and Avobar at 60. In Shoreditch, Great Eastern Street has Kybelle at 62 and The Brush at 84–86, which serves until 22:00 every day.

Park cafés in London

St James's Café looks over St James's Lake and its pelicans. The Royal Parks open it 08:00–20:00 in summer and 08:00–16:00 in winter, with the kitchen closing an hour before the doors.4 The Royal Parks also have The Waterside Café in Regent's Park and The Broadwalk in Kensington Gardens.

East London's park cafés start earlier. Pavilion Cafe on Old Ford Road in Victoria Park opens at 07:00 every day and stays until 18:00 at weekends, and The Hub Cafe at St Marks Gate runs 09:00–16:00. In the west, Holland Park Café keeps 07:45–19:00 daily, and in Rotherhithe the Southwark Park pavilion café on Gomm Road opens 09:00–16:00.

Russell Square's cabmen's shelter

Bloomsbury's squares add a London oddity. The Cabmen's Shelter Fund was set up in 1875, and 61 shelters were built for cab drivers between then and 1914. Thirteen survive, all Grade II listed, and because they stood on the public highway they could be no larger than a horse and cart.5

The Russell Square shelter, restored in 1987, has hanging baskets and large benches outside.6 It opens weekdays 07:00–14:00, and Caffè Tropea on the same square opens 07:00–18:00 on weekdays and 08:00–17:00 at weekends.

Pavement rules and late terraces

Licensed tables come with conditions. The furniture has to be removable, licence holders must make reasonable provision for seating where smoking is not allowed, and the guidance treats 2 m of clear pavement as the normal minimum, with 1.5 m between obstacles as the least acceptable.1

Most cafés with outdoor seats keep daytime hours, and about two thirds of those with posted times close by 18:00. For a table outside after dark, Soho is the bet: Balans Soho Society Cafe at 34 Old Compton Street serves until 23:00 daily, and Prosecco Café at 26 Frith Street until midnight at weekends.

Sources

  1. Pavement licences: guidance, GOV.UK, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (April 2, 2024), accessed October 2026
  2. Climate of London (Kew Gardens, Met Office 1991–2020 normals), Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Broadway Market, Broadway Market, accessed October 2026
  4. St. James's Café, The Royal Parks, accessed October 2026
  5. Cabmen's shelter, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  6. A Brief Introduction to Cabmen's Shelters, Historic England Blog (April 9, 2024), accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

Other ways to browse London

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29 cafés

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87 cafés

Brunch

47 cafés

Open late

69 cafés

By area: Soho & Fitzrovia Covent Garden & Holborn Clerkenwell & Farringdon Shoreditch & Hoxton The City Spitalfields & Whitechapel Islington & Angel Bethnal Green & Mile End Hackney & London Fields Camden, Primrose Hill & Kentish Town South Bank, Borough & Bermondsey Notting Hill

FAQ

Outdoor seating in London: questions

Do cafés in London need a pavement licence for outdoor seating?

Yes. Cafés in England need a pavement licence from the council to put removable tables and chairs on the pavement. The scheme began under the Business and Planning Act 2020 and became permanent on 31 March 2024. Councils can charge up to £500 for a first licence and £350 for a renewal, and licences normally run for two years.

When is the best time of year for outdoor cafés in London?

July is the warmest and sunniest month in London, with average highs of 23.8 °C and about 222 hours of sunshine at Kew. December averages about 53 hours of sun and highs of 8.9 °C. Rain of at least 1 mm falls on about 114 days a year, so a dry summer day is the best bet for a terrace.

Which London parks have cafés with outdoor seating?

St James's Café overlooks St James's Lake and opens 08:00–20:00 in summer and 08:00–16:00 in winter. Regent's Park has The Waterside Café and Kensington Gardens The Broadwalk. Pavilion Cafe in Victoria Park opens at 07:00 every day, and Holland Park Café runs 07:45–19:00.

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