London boasts a growing roster of restaurants where the view is as appetising as the cuisine - and I mean that in the most positive way.
Now long established, the Oxo Tower offers a fabulous vista of the South Bank and beyond from an eighth-floor vantage point, particularly at dusk on a summer's evening. On our recent visit, the weather did not justify terrace dining - although we did later venture out, joining camera-toting visitors from the Far East for some post-prandial star-gazing. But those lucky enough to be assigned a window table have a more than adequate substitute.
Even on a Monday night, the restaurant was full, with a mix of regulars, tourists and couples on dates or celebrating special occasions. The business crowd were also out in numbers, especially around the bar area (you can visit just for a drink and the wines are excellent and reasonably priced). Diners get a two-hour time slot but that is ample for three leisurely courses, and the friendly and knowledgeable staff are not of the hurrying kind.
The restaurant offers a good-value £30 set menu with choices for starter, main and dessert. From the à la carte, the mushrooms on toast with goat's-cheese mousse found favour as elegantly presented comfort food. There are plenty of vegetarian or fish dishes, such as the grilled plaice ordered as an entrée. Though portions are decently sized, do not skip on the sides - our favourites were the sweet potato and the melt-in-the-mouth cauliflower cheese.
I had been planning to finish with something light from the sorbet selection but our waiter would not hear of it, exclaiming "boring!". He did modify the comment by explaining that while the ices were fine, it would be a mistake to miss out on the more indulgent puddings. And having devoured the treacle tart with Bramley apple compôte, I had to concede that he had a point.
Higher up - on the 23rd floor -Kojawan at the Hilton London Metropole is a new and welcome addition to the West End dining and drinking scene. A conglomeration of Korea, Japan and Taiwan, the venue is sleek and modernistic in design, with a sci-fi vibe, rather like a space-age flight deck. Animated films play on big screens and some elegant graffiti is framed on the walls.
By comparison, the panorama from Edgware Road seems a tad mundane, although it does showcase a different section of the London skyline.
A virtue for nocturnal drinkers is that the bar is open until the early hours and Kojawan has just instituted a midnight happy hour.
Among the cocktails recommended by bar staff are the Vesper (gin, vodka, lillet blanc) popularised by James Bond. For a sweeter taste, Astro Pussy (rum, rice milk, peanut butter and cinnamon) is possibly for a Bond girl of the future.
You can accompany the drinks with some upmarket bar snacks - the zucchini fries are hard to resist - or settle more comfortably in the dining area for some serious sharing plates.
From the raw selection, the watermelon sashimi works surprisingly well. From the fire stove or oven, try the aubergine with tomato and ginger, or the tofu with shiitake and spices.
Or proceed straight to pudding, where the pan tako (fluffy pancake, white chocolate and berries) goes down particularly nicely with a glass of plum sake.
For a ground-level view, two seasonal pop-ups in Docklands are also worth considering.
Rotherhithe may not sound the most exotic location, but there is a lovely Thames perspective from the summer Terrazza at the Doubletree by Hilton - and you can even travel to and from the hotel by river boat from Canary Wharf. Sip Venetian cocktails while sharing tasting plates and pizza prepared in an outdoor oven.
At the Gun, a long-time local favourite, the Brazilian-themed riverside marquee includes a choice of Latin alcoholic drinks and barbecue and canapé selections, the latter with a vegetarian range. It's available for party hire and there will also be ad hoc events during the Rio Olympics this summer.
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