Accessible Rooftop Terraces For The Last Rays of Summer or The Fresh Air of Autumn

We didn’t realise but it was nearly three years since we wrote about accessible rooftop bars – so time for an update!

Here’s our latest guide for the Indian Summer of 2017 – we hope! We make no apologies for starting with London as it does have a lot of rooftops to fill.

London Rooftops

First is BBS Award winning South Place Hotel near Liverpool street station. It has the Angler Terrace as well as the Secret Garden that’s a great bar whatever the weather, it’s an…..

“oasis of waterfalls and palm trees with a retractable roof in case of changeable weather and heaters to maintain tropical climates all year round.”

South Place has a special place in our heart’s as it uses our Gallery to display their exemplary accessibility – they maintain the maximum 3 BBS Ticks.

Madison at St Pauls is a younger more vibrant rooftop and has stunning views of the City. It’s on top of the One New Change shopping complex and accessible via lifts and the whole area has been made accessible. There’s a great cocktail bar and an accessible loo. It can be noisy when the in house DJs start but it creates a lively atmosphere. We gave it 2.5 BBS Ticks, even though it’s full of City boys after 5pm, weekends are more sedate.

 

Nearer to the West End is the ME Radio Bar at The Strand. A great Ibiza vibe here with a lovely mix of white decor, chilled tunes and tasty cocktails. We reviewed previously and gave them 2.0 BBS Ticks as the lock on the disabled toilet wasn’t working but it must be fixed by now! Beware you may have to queue to get in on busy nights as it’s very popular.

South of the river is the hipster rooftop hang out of Frank’s Cafe on top of a multi story car park in trendy Peckham. A young crowd and fantastic view of london makes this a venue to visit and be ‘cool’. Only open in the summer months, they got 2.5 BBS Ticks in our previous review as it was completely accessible with a disabled toilet.

Two new West London rooftops are Pergola on the Roof, White City and Pergola on the Roof Paddington.  These are only open 3rd May-1st October so you need to hurry if you want to experience something new and more than just a pop-up restaurant. They say

“Our mission is to take unloved and unused spaces and turn them into unique, big and beautiful outdoor destinations – our winning formula consists of the best restaurants, city skylines, drinks, atmosphere, music, seating for all and general good times – all under our iconic pergola.”

Both venues look amazing we especially want to go to White City as it’s on top of the Television Centre in Wood Lane! According to their website both are wheelchair accessible and have disabled toilets. However they do have pebbled areas as they’re bringing ‘The Hampton’s to London’ and warn not to wear high heels so this could prove difficult if walking with sticks. They also invite other restaurants to provide the food i.e. 8 Hoxton Square, Salt ‘n’ Sauce from Bonnie Gull, Breddos Tacos, and Patty & Bun. At White City they have 600 seats, five 13-person day beds, self-service dining, summer tunes and a roof in case of rain. At Paddington this increases to 850 seats and five top restaurants including vegetarian, vegan and gluten free. They also encourage large parties of up to 199 people – not sure we’ve got that many friends – but it’s good to know.

We’ve asked for more detail and will update when received, in the meantime they both get a provisional 2.5 BBS Ticks for the ultimate in style and maybe in accessibility.

But what about outside of London, we hear you say?? Well here’s what we’ve found…………

Anywhere But London

For Birmingham we previously reviewed Marco Pierre White Steakhouse and Grill on the 25th floor of The Cube. Accessible and with a disabled toilet there’s also a Champagne Bar, so even more reason to visit.

Rofuto also in Birmingham, is not open to the elements but has ‘urban’ views. Enclosed on 16th Floor of The Park Regis Hotel, it’s somewhere to go when the weather’s bad and enjoy an ‘authentic modern Japanese & Pan Asian restaurant and cocktail bar’. It’s darkly lit at night and the views are ‘urban’ but the food has really good reviews. Access appears to be flat and smooth and obviously accessed via a lift from the hotel to the 16th floor. The disabled toilet is on the floor below. They get a provisional 2.5 BBS Ticks.

Liverpool’s Rooftop offering is Matou which overlooks the Mersey river on the 2nd floor of the Ferry Terminal. Not too high up but they say you can see Wales on a clear day and there’s an outside terrace. They have a lift, a disabled toilet and no steps anywhere. The food is pan-asian and there’s a bar serving cocktails. They get 2 BBS Ticks.

Another Liverpool rooftop can be found at 30 James Street Hotel ‘The Home of The Titanic’ and The Carpathia Bar, named after the ‘RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued the 705 RMS Titanic survivors.’ It looks very glamorous and it is accessible by lift to the 7th Floor. they also have disabled toilet on the same floor. They get 2.5 BBS Ticks.

Over in Manchester there’s plenty of rooftops and many we’ve reviewed before such as Cloud 23, Manchester House, Roof Garden Playground and Restaurant Bar and grill, which now has a terrace with a retractable roof. They all received 2-3 BBS Ticks for style and accessibility however, the latest and most popular is Black Dog Ballroom NWS rooftop bar, unfortunately it’s only accessible via 6/7 stairs and there’s no disabled toilet. So you could visit if you’ve got friends to help – disappointing!!

We tried to find rooftops further north and in Newcastle we could only find The Vermont Hotel Sky Bar which looks very posh and is accessible, unfortunately they only open for private events. Good to know if you’re planning a wedding/party and they have a fully accessible bedroom with wet room and all the necessary grab rails. So 2.5 BBS Ticks for The Vermont. Other terraces in Newcastle such as the Botanist and Barluga are only accessed via stairs, although these venues are accessible in other areas and both have a disabled toilets. The Botanist is above Jamies restaurant and has a lift to the bar and restaurant but not to the terrace – shame! Barluga is only accessible on the ground floor. They both get 2 BBS Ticks as they look good, are partially accessible with disabled loos. Anyone disagree let us know.

Rooftop bars are difficult to find in Scotland – is it because of the temperatures in summer?? But there is Harvey Nichols Forth Floor Edinburgh which has a bar terrace overlooking the Firth of Forth and going by their other locations we’ve reviewed it will have good food and easy to visit. The terrace and restaurant is accessible via a lift and there is a disabled toilet on the fourth floor. They get 3 BBS Ticks for great style, access and facilities. In Glasgow the Ubiquitous Chip explain that ‘having run out of space, we had to cut the top off  The Chip to create a roof terrace. Even in the depths of winter it is one of the most popular places in the building.’. Sadly again this is not accessible as there are stairs but the rest of The Chip is OK and they have a disabled loo.

 

There are plenty of other rooftops reviewed in our previous article from Bath to Cambridge. There’s also The Scarlet in Newquay (accessible with a DT)

……………Just so many and so little time as the weather is becoming autumnal so get your coats on, visit those bars and get a breath of fresh air!! If you know of any cool accessible rooftops please contact us as always.