*Please note, ‘On The Roof With Q’ is now closed. It is now ‘Alto San Carlo’*
After a week of cloudy weather, the sunshine came out yesterday and gave us a glorious day! I drove into town to meet Bella and Lotte for a lazy day boating and lunching. We didn’t go to Royal Ascot this year as we felt we needed a break, so instead we hired a row boat in Hyde Park, rowed around the Serpentine, and then walked over to Selfridges for a lazy late lunch at their new pop-up rooftop restaurant ‘On the Roof with Q’.
Lotte and Bella did all of the rowing, while I sat and watched the world go by. We had so much fun, and by the time we got back to the boatshed we were definitely ready for our late lunch!
A Late Lunch at On The Roof With Q
We were originally going to go to ‘On the Roof with Q’ for afternoon tea, however when we got there at 3:30pm and saw all of the incredible looking dishes on the tables, we succumbed and had a very late lunch instead. The atmosphere was fantastic, the sun was out, the roof was off, and we happily sipped cocktails whilst perusing the menu in the sunshine.
We started with cocktails, I had a ‘Roof House Punch’, which was really fruity and one of the nicest cocktails I’ve ever had!
I hadn’t had breakfast and hadn’t had dinner the night before, so was absolutely starving! Everything looked so good, but when I saw the burger with avocado, I had to have it. It didn’t disappoint. It was huge; the meat was juicy, the bun was that delicious toasted brioche style, and the avocado all creamy and perfect!
Lotte got the ribs, which didn’t look impressive as they didn’t come with anything – they were just a rack of ribs on a plate, so I didn’t photograph. However she did say they were really good! We shared fries, while Bella was healthy and had the bosworth ash and broccoli tart – she wouldn’t stop raving about the bosworth ash cheese!
After our main meals we ordered dessert and sat chatting in the beautiful surroundings while we waited. On the Roof with Q really is lovely, it’s designed like an old Victorian conservatory, with pretty flowers and plant pots. It feels very homely, and even has fake grass to give it an English Garden feel. Of course being on the rooftop of Selfridges meant the view was pretty good too! Obviously nothing compared to the likes of The Shard and Sushisamba/Duck & Waffle, but still nice to look at nonetheless.
Dessert was the perfect choice for such a warm day; lemon posset with peppercorn shortbread. The posset had the perfect amount of lemon, and was creamy and oh so refreshing! The shortbread surprised me, it was very citrus-y and the peppercorn went so well with it, it was delicious.
We had such a lovely day, it was great to see the girls again and have a catch up and plan our fun-filled summer. It’s so nice to have friends who appreciate long lunches and lazy days. We spent half the money we’d usually spend on Ascot on our day out, and had a great time! Lunch at ‘On the Roof with Q’ costs between £20-£40 depending on how many cocktails you have *coughbella* ;).
Sadly the service was rather shoddy (we didn’t get our water until dessert, despite us asking for it twice throughout the meal), however the food was delicious, so I’d definitely recommend a visit purely for the atmosphere and food (and cocktails!). You must book in advance though, and the restaurant is open until the end of August when it will close for winter.
What’s your favourite summertime lazy day?
Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of Content Marketing at Amazon by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.
Ohh this looks so nice! Now I'm wishing I did that this sunny weekend.
Do it next weekend! 🙂
C x
I'm totally hiring a row boat next time I'm in London; looks like so much fun! xx
It was so fun!
C x
The price is much more reasonable than I expected! I heard about this awhile ago and I've been up on the roof of Selfridges for other pop ups before – it's always fun – but now I've seen these pics I think I'll definitely need to check out this one.
Sorcha x Bright Field Notes
Oh wow that avocado! Looks like a lovely day out.
I love the idea of hiring a boat, looks like great fun. Something to add to my summer bucket list weather permitting.