Rooftop at Curzon

Rooftop at Curzon — marketed locally as Rooftop Bar Kingston — sits on the top floor of the Curzon Kingston cinema, inside The Bentall Centre on Wood Street. It’s a rare thing for central Kingston: an actual open-air rooftop bar, not a first-floor terrace with a view of the car park.

The look is pastel — blues, greens and pinks under yellow parasols — a sun-trap terrace that Surrey Live likened to Miami. The draw is the outlook: from up here you get the Ancient Market Place below, the River Thames, Bushy Park, and on a clear day out to the Surrey Hills. It holds up to 130, so it’s built for a crowd on a warm evening rather than a quiet corner — and it’s a standing-and-sipping place by nature, with TripAdvisor regulars noting the view is best on your feet, as you lose some of it once seated.

The drinks list runs to cocktails, wine, craft beer, soft drinks and mocktails. Surrey Live names a rose & lychee martini, a watermelon & cucumber gin and tonic, and an Aperol spritz (£10.50) among the cocktails. To eat, there are sourdough pizzas from the cinema’s Pizza Kitchen plus small plates — enough to make an afternoon or early evening of it rather than a single round. Dogs are welcome on leads, and with mocktails and a midday opening it suits families in the daytime, though it’s a cocktail bar at heart rather than a children’s spot.

What to order: the rose & lychee martini is the named house pour worth starting with, and a sourdough pizza from the Pizza Kitchen does the job as terrace food to share.

Local’s Tip: It’s open daily from midday, which makes it an afternoon sun spot as much as an evening one — and because it’s on top of the cinema, a drink here folds neatly into a film. Stated hours run roughly 12pm–10pm (the alcohol licence runs to 23:00, and one listing quotes an 11:30pm close), so check current times before planning a late one.