Alfresco Evening Events to Soak up Summer in London

We’ve stockpiled intel on the best summer roof terraces in London and best alfresco dining haunts, plus have got a plethora of picnicking locations, so that as soon as the sun is out, so are we. 

Now added to the list of reasons that we are the alfresco aficionados: Some dates for your diary that will have you praying the weather holds.

Alfresco Evening Events to Soak up Summer in London

Fuller’s Riverside Heritage Tour with Des de Moor

Combine a brewery visit and beer tasting at one of Britain’s most celebrated breweries with a picturesque short walk along the river Thames, a pint in one of London’s prettiest pubs and an exploration of local brewing and distilling heritage on this unique walking tour. Your host for the tour is London beer expert and accredited beer sommelier Des de Moor. de Moor is also author of The CAMRA Guide to London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars, as well as a tutored tasting host. Total walking on this tour is 2¼ miles (3.5 km) on mainly flat ground with plenty of stops along the way. designmynight.com

Notting Hill Carnival

It happens every year. London sets aside the Sunday and Monday of the late August bank holiday for one of the world’s largest street carnivals. Each year, close to one million people attend this two-day celebration of Caribbean heritage on the streets of Notting Hill. Celebrations include costume-clad Caribbean dancing to traditional reggae, meringue, calypso, rumba and zouk music, plus street vendors selling foods like seasoned jerk chicken, callalo, and traditional goat stew. 26-27 August. thelondonnottinghillcarnival.com

Classic Car Boot Sale

Hemingway Design and the Vintage Festival team are back with a weekend of classic cars, London’s finest street food wagons, music, performances, street theatre and all manner of vintage fun. This is not your run of the mill classic car show but a mini festival turning King’s Cross N1C into a petrol head and savvy shoppers’ paradise. Look out for impromptu musical performances, roaming street theatre, live music and DJs spinning a vinyl-only selection of 40s to 80s tunes. Browse the collection of vintage fashion, accessories, homewares, collectables and vinyl records from traders operating out of the boots of their vintage vehicles. 18-19 August. classiccarbootsale.co.uk

Othello at The Globe

Catch Mark Rylance as Iago in Othello at The Globe…The republic of Venice employs General Othello, a self-made man and a Moor, to defend its overseas territories against the Turks. As the Turkish threat gathers and Venetian forces are despatched to Cyprus, the love Othello holds for his new wife becomes a raging, uncontrollable torrent. Iago, a junior officer secretly enraged by Othello, exploits his General’s ambiguous position and ingenuous nature, driving him into a passionate and overpowering jealousy. 20 July – 13 August. shakespearesglobe.com

KERB Camden Lates

Enjoy free entry every Friday to KERB’s late night residency at Camden Market. Chow down to the tune of 80’s Music, Funk & Soul and Hip Hop/RnB – A.Skillz and Mi-Soul Radio are on the line-up to play out the summer. It’s a 34 trader strong street food oasis with the likes of: Only Jerkin’ – Jerk fried chicken; Tongue ‘n Cheek – 50% ox heart 50% dry aged beef burgers, philly cheesesteak burgers and rosemary fries; Killa Dilla – Burritos;Katsu House – Katsu curry; Other Side Fried – Fried chicken strips; Bian Dang – Taiwanese steamed buns; The Mac Factory – Mac ‘n cheese; Arepazo Bros – Venezuelan corn bread arepas; Fundi – Handmade wood-fired pizzas; Kolkati – Calcuttan kati rolls; Ink – Crispy calamari with squid ink mayo and fish & chips; Club Mexicana (vegan) – Tofish tacos, jackfruit burritos and nachos; Oh My Dog! –Hotdogs; Stakehaus – Steak and chips; Maize Blaze (vegan) – Colombian lunch boxes; and Oli Baba’s – Halloumi fries, 20 July – 31 August. designmynight.com

COS x Serpentine Park Nights

Serpentine Galleries and COS are diving into their annual Serpentine Park Nights 2018, the Serpentine’s series of experimental, interdisciplinary commissions in the Serpentine Pavilion, designed this year by award-winning architect Frida Escobedo. Warm summer nights in Hyde Park just got hotter with the creative sparks from eight international artists who will respond to Escobedo’s atmospheric design, which draws on Mexican and British elements to create a reflective, intimate space for live encounters. TELFAR (10 August) and Yaeji (7 September) are still to come this summer – see the full performance schedule.

Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House

The first films that have been revealed for this open-air cinema series from 9-22 August are Inception, Labyrinth, Call Me By Your Name and Blue Velvet. This year, all films in the festival line-up take on the theme of dreams, focussing on fantasies, reveries, nightmares and nocturnes. somersethouse.org.uk

Ballet in the Square

From contemporary performances by English National Ballet and an all-female circus spectacle to an abstract, immersive Shakespearean production by Mimbre and jazz performances from Sister Sledge with Craig Charles, Live In The Square will set Grosvenor Square alight with dazzling outdoor entertainment. 27 July to 18 August, liveinthesquare.co.uk

Beautiful Allotment

A pop-up allotment has been dug up in East London to bring countryside to city for the summer. Curated by the brains behind the uber-Instagrammable Bourne & Hollingsworth Building, the living space offers an unprecedented drinking and eating experience. Taking over the superb Victorian gardens of the Geffrye Museum, the grounds feature day beds, handcrafted potting sheds, makeshift cocktail bars and of course, BBQ areas. An idyllic place to pop by for cocktails with friends, and a must if you love a bit of gardening… 25 July – 3 September, beautifulallotment.com

More Things to Do Elsewhere? Check out our Country Diary