Wagtail London: the City rooftop with a late licence

The City has a rooftop problem: the views are the best in London and the buildings empty at six, so most of the terraces are lunch venues pretending to be bars. Wagtail is one of the few that is genuinely built for the evening.

Where it is and what you see

Checked on the operator’s own site on 9 September 2026. 68 King William Street, London EC4N 7HR, in the eaves of one of the City’s grandest art deco buildings, a short walk from Monument and Bank.

It runs over two floors: a restaurant with two private terraces, a rooftop terrace bar above it, and a private dining room called The Nest crowning the building. The operator claims 360 degree views, and unusually the claim is checkable from the list of what you can see: Tower Bridge, St Paul’s, the Shard, the Gherkin and the Walkie Talkie. That is most of the skyline from one terrace.

The late licence, which is the point

Wagtail holds a late-night licence and runs resident DJ evenings. In the City that is close to unique: almost everything with a view up here stops when the offices do.

Monday and Tuesday it runs 11am to 11:30pm. Sunday it closes at 9:30pm. Hours move across the week, so the venue’s own page is the one to check before planning a late one, but the shape is clear enough: this is a rooftop you can still be on after eleven.

Which bit to book

The terrace bar and the restaurant are different propositions and people book the wrong one. The bar is for drinking with the view; the restaurant is a sit-down with two private terraces of its own. The Nest is private hire rather than something you can walk into.

As with every rooftop in London, the weather decides. A covered rooftop in October beats an open one, and this one is high enough that wind matters.

Nearby, and the free alternative

Horizon 22 is a few minutes away, higher, and free, though it shuts in the early evening, which is exactly the gap Wagtail fills. Rooftop bars in London covers the rest of the category and which are free.

Leadenhall Market and St Dunstan in the East are both a short walk and both cost nothing, and after dark lists what is still running when Wagtail shuts.