5th View Champagne & Seafood Bar

Perhaps on the basis that there’s more profit in a French 75 cocktail than in paperbacks by French existentialists, the entire top floor at Waterstone’s flagship store is now largely devoted to wining & dining. In addition to the original 5th View bar & restaurant with its panorama over the rooftops of St James’s, a smart stand-alone seafood & Champagne bar/lounge lounge tricked out in purple & lemon has been added on to the Piccadilly side of the building. Pull up a high stool at its zinc for classic Champagne cocktails such as Grand Mimosa at £8.95, top-drawer fizz & fine wines. To eat, there might be crab omelettes, lobster sandwiches, hot garlic prawns, beetroot gravadlax & groaning seafood platters for two at £55 – plus steak sandwiches or burgers at £11 for those averse to fish.