Outdoor Dining in London late fall /winter

Was there last November and this July. There’s definitely outdoor dining options.

Depends on the area. Some of the outdoor dining areas in Soho have now been shut down due to residents' complaints about noise and general drunken behaviour.

Peak Covid there was definitely significant efforts made to create outdoor dining and drinking spaces, some with cover from the elements, many with heaters etc however it remains to be seen how many establishments will continue with this. If there is no re-introduction of the restrictions on dining and drinking that resulted in the outdoor spaces the likelihood is that many people will opt to stay inside (I know I'd rather eat a meal indoors in winter as opposed to on the street outside, heaters or not). If this is the case then I would suspect that a number of establishments would not provide an outdoor area especially when considering the costs involved in heating an outdoor space.

Some councils have banned patio heaters as they consume too much energy and many places in central London aren’t big enough to have outdoor dining. Businesses facing their energy bills tripling or quadrupling in the past year are going to be seeking to reduce their consumption and as there generally isn’t much demand for outdoor eating and drinking in November, I don’t think that you will see many heated outdoor spaces.

The government is keen to see that normal life has resumed, so unless there is a severe Covid spike (which would have to be really bad to cause a hiatus), most places are going to be open as they were pre Covid, so no masking or screens.

Unless there is a massive increase in Covid you will hardly notice a difference. Things are just about back to normal. Personally I don't enjoy eating outdoors as it has been taken over by smokers.

Some cafes and restaurants set up outdoor seating areas to cope with covid restrictions, and this was helped where the street had been pedestrianised. The problem now is the lack of staff, as well as potential cost of bottled gas. If there are restricted numbers of staff, then it is likely that service will be restricted to the indoor areas. It's one thing to have a drink and a bun outside, but I would not normally want to eat a proper meal outside in winter time in Britain.

Even over last winter we didn't see many outdoor dining options in London, and we certainly didn't eat outside ourselves. I can't imagine wanting to eat outdoors in freezing conditions, and given the news on energy costs, I don't think many places are going to want to pay to heat an outdoor area. It really does feel back to normal in London in terms of dining and life in general.

I think the place you saw was the Coppa Club. There are branches in other towns and cities, but I think the Tower Bridge one may be the only one with what they call igloos. It is an all-day restaurant with a menu typical to such places = a variety of dishes to suit varying tastes and circumstances. I suggest you look at reviews.