London's an inward looking city - it's less about big windows and urban vistas than street scenes and Tubes and interiors; feet walking past basement windows and road rimmed villages.
Most of its restaurants follow suit - and that's not a bad thing - a lot can be done with lighting and furniture and art, but the lack of a view makes those things more important. You can forgive brunch at a rickety table on a narrow footpath in Sydney when you're looking over yachts scudding across a glittering harbour; New York power dining will always get a boost from some high altitude attitude; and cocktails and jazz might never be the same after a trip to the New York Bar in Tokyo.
While some of London's coolest and cosiest restaurants have no view to speak of beyond the people watching and what's on the plate, there are a few boasting views that remind us how vast London is, with knock-out eyries reigning over the patchwork quilt architecture of the metropolis.
There's the commanding, bankers' redoubt panorama from Rhodes 24, Gary Rhodes' City flagship, serving food that reflects his three decades as a torchbearer for British cuisine.
Next up, Skylon - named for a sadly demolished Modernist sculpture built nearby for the Festival of Britain - overlooks the Thames and Embankment through huge windows. Finnish born, La Tante Claire alumnus, Helena Puolakka helms the kitchen, turning out modern French cuisine.
Newcomer Paramount has popped up in another love-it-or-hate-it modern pile, Centre Point, with perhaps the best high-rise dining views in the capital (for now). It's a private club whose bar and restaurant that can be booked by non-members, with a Tom Dixon designed interior and European menu by chef Colin Layfield.
There are other elevated views, of course: Min Jiang overlooks Kensington Gardens; Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Hyde Park (with terrace seating on its way); Chris Galvin's perch on top of the London Hilton Park Late;
Blueprint Cafe - Jeremy Lee's paean to seasonal cooking sits atop the Design Museum; Searcy's 40|30, The Gherkin (membership required) - as well as a few likely to emerge in London's new crop of skyscrapers. But we can't trump Hong Kong, Chicago or Singapore... What's your favourite restaurant with a view?
Rhodes 24, Skylon and Paramount will appear at Taste of London 2011.