A rooftop bar high above Battersea Power Station, bringing the spirit of Lisbon to the London skyline under a name that means ‘jewel’
JOIA Rooftop Bar carries a 4.0 across more than a hundred reviews and occupies one of the most spectacular positions in this survey: the top floors of the art’otel hotel, high above Battersea Power Station, with the London skyline laid out below. The Prat’s naming desk is drawn to the name, which is Portuguese for “jewel” – and the setting, which genuinely earns it.
Above the Power Station
JOIA sits atop the art’otel London Battersea Power Station, on the upper floors of the tower beside the great old power station – properly Battersea, and continuing this survey’s recurring thread of the Power Station’s remarkable rebirth.
The jewel on the skyline
“Joia” means jewel in Portuguese, and the name is well chosen for a rooftop bar – a bright, precious thing set high above the city, catching the light. The bar and restaurant are the work of the acclaimed Portuguese chef Henrique Sa Pessoa, and the whole venue brings the spirit of Lisbon to the London skyline: sunny small plates to share, Portuguese wines and cocktails, an al fresco terrace, and even a rooftop infinity pool. A jewel of the Iberian south, set glittering above the Battersea Thames.
Top of the tower, guts of the station
The Prat’s favourite thing about JOIA is where it sits in the great Battersea Power Station story. Elsewhere in this very survey, Control Room B pours cocktails deep in the guts of the old station, among the dials that once ran the city’s power; Searcys does the same in the Art Deco Turbine Hall; and Vagabond has planted an urban winery within. JOIA completes the picture from the opposite end – not in the belly of the beast but high above it, on the rooftop of the new tower that has risen alongside. Between them, the Power Station now offers drinks from its subterranean control room to its sky-high rooftop: the whole vertical range of the reborn landmark.
The honest score, the unbeatable view
The 4.0 is the more modest end of this closer, and the Prat reports it plainly – rooftop bars, with their queues, their prices and their weather-dependence, are a demanding format that rarely pleases everyone. But the setting is close to unbeatable: a Lisbon jewel of a bar, on a terrace above one of London’s most iconic buildings, with the skyline at your feet. Some views are worth the premium, and few in London are grander than this.
Verdict
A 4.0 across a hundred-plus reviews is a respectable score for an ambitious rooftop bar, and JOIA earns its place on setting and concept alike. It is a Lisbon jewel high above Battersea Power Station – the sky-high counterpart to the Control Room deep below – bringing the sunny spirit of Portugal to the London skyline.
Go up for the view, the Portuguese small plates and the sheer drama of drinking on a rooftop above the great Power Station. From Control Room B in the depths to JOIA in the sky, the old landmark now pours drinks at every altitude.
Carys Evans is a prolific satirical journalist and comedy writer with a strong track record of published work. Her humour is analytical, socially aware, and shaped by both academic insight and London’s vibrant creative networks. Carys often tackles media narratives, cultural trends, and institutional quirks with sharp wit and structured argument.
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