Dinner With a View

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Piercing the clouds like a splinter of glass is the most recent addition to London’s dynamic skyline—The Shard. It is the product of the ambitious vision of the late property magnate Irvine Sellar, famously acclaimed as the high-profile fashion retailer who ignited the Carnaby Street revolution in the heart of “swinging London” in the 1960s, and founder of the UK’s second largest fashion chain, “Mates by Irvine Sellars,” the first fashion retailer to sell men’s and women’s clothing from the same store, in shops throughout the country. In the early 1980s, Sellar sold his retailing business and ventured into commercial real estate development with the Sellar Property Group. In 1998, he and two partners acquired and demolished Southwark Towers in the London Bridge Station quarter of the city and upon that footprint, erected a striking 1,400-foot tall “vertical city where people can live, work, and relax.” Designed in 2000 by internationally renowned architect Renzo Piano, construction broke ground in 2009 and in 2012, two weeks before the Opening Ceremonies of the London Olympic Games, the hotel was inaugurated by Prime Minister of Qatar, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.

The Shard’s dynamic structure houses world-class offices, exclusive residences, the posh 5-star Shangri-La Hotel, and seven award-winning restaurants, topped by the 360-degree “View from The Shard,” the United Kingdom’s highest viewing gallery, which allows visitors to “see London as it had never been seen before.” In February 2016, the Outpatients and Diagnostics Centre of HCA Healthcare UK opened on the 4, 5, and 6 floors, accommodating up to 600 patients a day. Renzo’s Shard Place, the third phase of the 2.5 million square-foot regeneration of the wider London Bridge Quarter, featuring 176 sleek, modern, lateral apartments that offer its residents world-class amenities and round-the-clock concierge service, was developed in a partnership between Sellar with the State of Qatar. The man who redefined London’s skyline died at the age of 82, in 2017.

Central to the singular luxury lifestyle at The Shard are its seven restaurants. Each is unique yet all present signature menus that feature fresh, seasonal ingredients, diverse wine and drink lists, and refined dining experiences.

 

Aqua Shard’s Elements of Life signature cocktail, “The Clipper,” presents a complex combination of smokey, fruity, sweet and sour flavor, derived from a combination of Asparagus Don Julio blanco, dry sherry, beech-smoked pineapple, roasted hazelnut, Earl Grey tea, grapefruit juice and sesame.

The first Aqua restaurant opened 18 years ago and today, boasts over 25 high-end venues in London, New York, Miami, Beijing, Dubai, and Hong Kong, each reflecting its own, unique philosophy. Aqua Shard, on the 31st floor of The Shard, is an especially spectacular place to dine, with 360-degree views of London pouring through the award-winning restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

Its contemporary menu always uses seasonal ingredients. Tempting as a starter is Venison Carpaccio with pumpkin hummus and blackberry dressing, paired with a 2019 Nero d’Avola Sherazade Donnafugata from Sicily. For a main course, fresh-caught Cornish sea bass is served with pearl barley, cockles risotto, winter radish salad, and paired with a young, elegant 2021 Pouilly-Fumé Domaine Chauveau from France’s Loire Valley. Shard Trifle, Aqua Shard’s take on a traditional English dessert, is coconut sponge laced with Chantilly crème and blood orange, and paired with a 10-year-old Delaforce Tawny Port from Real Companhia Velha, Portugal.

Dinner? Start with Beef tartare in a Bloody Mary gel with egg yolk emulsion, served with toasted sourdough bread. For a main course, Kent Spring Lamb with aubergine puree and English feta, cucumber, black olive and red onion tart is comfort food with a side of Tiptoe Farm potato mash with Glastonbury organic whey butter and gravy. Complete dinner with a plate of Corra Linn, Colston Bassett Stilton, and Elrick Log, served with homemade oat cakes and to set it all off, strawberries, apple, and pear purée. From Aqua Shard’s incredible wine list, pair the cheese plate with a glass of Oloroso, Don Gonzalo VOS (Valdespino) Jerez from Spain, with its complex notes of bitter almonds, hazelnuts, incense, Cuban cigar ash, and dark chocolate.

PETER PAN AFTERNOON TEA

So imaginative and adventurous is Aqua Shard’s afternoon tea, inspired by J. M. Barrie’s classic “boy who never grew up,” Peter Pan. For a savory, choose from “Baked Pig” (pork sausage in puff pastry), “An Enormous Mushroom Chimney” made from bread and duxelles mushrooms, and “Codfish Captain Hook,” deep-fried fish formed in the shape of the captain’s hook! The “Lost Boys Chicken and Bacon Sandwich” and “Little Bird Egg Salad Sandwich” are sandwich options and for sweets, try “Peter’s Secret Never Tree Entrance” and “Hook’s Perish Cake,” a lime green-colored Victoria cake with fondant icing. And for a ‘cuppa,’ try the blended, faintly sweet “Darling Tea,” which has a delicate floral finish, or “Adventure Tea,” a fruity blended black tea. Most delectable of all is The Shard donates a portion of every Peter Pan Afternoon Tea served to the Great Ormand Street Hospital’s Children’s Charity.

Bar31, which is located on the ground floor, offers an amazing selection of drinks of all sorts and delicious bar food, proudly serving locally sourced ingredients from some of London’s most skilled growers and producers, and local craft beers—some of which are brewed just down the street.

Whether it’s a pint from nearby Bermondsey Breweries, a glass of affordable wine, or a flute of celebratory Champagne, Bar 31 makes for a welcome end to a harried workday or exhausting tourist trail for locals and visitors alike. Have a gin and tonic, Martini, or Bar 31’s signature mixed gin drinks made with Botanist Selection Dry Gin. On tap there’s Fuller’s Session IPA, Peroni Nastro Azzurro Lager, Grolsch Pilsner, Meantime Anytime IPA and if you’d rather, a lovely Cornish Orchards draught cider. Aperol Spritz is a mainstay of the drinks’ menu and from across the pond, Long Island Iced Tea, made with gin, vodka, tequila, orange liquor and rum. Finally, one could choose a Pimm’s Cup or other Liqueur to wash down a plate of bar food, such as a Chicken Schnitzel Roll, a charcuterie platter, or a prosciutto and mushroom pizzette.

The highest hotel bar in Western Europe derives its name from dougong, “a unique structural element of interlocking wooden brackets used in traditional Chinese architecture,” which sets the understated tone of the bar’s intimate chambers, champagne bar, cocktail bar . . . and a swimming pool.

The menu is inspired by simplicity and sustainability, a creative marriage of cocktails paired with Far Eastern-inspired specialties, such as Futomaki with mixed vegetables, Prawn Dragon Roll, Chicken Gyoza, Chef Choice sashimi plates, and a specialty of the house, GŎNG Truffle Fries with Parmesan shavings. Uniquely, GŎNG introduces a new concept, Liquid Afternoon Tea, an alternative to traditional English tea when, between noon and 4 p.m., guests can partake in “tea-inspired tipples, accompanied by a selection of sweet and savory fare,” pared with miniature cocktails.

Indeed, an impressive cocktail menu distinguishes GŎNG and particularly, its mixed drinks, such as Deluxe Pornstar Martini, which is a combination of Beluga Gold Line, passion fruit, vanilla, and Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label NV; and signature cocktails created by GŎNG’s mixologists, such as Tommaso’s “Curagua,” a combination of Canaïma gin, yellow Chartreuse, pineapple Verjus, Cherry Blossom, and Lavender; or Michela’s “Sueño de Coco,” an elegant coconut drink made with Diplomático Planas rum. The Vogager Zheng Drinks menu is a veritable Asian journey conducted by GŎNG’s mixologists’ inspired travels through China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Hong Kong—truly exotic worlds in a glass.

Inspired by the Lu School of cuisine of Shandong Province, Hutong’s menu captures the subtlety and unique flavors of Northern Chinese cuisine. Influenced by ingredients used in traditional Chinese medicine, the cocktail selection is as divine as it is unique and the atmosphere—with its panoramic views of London, stunning Chinese interior, hand-carved Moon Gates, and red lanterns—is contemplative and exotic. Open for lunch and dinner, Hutong’s signature prix fixe dinner menu is an experience unto itself; Lobster Dumpling with Sichuan Chili sauce (pictured), Tender Squid in Sichuan Peppercorn and Chili oil, and Wagyu Beef in Hot and Sour Broth. The impressive wine selection, by the glass or the bottle, ranges in price from a glass of 2021 Ai Galera “Mistico” from Portugal for £10.50, to a bottle of 2007 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru from Côte de Beaune for £1100.00. Rather than dine, meet up with friends at Hutong’s Shanghai Bar, one of London’s most popular night spots.

One of the most sophisticated, contemporary restaurants in all of London is Oblix, high up on The Shard’s 32nd floor. The space is divided between Oblix West, with its refined, relaxed urban décor and the higher energy that radiates from Oblix East.

Dine on traditional fare at Oblix West, such as Jumbo Prawn Cocktail to start and signature oblix pepper steak for the main. What’s more, Oblix West has a wonderful a la carte menu that features a seafood and beef raw bar, delectable starters like Crispy Squid Chili and additional choices for the main include lime, and fresh-from-the-ocean, Grilled Line-Caught Seabass with lemon hollandaise sauce, BBQ Black Cod with coriander salsa, whole Dover Sole with garlic, butter, and capers, and Whole Lobster with lemon verbena and garlic butter. Oblix West’s amazing selection of steaks and large cuts of beef is second to none and the potato has an entire menu selection all to itself. For a true culinary experience, order the Chef ’s Tasting Menu, a rotating selection of nine dishes for the whole table to share (minimum two people.) Oblix East, which is open for lunch, dinner, afternoon tea, and weekend brunch, adds music to their menu with live DJ music and vocalists Thursday, Fridays, and Saturdays that gives a vibe to the lively décor, drinks, and delicious dishes.

Light bites and a varied, extensive, and impressive selection of drinks—notably, its signature Veuve Clicquot cocktails—make the Sky Lounge one of the most sought-after bars in all London. Its small plates are gastronomic jewels and among the menu’s treats are Buttermilk Doughnuts served with fresh Parmesan, sour cream and chives; Beef Tartar served with anchovy ketchup, a Footlong Hotdog served with Tom’s Whole-Grain Mustard and sauerkraut, and for vegetarians, a Fried Aubergine Sandwich served with Sriracha mayonnaise. Top it off with a Raspberry and Lychee Pavlova to share composed of crunchy raspberry meringue, vanilla custard, lychee panna cotta, and raspberry sorbet. Sky Lounge also serves Sunday Brunch.

Marrying time-honored Asian cuisine with classic British food, TĪNG serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day of the week and afternoon tea, besides. This is the place for hearty traditional English breakfast fare such as eggs with streaky bacon, Cumberland sausage, and black pudding. A seasonal summer “Experience” menu in association with FT Weekend and Champagne Laurent-Perrier, includes an Amuse Bouche of Carlingford Oyster in ginger and lime gel topped with King’s Caviar, Soy-glazed Dingley Dell Pork cutlet and belly with bok choy and Wood Ear Mushroom Salad, finished with Coconut Mousse with mango and passion fruit compote topped with matcha ice cream. A five-course set menu includes tuna and salmon roll, beef tataki, grilled tiger prawns, 28-day dry aged beef fillet, and for dessert, chocolate mousse and salted toffee Crémeux topped with miso ice cream and gilt with gold chocolate.