BACKGROUND
Architect Renzo Piano’s 87-storey Shard skyscraper was completed at the end of 2012, and has since seen the opening of a number of restaurants, all with panoramic views. (A Shangri-La hotel on levels 34 to 52 is also anticipated for sometime next year – click here for more information.)
Located on the 32nd floor is Rainer Becker’s Oblix (click here to read our review, which began welcoming diners in May, while Hong Kong-based
Aqua Group launched its Chinese fine-dining establishment Hutong (also on the 32nd floor) in June. A month later, its second restaurant, Aqua, on level 31 began operations. The venue now serves food all day, from breakfast to dinner – and, most recently, afternoon tea.
THE RESTAURANT
The Shard towers over London Bridge station and the entrance to the restaurants is accessed from St Thomas Street (down a set of escalators from outside the station). Inside the building, staff will direct you to a lift, which will whizz you up to level 31. Upon exiting, you will find yourself stepping into an expansive bar with a three-storey-high, glass-walled atrium with sweeping views of the city.
When I turned up to meet my friend at 6.30pm on a weekday evening, I found it difficult to locate him among the sea of grey suited businessmen sitting at tables or ordering gin-based cocktails at the bar. In fact, it was so crowded, that we ended up having a pre-prandial upstairs in Hutong, where we got a seat by the window looking down on the River Thames and the Gherkin (no great thanks to the grumpy waiter who didn’t consider the place open to drinkers at this time of the day).
At 7pm we walked down the open set of stairs back to Aqua, and turned right to where the restaurant is positioned. We were given a warm welcome by the maître d’ and an excellent table for two by one of the west-facing sloping glass windows, just in time for sunset.
It couldn’t have been more perfect, with the London Eye, St Paul’s Cathedral and the trains rolling into the station all spread out before us, and the sky changing from orange, to pink, to blue then black.
After bumping into socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson en route, I later discovered that the washrooms are a highlight in themselves, as they too have panoramic views and cinematic lighting that glints off luxurious polished surfaces.
The restaurant was busy, not only with celebrities (the delicate, low lighting provides plenty of anonymity) but with several large groups. This, I found, meant service was a little slow – we’d ordered a bottle of wine to come after our aperitif, but we had to attract a waitress's eye to ask her what happened to it after it didn’t arrive. Upon leaving, the maître d’ was, however, apologetic.
THE FOOD
The Shard serves “innovative contemporary British cuisine” created by executive chef Anthony Garlando (a protégé of Pierre Gagnaire), with an emphasis on provenance – the menu picks out certain ingredients and where they have been sourced from.
For example, there is beef from Galloway and Longhorn cattle reared in Yorkshire, salt marsh lamb from the Rhug Estate in Wales, Cheddar cheese from Ayrshire, shellfish and hand-dived scallops from Portland in Dorset, and salad and shoots from Grow Up charity aquaponic farm in Bermondsey.
There is a good selection of about a dozen starters, with options including green pea custard with seared foie gras, Jersey Royal salad and Horn of Plenty sauce (£14), and poached veal tongue with British asparagus, smoked beef shin, lentil dressing, herbs and sprouts (£10).
I went for the golden beetroot broth infused with orange with a scattering of red quinoa, Norfolk beets and steamed red turnips (£7.50) – as you can see from the picture it was pretty, but there really wasn’t much to it. In fact, it was lighter than light, but no doubt popular with dieting fashionistas.
My companion tried the grilled octopus and Scottish mackerel with tomato sorbet, pickled shallots, aubergine dressing and crispy potato (£11.50), but he said it sounded nicer on paper and wasn’t sure that the mackerel was as fresh as it should have been as tasted quite fishy.
The mains are divided into two sections – from the sea and from the land. We both opted for meals from the latter section, though fish options include the delicious sounding lobster and lemon balm with Barwheys Cheddar, spinach and ginger ravioli, mango and redcurrant salad (£34), and Dover sole (on the bone) with Iberico ham, cuttlefish, board beans and organic Luscombe Devon cider sauce (£26).
I ordered the dark, intensely green nettle and chervil pearl barley risotto with charred pencil leek, confit lemon and Bermondsey salted ricotta. It was rich and savoury, with the grains pleasantly chewy – unlike any other risotto I have ever had, but I liked it.
My friend had less luck with his 250g Yorkshire rib-eye steak served with shallot jam, carrot and horseradish remoulade, watercress salad and Bernaise sauce (£33), which he described as overly salty and didn’t exactly wow with the presentation.
I liked how spotlights from above illuminated side dishes in the centre of the table (steamed greens with Blond raisins, almonds and sherry gastrique; mashed potato with whey butter and beef jus) but still allowed for plenty of darkness to see the view at night. There wasn’t much scope for Instagram though.
We had no room for dessert, though did wonder who and what “David’s mess” (Guava sorbet, fresh raspberry and vanilla Chantilly) was all about. Instead, we finished with another cocktail each, though the waitress got the order wrong to begin with, bringing a different drink for my companion to what he’d wanted.
I thoroughly enjoyed my appropriately named Skyline Cooler (£12.50), though, made with Ketel One Citoren, Cinzano, absinthe, toasted fennel seeds, apple and lemon juice, and elderflower cordial. Just the right ratio of sweetness to zest to alcohol.
This month (October), Aqua started serving afternoon tea for £29.50 (or £40 with a glass of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label champagne). I also look forward to going back to try one of the unusual-sounding tea-based cocktails, or even one the bar’s breakfast concoctions, particularly the Morning Elixir made with Kellogg's cornflake and almond milk syrup, raspberries, Chambord, Cariel vanilla vodka, egg whites and mandarin bitters.
VERDICT
The food and service doesn’t quite live up the stunning setting and unparalleled views of London, but the cocktails are well worth sampling.
FACT FILE
- OPENING HOURS Breakfast: 7am-10.30am; lunch 12pm-2.45pm; dinner 6pm-11pm. Atrium bar 12pm-1am, no reservation necessary. Dress code is smart casual (no sportswear, shorts or flip flops).
- PRICES Starters range from £7.50 to £15, while mains are £16 to £34. Two-course set lunches cost £23, while three courses are £28.
- CONTACT Aqua, Level 31, the Shard, 31 St Thomas Street; tel +44 (0)20 3011 1256; aquashard.co.uk
Jenny Southan
