Apologies in advance for the photos, all taken with an aging iPhone 4 in less than perfect lighting conditions...
The Shard from Bermondsey Street The Shard is likely to become one of London's most iconic buildings - if it hasn't achieved that status already. Not yet fully opened, and yet, commandeering the London Bridge skyline, it's already achieving a reputation as the the place to see and be seen.
We arranged to meet some Chinese-food-loving friends for a lunch at Hutong, which features at 88 in the National Restaurant Awards' list of the UK's top 100 restaurants. Impressive given it's only been open a matter of months. And with 88 and auspiciously good luck number in China, we had high hopes.
Reading the reviews, it was clear that we should expect eyewatering prices, spectacular views and knowledgeable service. What struck us in the end is actually how little the staff seemed to want to take our money.
We arranged to meet some Chinese-food-loving friends for a lunch at Hutong, which features at 88 in the National Restaurant Awards' list of the UK's top 100 restaurants. Impressive given it's only been open a matter of months. And with 88 and auspiciously good luck number in China, we had high hopes.
Reading the reviews, it was clear that we should expect eyewatering prices, spectacular views and knowledgeable service. What struck us in the end is actually how little the staff seemed to want to take our money.
The Wishing Tree inside. We weren't granted a wish. We'd booked the 2.30 lunch slot, on the basis that we'd get to see both the day time views and the dusky evening views of lit-up London. Arranging to meet at 2 for a drink, our friends arrived first and were almost turned away from the bar Aqua Shard on the 31st floor, supposedly because it was too busy. Indicating they'd just wait for us on the stairway, they were quickly ushered into the bar after all, where a table was mysteriously found. It took a while to get served so they orderd a bottle of Veuve Cliquot (nice friends we have!) so that we could get a drink immediatlely on arrival.
No overcooked shredding here. The duck is delicately carved at the table. The skin was one of the best I've ever tasted! Moving upstairs to the restaurant we were met with a bit of a queue at the coat check and then greeted by the warm and friendly Irish David, the front of house manager, formerly of Sketch, whom we remembered from last December. He, of course, claimed to remember us, though I imagine that's the Irish gift of the gab. Needless to say when we sat down it was considerably later than 2:30. We started to order. We had in mind the Peking Duck and some Dim Sum as these dishes are not always available in our provincial Chinese restaurants. "Perhaps you only want half a duck?" No, we are four people so we'll take a full one. "I wouldn't order any more than 3 dim sum". Erm, okay then. Can we order more if we need it? "The kitchen is closing so no, you can't order anything else later if you want it".
Do these people actually want our money? It didn't feel like it, and we were dissuaded from ordering additional main courses...
Do these people actually want our money? It didn't feel like it, and we were dissuaded from ordering additional main courses...
That looks a lot like a mushroom to me... Aside from this, our waitress was knoweldgeable and friendly, perhaps aided by my friend's ability to converse in basic Cantonese. However, it's unforgivable in a restaurant of this standard that when a client asks if a dish contains mushrooms (because of an allergy) a sharing plate is brought to the table resplendant with Chinese fungus. Luckily enough it was easy to avoid, in the large pieces that decorated the very spicy monkfish dish. That dish was the standout best by far. Still, "picking around" is not always an option for allergy sufferers and it would have been a shame to miss out on this dish when an ingredient could so easily have been omitted.
Was it our fault the duck was cold and hard to eat? Sui Mai were passable. Wagyu beef puffs disappeared before I could capture them... We'd been guided to only order 2 main courses, since our duck (the part not served in the pancakes) would also make an appearance as a main. We opted to avoid having it re-cooked in a stir fry as reviews had led us to believe it became overdone and rubbery. However being served chunks of bone to gnaw on didn't exactly seem like a perfect alternative, especially as it had become cold. However, what was worse was the arrival of virtually all the dishes at the same time (with the exception of the rice, which we had to ask for twice). We were surprised not to see the dim sum before the duck, and we had barely scratched the surface of the duck's delicious amber, lacquered, flame roasted skin when main dishes started to arrive. This led to a serious lack of space at our table, and dishes going cold, with crispy shredded beef actually becoming more like soggy batter. (Was there really any beef inside?) As I reflect on this, in our time at Sketch last year, we also felt rushed through our meal. Perhaps the staff are trained this way?
Inside the restaurant The duck was divine, but at £58 it needed to be. The monkfish was also amazing. The service, and some of the other dishes were less than perfect. The dim sum wagyu beef puffs, mind you, were a moment of heaven all of their own.
I greatly enjoyed pairing a Grand Cru d"Alsace Gewurztraminer with the meal. (Sorry, no more details available as I forgot to photograph the bottle and there's no wine list on the web site. It was £61).
I was unsure how my friends would take to this departure from the crisp, acidic and citrusy whites which they drink as a norm. The scent of lychee and the full bodied texture of the wine won everyone over and matched up well to the variety of flavours on the table. However, we finished our wine and mineral water and weren't offered any more. We weren't offered any tea at the end of the meal. We'd been warned on booking that we could have the table for two hours, yet after 90 minutes the restaurant around us was virtually empty, and I felt like we were keeping staff back from having a break. They didn't want us to linger.
It was a good meal, and yes my iphone photos don't do justice to the view. The staff knew their stuff and were friendly, but somehow it all felt slightly wrong. This just didn't live up to my expectations of a restaurant in it's class and despite some rather lovely food, it'll probably be my only visit.
I greatly enjoyed pairing a Grand Cru d"Alsace Gewurztraminer with the meal. (Sorry, no more details available as I forgot to photograph the bottle and there's no wine list on the web site. It was £61).
I was unsure how my friends would take to this departure from the crisp, acidic and citrusy whites which they drink as a norm. The scent of lychee and the full bodied texture of the wine won everyone over and matched up well to the variety of flavours on the table. However, we finished our wine and mineral water and weren't offered any more. We weren't offered any tea at the end of the meal. We'd been warned on booking that we could have the table for two hours, yet after 90 minutes the restaurant around us was virtually empty, and I felt like we were keeping staff back from having a break. They didn't want us to linger.
It was a good meal, and yes my iphone photos don't do justice to the view. The staff knew their stuff and were friendly, but somehow it all felt slightly wrong. This just didn't live up to my expectations of a restaurant in it's class and despite some rather lovely food, it'll probably be my only visit.
I'm afraid you'll have to go yourself if you want to see the best of the views!
Mulled cider and friends Fortunately, cozy and unhurried service was on offer at The Garrison pub, in nearby Bermondsey Street. We enjoyed dessert wine, single malts and mulled cider, while planning the rest of our assault on London's nightlife. More of that in another post coming soon.
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