On Friday evening my wife and I were fortunate enough to be able to visit the Aqua restaurant at the Shard in London.
My previous dining experience at a high end restaurant was heavily floored and needed to be erased from my memory.
This, however, was no a let down by any means. This is quite simply a "dining experience". Thirty something floors up above London. The twinkling ocean of lights down below were spectacular. My photo does not do it justice but I didn't was to spend my evening behind my camera-phone.
For starters I had the Salmon Confit and Mrs P had the partridge terrine. Both dishes were nice. Not mind blowing, not amazing, but nice.
Our main courses of Belly of Blytheburgh Pork for my wife and saddle of Lamb for me arrived next. Again, these were both delicious, nice and tasty. Not amazing, not phenomenal, but nice.
You'll notice a pattern occurring here. The meal and the service were not first class. It was very good, but not the excellence one would come to expect from a menu in this price bracket. But then..... the views! Our table was sat right at the window overlooking London in all of its nighttime glory. This was worth the bill. Once our three desserts arrived (Just a thing we do) The realisation that the view is included in the bill. This menu, anywhere else would be 30% cheaper for sure. The feeling of luxury from this loud and trendy restaurant is almost a hit. There was a buzz in the air and the dark and moody lighting within the restaurant gave an unrivaled cool ambiance.
There were moments where I'd wished for a little more lighting within the restaurant but I guess this is to highlight the London skyline.
Yes, I would recommend it. The food is over priced, but the view is priceless.
http://aquashard.co.uk/