Aqua Shard – Review

On floor 31 of the iconic Shard, a staircase angles down from the lift floor, offering as dramatic an entrance as any London restaurant. Sure, the smart but exotic oval bar on the right is impressive with its test-tube lights hanging from the ceiling. And sure, the dining space offers elegant austerity with its tidy seating plan full of mahogany tables and comfy brown chairs. But no one’s under any illusion that the star of this show, the real drama, comes from the view which stretches infinitely across North, West and East London. 

With our backs to the main dining space, our table towers above London Bridge for a sensation similar to sitting on a private skyscraper balcony. It’s a thrilling vantage point but definitely not for those who suffer from vertigo. The closest sights like HMS Belfast, old Billingsgate Market, and Tower of London feel within touching distance whilst the Isle of Dogs shivers to our right like a semi-accurate murmur of the city in front. Unlike the higher 22 Bishopsgate Gordon Ramsay restaurants (on view opposite), where you’re so high the city feels strangely removed, here, the city feels like a living, breathing organism. 

It’s the hottest day on record in June, and the commuters and their footwear are melting into London Bridge’s tarmac below. Aqua Shard’s ‘British Icons’ cocktail list includes the Windsor Whisper (a tribute to the late Queen), Freddie’s Love (a tribute to the lead singer of the other late Queen) and Fleming’s Remedy ( a tribute to the inventor of penicillin rather than James Bond).  We ummm and ahhh but opt to cool off with an Aqua Shard Bellini, which is sweet but refreshing and matches the sun’s slow-changing light. 

The Poached Portland Crab is one for Instagram fanatics. Served in a silver crab-shaped bowl which might have been purloined from a Caribbean pirates’ treasure trove, dry ice is poured at the table for a lengthy and hypnotic swirl-fest which renders the starter momentarily Leviathanesque. Pineapple zest, baby basil, and a crab jelly underneath the white meat all add flavour. My Grilled and glazed octopus might be visually less dramatic, but it still packs a colourful punch and is served in a fennel salsa with dill. Cod roe and sliced cumquats also add to the grilled, tender tentacles.

For mains, we continue the fish theme. The visual vibrance of my friend’s Roasted Chalk Stream Trout is initially hidden by its pleasingly crunchy skin, but once that’s off, the trout is less fleshy pink, more a beguiling sweet potato orange. Super succulent, it melts in the mouth and is cured in beetroot. My Wild Cornish Sea Bass is just as good. Both come with al dente vegetables but we add delicate Steamed English Asparagus and Jersey Royal Potatoes to the mix, all happily washed down by a glass of La Cadence Rouge, Languedoc-Roussillon. 

The view from Aqua Shard is spectacular during both day and night. But the smartest time to book, surely, is an hour before sunset so, assuming the London weather is gracious enough, you get to experience three visuals for the price of one. Today the sun sets with a rare fieriness that Monet would have been excited by. It’s a slow and hypnotic setting which leaves a lingering glow as lights flicker on across the city and the darkness slowly envelops. 

We discuss dessert with our waiter, Fenil, who’s been a constant source of information throughout and works well with Adham the restaurant’s affable general manager. My friend takes it easy with three scoops of chocolate, raspberry and vanilla ice cream, all simple but pure in flavour as no-nonsense ice cream should be. I’m tempted by the Caramel Custard Tart but, after further discussion with Fenil, opt for the Tuma Yellow Chocolate Mousse, which somewhat defies its description but ends up being my favourite of the night. Less a fluffy thing defined by air bubbles, more a thick caramel ooze, this is a delight either way. Mini sliced bananas, banana sorbet and a subtly spiced rum centre commingle for what reminds of an exotic interpretation of a Mars Bar.  It’s gooey but not runny and just when I was starting to relax into the dish’s easy decadence, space dust pops in my mouth. Going out with a bang; a fitting finale for the evening’s high-flying theatrics.