Savvier visitors will know that you can skip the queue and contemplate the view in style by booking into the 37th floor restaurant Fenchurch, which offers an elevated dining experience in more ways than one. Turn up with plenty of time to spare (it's a bit of a scrum to get into a lift), request a window table when booking and drink in dizzying views with your cocktails.
Under new head chef George Farriugia the dining experience at Fenchurch feels as special as the surroundings. Combining classic French cooking with Mediterranean flair and topnotch British ingredients, the menu is small, well curated and full of crowd pleasers.
A steak tartar starter is a satisfying balance between the fleshy Ayrshire beef and earthy young beetroot and red sorrel, while the crisp Burfurd Brown egg bursts with a sunshine organge yolk, undercut by the sharpness of watercress puree.
Then the Herdwick lamb was perfectly pink and juicy while Loch Duart Salmon is doused in butter. Both dishes cut the right balance between indulgence and elegence. At around £28 - £36 per main, it's not cheap, but the flavours and setting make you feel justified in pushing the boat out.
Service feels old fashioned in a good way - glasses are never empty, waiters appear to take orders and offer up amuse bouches as if by magic, but never seem to interrupt the flow of conversation between diners.
The whole experience has an air of special occasion. And even the most wisened of Londoners will enjoy seeing their city from a new perspective.
| What | Fenchurch Restaurant, The Sky Garden review |
| Where | Walkie Talkie, 20 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Monument (underground) |
| Price | ££££ |
| Website | Click here to book now |
