Fenchurch
Bar and Grill, Sky Garden, 20 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 3BY
07/01/2015
She
said: The infamous walkie-talkie is open. We booked the Fenchurch Bar and Grill
which was billed as the refined dining location set on the 37th
floor. We marched up to 20 Fenchurch Street reception only to be told the Sky
Garden entrance is located at a side entrance around the corner. The
receptionist had better get used to giving those instructions to wayward Sky
Garden visitors. There was a short line at the ground floor reception to Sky
Garden with two people seemingly sitting at the reception desk but only one
functioning (the other remained fixated on a computer screen). When we reached
the front of the line the supposedly functioning receptionist also decided to
type on her screen for a few minutes before attending to us. We were then given
a security pass and told to move towards the security check. The security check
was equally silly and po-faced. Not the best welcome and anyone planning a
business lunch will need to factor in extra time for all the faffing. We
finally entered a lift which took us to the 35th floor. Okay, now I
can wow. The lifts opened onto a vast, jaw-dropping glass dome with the best
views of London I have ever seen. Aside from a modest, circular bar, the rest
of the space offers chic seating and plenty of room to amble. This level is
flanked by a cascade of greenery and we were told to walk up to the top of a
long flight of stairs to the Fenchurch. I oohed, and gasped at the breathtaking
views all the way up until we entered the restaurant. Confusion followed. Who
creates a fine dining restaurant in such a location to then not offer the very
views the building is expected to showcase? Fenchurch is a chic looking space
but the majority of tables look onto a steel and glass roofing frame and the
floor below rather than out to the spectacular London skyline. There are about
four tables along the rear side of the restaurant which do offer views and we
were luckily seated at one of these. The menu was good and the food excellent.
My Jerusalem soup divine and the sea bass also gets top marks. Everything was
presented beautifully. There was a bit of a heavy push on getting us to
purchase alcohol (first cocktails, then wine and even a champagne trolley
pulling up) which made me wonder how non-drinking clients would cope but
otherwise the dining experience was superb. We had a look in the Darwin
Brasserie on the way down, which is billed as a more casual dining experience
and it was certainly busier, noisier and a more informal space. But again Darwin
did not benefit from the setting, even if the views were marginally better than
Fenchurch with it being a little further down from the roof. This is therefore
an odd review to write, as Fenchurch was a lovely restaurant in terms of food,
service and décor and the walk through the bar space is very cool but I just
don’t get why neither restaurant actually capitalises on the location?
He
said: The Walkie Talkie is the ugliest skyscraper built in London after the
Shreking monstrous BT tower. From a distance it is so hideously ungainly and
lumpy that it could have only been built by someone's mate. And, by modern
restaurant standards, getting into Fenchurch is about as pleasant as clearing
security at Kabul airport: metal detector, and slow credential checks in a very
noisy and poorly designed entrance. But once the elevator doors open on the
magical Sky Garden all is forgiven. The view is breathtaking, no doubt the best
in town. And while high buildings are generally small and awkward spaces
at the top, the Walkie Talkie's horrifically bloated upper floors become, seen
from inside, a vast cathedral of steel and glass, every window filled with the
mesmerising miracle of London. Tear yourself away from the view and behold this
giant greenhouse packed with vegetation, like a botanical Noah's ark In the sky.
And set in the centre of all this, three eateries stacked on top of each other,
in ascending order of price: cafe, brasserie, restaurant but, paradoxically and
because of the weird architecture, with a descending quality of view. We
met for lunch in the restaurant, our table set at one end of the room, and
giving us the best view over the city; tables on the long side of the room have
practically no view because of the way the steel supports stack along the
curved roof. But for me that was the only false note: flavours were excellent,
portion size spot on, and the plating quite beautiful. The price was absolutely
fair; Fenchurch could certainly have charged more, so definitely get there
before they do. Me I'll go to the cafe next time: it's all standard stuff,
paninis and brownies but in an amazing setting and at Pret prices.
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