Skylon

We went to Skylon on Friday night, and I have to say we had a fantastic time. I am amazed to read these negative reviews, as our experience was faultless. The service was ideal - not pushy, obsequious, bored or monosyllabic- but polite, helpful and friendly. The food was melt in the mouth gorgeous, and the cocktails equally lovely. We have already decided to return with friends.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

I came away from Skylon very impressed. A business lunch with a difficult subject to discuss and the venue and menu made it an awful lot easier!

Absolutely beautiful food and wine and a great view to boot! Great presentation and not overlooked by other diners.

The service was excellent and the waiter seemed to know his wine, albeit the more expensive ones.
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matthew
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Two of us went to Skylon 'cold', because we like the view over the river. We ate in the restaurant (where the only complaint one could possibly make about the charming and efficient service was that if anything it was too attentive) and ate from the set price menu, which was absolutely delicious and very good value (£20). The food was superb, the presentation immaculate, verging on performance art occasionally (which of course was fun), and the surroundings etc smart, a trifle subfusc, and pleasantly calm. The tables are well spaced apart, which is always a treat in a London restaurant.

The clientele was a mix of suits and others, so not oppressively business class. The wine is on the expensive side but the Verdicchio was gorgeous. We weren't hassled in any way to order more wine, more water, coffee, etc - and I would happily go back tomorrow and eat exactly the same food and be wow-ed all over again.
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Lizzie
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Thursday, June 05, 2008

Had lunch there today with 7 colleagues of mine....

Location and views are great. Deco is really nice. Food is good, but nothing exceptional

Service: well, I've never seen so many waiters standing and doing nothing while we waited for 50min for our pre-ordered starters and a further 45min to get the main course.

Really really not good service at all... I wanted to see for myself.... done! Never again!
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Thursday, May 22, 2008

I felt compelled to write a review about Skylon after reading the bad reviews it has received.

I made a very last minute booking for lunch at Skylon for four people just before christmas and was impressed by everything; the food, the service, the location and our table (next to the window). We spent the whole afternoon there because the atmosphere was perfect and the experience went down very well with all around the table, especially my client who is a big fan of good restaurants. All three courses were fantastic, the lemon sole I had was melt in the mouth, and the puddings were exceptional, my client quoted 'this is the best rice pudding I've ever tasted'. All in all I would, and have, on numerous occassions recommended Skylon and I also look forward to my next visit there.
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Leah Williams
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, May 21, 2008

I booked the Skylon as a treat for Dad's visit. I then read the reviews on this website and very nearly cancelled the booking.

I went with the preconceived notion that it was going to be a disaster.

It was not. The service was attentive and not overbearing. The food was perfectly proportioned and as expected (i.e. the hot dish was hot). The dessert was beautifully presented and delicious. The wine list was pricey but then what do people expect in a London restaurant? The vista was spectacular.

My comment is on reviews, go with an open mind. Don't be deterred by the comments on this website. A review is merely someone's opinion and can just be plain wrong, as evidenced by one casting director who auditioned Fred Astaire concluded, ‘can’t sing, can’t act, can dance a little.’
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Eleanor
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, April 24, 2008

Shambles. Had to wait ages for table, had three different (and equally clueless) waiters (eg, tried to re-fill wine glasses two minutes after pouring, when we hadn't consumed a drop, gave us new menus after we'd ordered, told us the specials twice...), starters OK, but all our main courses arrived stone cold after long wait (and this was on a semi-full Monday night). Complained, staff didn't seem particularly bothered, and three re-heated plates did appear after about 10 minutes - deeply unexciting plates at that, and not especially tasty. Were offered free desserts or coffee to compensate for woeful mains - we just wanted to get the hell out of there, so declined. Hilariously, bill arrived with whopping service charge, so we asked for it to be amended. The amended bill, plus credit card, sat on our table for 10 minutes as no one could be bothered to pick it up. Utter shambles. Don't bother - they have no idea what they are doing and the food isn't worth the effort. Oh and it was freezing in there, too - reminded me of a school assembly hall. We went to Skylon as one of our party had had a successful office Christmas meal there last year. Maybe if you're in a group, you have a window seat and the wine is flowing enough not to notice the food, service, etc. you'll have a good time. Quite frankly, taking an out-of-towner who was in London on business there was just really embarrassing.
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, April 22, 2008

We entertained a group of overseas clients at Skylon last night in a table of 11. We were initially frustrated in that the restaurant would only serve us from a short menu consisting 3 each of starters mains and deserts, and that initially they required us to choose our menu in advance (which we refused to do).

The venue is good, with the obvious fantastic views over the River and London. However we found the service to be extremely lackluster with waiting staff expert at looking down and avoiding work. The food was decidedly average, and we waited an hour between the main course and desert, and in the end were served our coffees prior to desert actually arriving! The quality of the food was OK at best.

I suppose we should have taken more account of previous reviews of Skylon - but to those thinking about going now, there are so many more fantastic places in London - it's just a shame that most of our restaurants with river views are so poor!
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danvan - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, April 22, 2008

I organised my boyfriend's 40th birthday party at the Skylon restaurant because i was allured by its beautiful interior design. However, my guests and I had the most appalling dining experience. And I felt extremely embarrassed for subjecting them to pay £35 each towards the food bill.

The standard of the food was not what we had expected from a restaurant like Skylon. Out of 20 people, no one had a positive thing to say about it - the comments ranged from the chicken "that tasted like processed meat" to the sticky toffee pudding "that was more like a rock as it was so hard to eat". As for the vegetarian menu, which I had, it was so bland that the pumpkin tortellini was left on my plate after only two bites.

If that was not enough the presentation of the meals left a lot to be desired for (including the birthday cake), the service was very slow, the drinks were delivered to the wrong persons on more than two occasions and the whole birthday party was spoilt by the lack of organisation of the staff, except one who tried his best to rescue the evening.

After raising my concerns with manager following the disastrous evening, I felt that there was no incentive for us to go EVER back to Skylon again.
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Maria Daluz
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 0
Monday, April 21, 2008

Went to Skylon last night, starting at the bar. Obviously the other people who have eaten here recently did not get off the the right start and that should be with one of their cocktails. The bar manager steered us in the right direction - not too sweet for me - a ginger number and a bellini for the lady!

We were dining in the Grill and not the restaurant side and were lucky enough to get a window table. The view over the Thames and London is stunning and the London Eye looks great at night.

My partner loved the menu and it has everything from light dishes all the way to the more hearty option like lamb shank which I opted for. Beautiful hunks of meat fell away from the bone that my girlfirend tasted and almost started to regret her more lady like option of Eggs 'Skylon' (poached egg, white crab and the not so innocent buttery hollandaise).

We found the service attentive but relaxed and overall thought Skylon was a hit! The place was pretty full also as when we tried to go back to the bar after our meal (my girlfriend had her eye on the dessert cocktails) it was standing only!
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Chris - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, April 09, 2008