Skylon

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

This was without a doubt, the worst value for money I have had in a long time.

Had Sunday lunch there yesterday, and you can't fault the location in the Royal Festival Hall. But there the accolades end.

A small glass of 2007 Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc was £7.50. I'll repeat that, £7.50. For a wine that costs eight quid in the offie.

To compound matters my starter of gravadlax was ok, but small and the accompanying soda bread was both nothing of the sort and stale. The main course of potato ravioli was slop, simply slop. A tin of Heinz best would have been better. The icing on the cake was that these mains arrived cold, and when taken away came back the worse for around three minutes in a microwave.

The creme brulee for dessert was bland and cold too.

So, all in a lunch that would not pass muster as prison food cost us 90 quid.

This place is a disgrace and D&D should take a long hard look at itself over allowing food of such low quality out of its kitchens.
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David Jenkins - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Monday, March 10, 2008

Went to Skylon last night, and the experience wasn't great. Our monosyllabic waiter was so rude that we assumed it must have been some kind of joke. When we asked what the grilled fish of the day was, he said "cod" and when we asked how it was done, he said "grilled". He forgot half our order, was abrupt with us, and when the bill came he ran it through twice, effectively taking the full amount twice off the credit card. When we complained he said - and I'm not kidding "Don't worry, it's fine" as if it was our job to reassure him! Then the manager came and said he couldn't reverse the second charge on the card for 24 hours as the system wouldn't allow it. And we said that's not good enough, so he miraculously manged to do it immediately.

The starters were good, but my main of "cod" "grilled" was tasteless.

Of course the view over the river is lovely, but it's sad that because of its location, the skylon will always be busy when it doesnt actually deserve to do very well.
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Heather
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Thursday, February 21, 2008

I took some friends from New York here just after Christmas. We had drinks at the bar first of all which turned out to be the best bit of the evening. The moment we were seated at our table it all started to go horribly wrong. We were offered to start off with a glass of champagne which didn't arrive. We had to ask three times to get munus given to us. It was just as hard to get our orders taken. Although there were lots of waiting staff they appeared more interested in eachother than the customers. Later, when the champagne had arrived one of our party asked for another glass and was given a glass of Chablis. - the staff don't listen.Like many other reviewers, a lot of the food served was served cold. I had a starter of an omelette and apart from being cold had no seasoning - you would think it hard to get a dish like this wrong but it was awful.

When the second course came I had no cutlery - again the waiting staff were useless. Two of the mains were cold. One of us ordered cheese and the waiting staff thrust a knife in her direction holding it by the blade! The cheeses as it turned out were not complementary and not a proper balanced selection.The tables there are too close together. At one point the staff were clearing a table behind me and managing to jab me repeatedly in the back - absolutely no idea that this mattered and certainly no apology.

It seems a glass of champagne is the standard fall back position when they get complaints. we got one and as others have pointed out this is just not good enough. It was the worst restaurant meal I have had in over ten years not just because the food and service were terrible but because what was supposed to be a relaxing evening became more and more stressful. Hideous!
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Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Monday, January 21, 2008

My parents came to London for my mother's birthday. Upon my siter's reccomendation her and I booked a table and informed rstaurant it was a special occasion. I have never been there before although my sister has and she said it was quite good but the view and ambience were the main USPs

In retrospect I couldnt agree more. The dining experience was doffing it's cap towards something special - unortunately the seemingly puerile and penguin-like hoards of staff in their Conran designed outfits seemed to be the first sign that the view and excllent lighting, central bar atrium and high cielings were there to detract from the food.

Hugely overstylised, over presented on high-ridged bowls that make eating an unpleasant sight for your dining partners and an irritating encumberance for myself. I felt like a child in a Bernie Inn struggling to manouver my utensils around an oversize chicken-in-a-basket! Style and presentation is most welcome but not at the embarrasment of the punter.

My sister's main courses was stone cold and thus sent back -TWICE!

my mother escaped on her birthday with her Eggs benedict being sent back just the once - i ask you how can you serve that cold?! When it leaves the kitchen it seems that the dash to the table is too far and the air con and faltering badly trained staff all conspire to ensure that you are lucky if you get food served hot. i must admit that mine and my father's dishes were ok but not piping hot - perhaps because of the style of the dish. This inevitably meant that w all had main courses and different stages of the eveneing and that my sister ended up with no main course at all. Staff apologised not quite profusely but did make a point of knocking her dish off the bill and serving us unrequested glass of cheap champagne each as an apology. This type of damage limitation galls me - we didn't want champagne and the whole dining experienece was completely ruined. no attempt to serve us all at the same time or dinks whilst we waited for them to rectify things. Too many waiting staff in total and per table -incoherent lack of communication and a maitre d who i spoke to after and who was pleasant but hardly managed himslef never mind the staff. Too much intrusive 'service' - fawning over you but the food being cold is a poor equation. The place pushes for too many covers and in its slight defense one could argue that there is a certain inevitability about this place - how can you get it right when you have so many covers and too many staff. my cod on puy lentils was pleasant and a nice dish with reakl texture and flavour but underseasoned - another basic error that is NEVER acceptable - schoolboy error on behalf of the kitchen. My dessert was rice pudding with cinnamon ice-cream. i am not a big dessert person but was relishing this. The service issue reared it's ugly head again and so when it arrived it the ice cream not being served on the side was a single scoop on the top of the pudding on a strange contained dish thus the ice cream had melted and the whole dish became a gloopy mix of flavours, temperatures and textures. Ill-thought out dish that could so easily have been wonderful with a little more practical thought. Wine was OK i suppose. Waiting staff leant over diners and served on random sides - This place was a crystallisation of the aspirational trendy overprivced bandwagon-jumping Metropolitan restaurant that manages to get away with murder bc of the stunning location and congenial and uber-cool space/decor. Unfortunately crap service cold food and skinny young hostesses prancing around in heels are not cool! These girls clearly have not eaten for a month - I know the type - an infantile diet of sweets and chocolate, cocktails, low fat packet food - I want the people who serve and cook for me to understand, be passionate about and have a soul for food. This place is about as soulful as a mariah carey screeching ballad - a diva with some redeeming features and high potential but nasueating delivery and contempt for the audienc! In it's desparate attempt to increase turnover and be the happening place to meet it forgets what it is there for. This place has a clear identity crisis. I shan't be returning until they resolve staff isues - unlikely as that is.
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Lol Grant
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Friday, January 18, 2008

I took my husband here to celebrate his birthday. It was wonderful stepping into this airy space with its swish, clean lines and muted colours, after braving the slashing rain and gusty winds on the South Bank. The panorama is magnificent, always request a table with a view. The stylish staff were competent, if not a bit brusque, perhaps their brief being to emulate continental efficiency and aplomb rather than hearty good humour. The starters and mains were a gustatory delight (simple, sophisticated and cooked to perfection) but the desert was slightly disappointing, lacking imagination or any particular flair. This was slightly ameliorated by the tasty tidbits sent courtesy of the kitchen. Interesting variety of wines by the glass and no condescension when ordering this way, or when ordering non-alcoholic beverages. All in all an expensive but fine dining experience, with a spectacular view of the Thames to boot.
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Sam Smith - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Monday, January 14, 2008

I had lunch at Skylon with my parents today.

The staff were attentive, the room is impressive and the views are great.

The disappointment came with the food.

I had booked a table for 3 at the fine dining restaurant thirty days ago. Despite a call from Skylon the day before confirming the reservation, we arrived to find out that the restaurant was closed and that we had been allocated a table at the brasserie.

The staff endeavoured to give us a table by the window, which was nice.

The food can be described as follows:

Starters:

Gravadlax: Not really gravadlax. Ordinary smoked salmon. Portion extremely small

Jerusalem artichoke soup: £6.50 Overly creamy and bland

Lobster bisque: £9.50 Watery and insipid

Spelt rissoto: Bland and tasteless. We sent it back and we ordered the eggs skylon. The staff were pleased to comply and the eggs took 30 second to be laid on the table. They were cold

Roast beef: Cold (£18 and no better than average roast beef found in a pub)

Saddle of venison: Cold and ridiculously small portion for £21

We decided not to order dessert as we lost faith in the restaurant. We ordered three expressos instead.

The staff were happy to not charge for the expressos. They acknowledged that the mains came out cold.

It looks as if the dishes are prepared and then reheated when an order is placed. This is not what we expected.

Bill came to a total of £120 for 3 people including an ordinary bottle of red Rioja (£26)

Not worth it.

Summary: Bland and tasteless brasserie style food
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jose miguel
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Sunday, December 30, 2007