Skylon

Had a good lunch at this great place with a beautiful view of the Thames in a not very interesting building. The restaurant inside looks good, upmarked. A lot of suits inside but still an informal atmosphere.
Welcomed by the staff we had a drink at the bar first and then moved to the restaurant where we had a very affordable set lunch which was of good value/​quality for this very decent price. Staff was extremely friendly.
The set menu had some seasonal items like game pie which was very good. Quantity of the food was sufficient. Suggested wines were good.

The Southbank Centre divides opinion architecturally, but it’s brutalist exterior is a disguise for a softer, more rounded interior, with polished wooden banisters, high ceilings and functional light fittings reminding you of the primary schools of your youth.
It was here that we gathered to toast a friend’s 40^th birthday at the upper level Skylon restaurant. A carefully selected table at the window afforded us splendid views over the Thames and the north bank.
We were well attended by the sommelier and our waiter, with the first round of drinks swiftly arriving at our table. Nicely at ease now, we perused the menu, having decided already to eschew starters to make room for a potential dessert option.
The tasting menu looked very appealing, but requires a full wallet, so we plumped for a la carte options from a menu stacked with fish dishes — I selected the Mallard option and we added a couple of carbohydrate side dishes — thick cut chips and mash. It did feel a little odd to see chips hiding on our table alongside the notably more sophisticated main dishes.
All four of the main dishes were well received, although my mallard choice was definitely the most substantial in volume. The dessert choice was now a requirement, rather than a luxury!
As it was a birthday, there was an extremely well decorated chocolate sauce plate for our guest of honour — a touch of class there.
Glasses of champagne, a bottle of red, four mains and desserts took us slightly north of £250, so it’s not cheap ears by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a price worth paying for fabulous fare, splendid service and a super setting.
One for a special occasion.

I gave this restaurant 5 stars because of its value. The food is first rate. The service is first rate. The location is outstanding. It’s a fine dining experience in almost anyone’s book. But the pre-​theatre menu is such a bargain for the combination of quality and service and location. The a la carte menu is priced appropriately, so if you’re not doing the pre-​theatre price, you’ll pay what you would expect. But what a gem of a restaurant for tourists looking to have a nice dinner near the south bank, or for someone trying to save a few quid on a nice dinner experience (that’s me!).

The location of this place is amazing, right off the thymes river… And it was beautiful and the food and drinks were amazing.
Great service. Great experience all around. I highly recommend!!!

I’m giving this 3 stars because the venue is great and so is the décor, especially on a summer’s evening.
The food however was ordinary. I didn’t think the food had any taste, it was pretty ordinary. I had salmon to start and the hake for mains — neither of which got me excited. The oversized bed of (what at least tasted like) tinned creamed spinach was definitely not ideal and made worse by the fact that the hake dish had no sauce or jus? so was pretty bland and dry.
We were also in a group of 11 and had to pre order our food. Who does that? Especially in a restaurant if this size!

The restaurant is located in the Southbank Centre but easy to miss out. I must note that they provide excellent service. The staff was so helpful and polite what meats the expectations. I cannot say the same for the menu. Especially set menu offers limited selection. Duck liver is a good option for starter. Beef was juicy so it hit the spot for me. It has also wonderful view by overlooking Thames. I recommend this restaurant to anyone who looks for a special dine out near Thames.

Toller Ausblick, höfliches Personal.
Das stylische, laute Lokal liegt in einer Konzert– oder Musicalhalle, das Gebäude scheint nur temporär, dementsprechend improvisiert sind der Vorraum mit den Toiletten. Es ist wie eine große Halle, etwa am Flughafen.
Die Vorspeise war gut, der Hauptgang ungenießbar. Eine Entenbrust, sehr zäh und sehr blutig zugleich. Der Nachtisch war OK, konnte es aber unmöglich wieder gut machen.
Ich war eingeladen, und möchte gar nicht wissen was das gekostet hat!

I’ve worked in Waterloo for 2 years now, I go to the Southbank Centre all the time. But I’ve never been to this restaurant, I always seemed to forget it when I was planning special occasions. Sometimes you just want to see a part of London that isn’t right next to work!
But this time it was a old friend’s retirement meal and I saw an opportunity. So I booked in here at the grill — there are the 2 sides to the restaurant and frankly the other side looked incredibly overpriced.
Reservation no problems, got there early and got coats checked in (I enjoy the poker chip as the token). So of course what were we to do with half an hour before our reservation? To the bar! We were seated quickly, the waitress was friendly and the atmosphere was relaxed but still a bit upmarket. Always nice.
So we were seated at our table, with a view over the Southbank across the Thames — personally I don’t think you can bit a view like that on a sunny evening in London. One of our party was gluten intolerant and straightaway the waiter was pointing out the issues on the menu and served 3 different varieties of gluten free bread to start (I was forced to put in that there were 3 varieties, she was that impressed!). Menu had a nice variety of choice, with mains between £12 and £25. I had duck terrine and chutney to start, really tasty and good flavour. Then followed tuna steak cooked pink for main with lemon butter sauce and steamed broccoli — really fresh and well cooked, I was more than happy!
Now normally I would be all over the dessert menu, and the sound of Bailey’s crème brulee was pretty damn tempting. But I refrained (must be on a health kick!) and was satisfied with £40 per person for 2 courses, a bottle and a half of wine each and a pretty amazing view over the Thames. Win!

Get a window seat and you’re laughing, wonderful views and for the money the food was pretty impressive. great for for a first date!

Fabulous cocktails. The manhattan is superb but they have a huge range. Fabulous views of the Thames. Never eaten but we’ll worth a visit

I’ve only been here for drinks in the bar area.
It has a nice and swanky vibe and drinks don’t seem so expensive.
Mind you, I only drink soft drinks so I have no idea about alcoholic drinks.
Not everyone knows about this place despite its nice location. So I thought it would be worth recommending.
In my recent visit, we were welcomed by a very grumpy and whinny waiter. But we didn’t mind. It was so bad that it was good. We just laughed at him as a form of entertainment.

A street entrance that is slightly hidden, followed by an good walk down a corridor and a confused layout was overcome by a most pleasant welcome. Access is also available from inside the hall.
A relaxing room, not too crowded and great service.
Set lunch of 2 or 3 courses, at two different price levels helps considerably, and both had attractions. Well prepared good looking food well cooked and satisfying rather than inspired.
A good value 3 matching wines offer from a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic sommelier helped to make lunch an above average one.

I’d come for the drinks.
Not to say the food isn’t good, because it’s… good, but Skylon is one of those classic London places that rub me the wrong way. The food is good to OK, but the portion sizes are tiny and the prices way too high. Yes, it’s a classic London spot and yes it’s right on the river in tourist central, but that doesn’t mean you should be gouged. There are other places to eat, I would avoid it for dinner.
HOWEVER, and I cannot state this enough, for cocktails this place is wonderful. They’re inventive, they’re classic, they’re interesting, the cocktail menu is great, and you still get that opportunity to sit by the river and enjoy.
And the staff here is top notch, no question. They are on their game.
So moral of the story, ignore the dinner, stay for the drinks.

After working nearly 7 years across the river, finally had a meal at the Skylon grill. Gorgeous view during the day — probably even nicer at night. Interestingly enough can’t really get your mind off of work seeing your building in the backdrop! I had a bit of time before the the rest of the group arrived so I decided to check out what everyone was having and looked like burgers and fish and chips were the most popular dishes.
We had bread and butter to start. I hate getting such good bread and butter because you end up filling up on it! Luckily I decided to pass on the starter because I ordered the burger with a side of chips. It was a simple burger — no cheese and comes with a roasted tomato with a few stumps of pickles (gherkins) but it was surprisingly good! The thick cut chips were deliciously but way too much for one person — def recommend sharing.
Overall, it is a nice experience and didn’t think it was too touristy or gimicky.

A winning combination of ambience, service and location.
At least three separate pieces of great customer service: charm at the host stand; pleasant and relaxed at the bar, which was crowded and busy; exceptional in the restaurant, including moving us from a nice table on the banquette to a fabulous table by the window. And this review is NOT about the view. Which is exceptional itself.
The wine was great: Veuve Clicquot and an excellent Chassagne-​Montrachet.
And the food was also delicious: as my guest, my cousin put it: «Thank you so much for such an amazing, enlightening and all round fab night. And YUMMY dinner!!!»
She’s vegetarian; the menu didn’t look helpful but the servers adapted and her pasta was surpassing. My scallops and duck were outstanding.
And the ‘amuse Bouche’, a white tomato soup, was foamy and ridiculously good,
And yes, it would be worth it, just for the view. And in at sense it seems that this restaurant is a notable exception to the rule that the better the location or view, the worse the food…
I will be back. Often.
And yes, the view is amazing…

Great date night here! Got the taster menu, around 10 mini courses, each impeccable! This is a stuffy, fine dining experience so definitely don’t stroll up in your shorts and tees (as comfy as that would be ;) We had seats next to the window so fantastic views of the Thames — very romantic location! Only qualm is the staff were a little toooo over attentive — like folding my napkin when I went to the toilet seemed a bit much. Highly recommend for business gatherings or romantic dates.

I’ve eaten in the grill portion of Skylon twice. The location obviously cannot be beat. My first time going I went with a friend and we had an excellent view of the Thames at sunset. The food was good and relatively well-​priced compared to the restaurant at Skylon (right next to the grill). Once I had ravioli with peas which was delicious and steak on a separate occasion which was also good.
Service could have been better, but overall had a positive experience here given ambiance, location, and food.

Came here for our Christmas 2013 Work Dinner. Food is very nice although dont expect big portions. We ordered from the set menu which had a nice variety for all. The location is amazing as we had a late lunch and stayed until early evening we got to see the great views.
I had the scallops to start and the red mullet for my main which was very delicious and elegantly presented.
The drinks menu has a wide range of cocktails. I was in love with the Bellini’s i think i tried every flavour… devine! the Raspberry was my most favourite.
Overall it was a great sophisticated place to come with work colleagues and the view of london cant be missed.

Location: Very Good. Overlooking Thames at Hungerford Bridge — request window table
Food: Well prepared but unadventurous
Drink: Good selection of wines across variety of price points
Service: Indifferent, verging brusque
Prices: Average for market segment and location
Overall: Room for improvement

I came here for the view, but was BLOWN AWAY by the food!
It had been a long work week and almost end to our 2 week travel to London. We were wiped. We were fortunate enough to have an angel at work book the reservation on our behalf. When we arrived we were attended to by 4 different people, who times the courses and the check-​ins perfectly. The service was ON POINT!
Then there was the food. I am not ashamed to say that at each point, i wanted to lick the plate, clean the bones and bathe in the sauces. SOOOO GOOOD!
We chose to do a 3 course for 48 GBP each. Here’s what we had:
Apps:
(Me) Seared scallops with a turnip purée & crispy onion
(Friend) Salmon tartar with rye crisps
Main:
(Me) Lamb with mash and sweetbreads over edamame
(Friend) Beef with ox tart and mash
Dessert:
(Me) Apple crème brûlée with green apple sorbet
(Friend) Dark chocolate pudding with coffee ice cream and cream
The pics tell the whole story. The food was artfully plated, seasoned impeccably and made me feel fancy just eating it. If I were staying in London longer and wanted to impress a date, I would come here. The view (not from my seat) but the rest of the place were stunning of the bridge to Embarkment tube and Parliament and we could see the London Eye all lit up. It was a perfect end to our 2 week work adventure together.

Came here for a special meal. We sat in the restaurant area — there are two sections to this restaurant, the restaurant itself and the bar/​grill area.
We had a table next to the window which provided a lovely view of the Thames and on this occasion also the food festival which was on at the south bank that weekend.
The waiter service was prompt, polite and friendly and we were made to feel welcome. We had children with us for this dinner and they were not made to feel unwelcome or patronised either which I find a good sign.
Food was great. We had a set meal, which can be a little hit and miss at times however, the start of crab and salmon was lovely and light and my main dish of duck confit was delicious. Dessert was more of a challenge but tasted great also.
I would come here again and perhaps try the Grill section.

Ein Interview mit Graham Norton hat mein Interesse in das Skylon geweckt. Er hat das Restaurant hoch gelobt in einer der englischen Zeitungen, also musste ich hin.
Tatsächlich war das Essen sehr, sehr gut!
Das Restaurant ist groß und etwas laut, hat aber dafür sehr aufmerksames Personal und ein Stylisches Ambiente.
Wir hatten ein Tisch mit Blick auf der Thames, schon ein toller Anfang!
Meine Steckrübensuppe war erstklassig. Ich muss gestehen, ich hatte noch nie zuvor eine Suppe von Steckrüben gegessen. Ich bin froh, dass ich es probiert habe. Ich bekam einen Suppenteller mit kleine Gemüsewürfel drauf. Der Kellner hat dann die Suppe aus eine Glasflasche eingeschenkt — niedlich.
Danach gab es Kürbisrisotto vom feinsten. Das Essen war einfach aber super abgeschmeckt und von besten Zutaten.
Meine Freundin hatte Geburtstag, und nach einen Wörtchen mit dem Kellner wurde ihr Nachtisch mit Kerze und Happy Birthday in Schokosauce geschrieben serviert.
Die Preise für das Earlybird Menü sind sehr gut für das tolle Essen. Schade nur, dass man nicht so viel Zeit hat um es zu genießen.