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Skylon Restaurant (∗)

Address:Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX
Tel:020 7654 7800
Email:
Website: Visit Skylon Restaurant website
Price: £60.00Wine: £19.00 Champagne: £48.00
Opening Hours:Mon-Sat 12N-2.30pm 5.30-10.30pm Sun 12N-4pm

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Marrying ‘breathtakingly beautiful’ river views with a modish 1950s-inspired interior, the Royal Festival Hall’s destination dining room is a handsome choice for eating out on the South Bank. The sense of style translates onto the plate with ‘beautifully presented’ food from a creative seasonal menu. Standout dishes from our most recent meal included a crisp filo tart of girolles, broad beans & pea shoots topped with a soft quail’s egg – a glorious mix of fresh, earthy flavours – followed by pan-fried halibut enlivened with sherry dressing, chorizo & baby squid. To finish, try something intricate such as ‘sweet sushi’ (rose petal & lychee jelly, dragon fruit with vanilla-infused rice, crispy chopstick & cherry cake). ‘Knowledgeable & refined sommeliers’ are on hand to offer sound advice on the wine list. The capacious room, which also houses the Bar & Grill (see separate reviews), can be noisy, but most seem to enjoy the animated, effervescent atmosphere. It all adds up to ‘luxury at it best’, concludes one satisfied soul.  

Chef: Helena Puolakka

Skylon Restaurant’s Chef - Helena Puolakka took on the role of executive chef at Skylon, D&D London's restaurant at the Royal Festival Hall, in spring 2007, moving from Harvey Nichol's Fifth Floor in Knightsbridge. Born in Finland, she began her London career as a commis chef at Aubergine under Gordon Ramsay, before joining sister restaurant L'Oranger. In 1996, she moved to La Tante Claire, working as sous chef to its chef-patron Pierre Koffmann. A stint with Pierre Gagnaire at his three Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris followed, before she returned to La Tante Claire as head chef. In 2002 she moved to neighbourhood restaurant Sonny's in Barnes, before joining the Harvey Nichols group in 2005. At the Royal Festival Hall, she heads up a brigade of 30, split into two teams serving the fine-dining restaurant & the grill & bar.

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Reader reviews of Skylon Restaurant:

Anoo
Silver Reviewer

Anoo ( 30s, Female, United Kingdom )

Editor's pick

I'm not put off by the mouse sightings, I think this place is great. I've been to the bar before and went to the restaurant for the first time last week on a glorious summer's evening. We were lucky to be seated by the window with a wonderful view. The service is very good and the food and wine list superb. I was glad to see a good selection of wines by the glass, so we could order a glass to go with each course rather than a bottle that didn't really go with anything. I had a chilled glass of Manzanilla sherry with an egg, truffle and wild mushroom starter which was perfectly cooked, while my partner opted for a very fresh, fragrant crab dish with a glass of off-dry German Riesling – which gave me some pangs of food and wine matching envy! I got to finish off the delightful Riesling though with my salmon main which was perfectly undercooked while he had a glass of Pinot Noir with a divine bacon wrapped rabbit, complete with some surprise gamey bits. We didn't have puddings as we had to head off but watched the theatrics of a baked alaska being flambed at the next-door table.

19 October 2009
Overall:8
Food and Drink:9
Service:8
Atmosphere:9
Value for Money:8
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Amy V.

Amy V. ( 30s, Female, United Kingdom )

We dined here on a Saturday evening pre-theatre with the evening standard 3 courses for £20 inc a glass of wine deal and were very impressed. Service was excellent and each of the 3 courses very good. Whilst some dishes were a bit average (eg the fois gras came with an odd Indian flavoured chutney, and the lavender creme brulee was a bit gloopy and lacking real vanilla) some were excellent (my partner loved the duck leg on lentils, and my gravad lax to start was very tasty). We'll definitely consider coming back pre- or post- theatre.

24 August 2009
Overall:8
Food and Drink:8
Service:9
Atmosphere:8
Value for Money:8
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Carolyne R.
Reviews: 1

Carolyne R. ( 50s, Female, London )

Sunday lunch 5 April 2009. Overpriced (especially drinks) and disappointing. In 20-odd years of using restaurants in London, I don't think I've ever sent food back, but the venison starter here went back because it was completely tasteless. The salmon which replaced it was better, but the crabmeat which supposedly came with that wouldn't have filled a teaspoon and the dressing was vinegary. Main course Provencal fish was also a small portion, though the sauce with it was good. Fellow diners assured me that the beef was good (this had a £5 supplement). Chicken dish was colourless. Nothing was beyond warm-ish in temperature. No option to add any green vegetables or salad to anything. Desserts were adequate. A varied cheeseboard, but several pieces served by the staff had to be replaced because they were so dry. When the bill came we wanted to deduct some of the service charge, but staff came back saying they couldn't take off only a part of the charge (in other words, it's all or nothing). (We took it all off, settled with a card, then left an amount in cash.) Whatever has changed since this was People's Palace, it certainly isn't better.

April 2009
Overall:5
Food and Drink:5
Service:5
Atmosphere:5
Value for Money:4
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Prudence C.
Reviews: 1

Prudence C. ( 30s, Female )

A friend had recommended going to Skylon a while ago but was unsure because of the numerous reviews I had read which didnt exactely hold them in the best light. Anyway, after much deliberation I decided to give it a shot, and I have to say, I had the most wonderful time! Unfortunately we didnt get a seat at the front by the window , but the views were still spectacular especially as the sun set. We had a drink at the bar first, the coctail I had was gorgeous, it was a shame that it was so busy though as we had to stand and drink them, and it did take quite a while to be served.

The food though was a dream, Im not used to going fancy restaurants (we sat in the bit with the table cloths), so was slightly intimidated by the menu, but when I dug into it, it was devine. The service was brilliant also, but I guess thats what comes with those sort of restaurants.

I would definetley recommend anyone to go there, even if its only for the view!

April 2009
Overall:10
Food and Drink:9
Service:9
Atmosphere:10
Value for Money:7
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Sam D.
Reviews: 1

Sam D. ( 30s, Female )

My partner and I chose Skylon to celebrate our anniversay and were impressed with both the views and the knowledge of the staff, particularly the sommelier.

I was, however, disappointed to learn that on my recommendation, a friend and her boyfriend had a disappointing visit recently. After reporting sight of a mouse in the dining area, tehy were offered a 20% discount and advised that “it was only a very small mouse” and that these things “should be expected” so close to the river.

As much as I enjoyed my visit, on the strength of my friend's experience, I won't be going back.

November 2008
Overall:1
Food and Drink:7
Service:8
Atmosphere:8
Value for Money:7
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Grenville C.

Grenville C. ( Over 60, Male, United Kingdom )

Having been badly let down by Bel Canto who could not find enough opera singers in order to open and it being my wife's birthday i managed to get a last minute table at Skylon. Luck favouring a birthday-girl, we got a suddenly vacant front row table overlooking the embankment and over the Thames, The view was breathtakingly beautiful and must be the most romantic of any restaurant in London.
The restaurant itself is at one end of a vast open-plan room the other bit of the room being the brasserie section. We had table cloths the brasserie didn't. The noise level was tremendous, never experienced anything like it.
The first noticable thing was the utter charm of the staff, never in Britain have I been served by such people and for one moment I thought that they had all been trained by the Chedi Hotel in Muscat, totally amazing.
The starters were perfectly good, the main courses were turbot which was delicious and only ruined by being served with bacon and boiled broccoli. The other main was duck leg and breast which was good but was served with what appeared to be a creamy rice pudding with a weird taste – why?

Suddenly the people on the next table saw a mouse running across the floor heading towards another table, there was a lot of screaming by the women and laughter by the men. The… More

November 2008
Overall:6
Food and Drink:5
Service:10
Atmosphere:3
Value for Money:5
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James A.
Silver Reviewer

James A. ( 20s, Male, London )

How can one restaurant get it so wrong?!

Located in one of London's cultural homes, Skylon has the potential to be one of the capital's culinary institutions, creating and serving innovative and well executed food to reflect the exhibitions and South Bank Centre's heritage.

Skylon fails on all accounts to provide anything close to what one might describe as a decent restaurant in the capital. I would much rather wrestle a pigeon for a hot dog than ever go there again.

The menu is not innovative in the slightest, and it is a wonder that with her culinary skills and experience excellent chef Helena Puolakka could not come up with better. The food when it arrived was as bland in looks as it was in taste, and with each course one hoped that there would be some improvement, but alas there was no reprieve.

The service was abysmal. The staff rude and as plain in terms of personality as the food they were serving up.

The impression Skylon is trying to promote is that of excellence, that it is as good as those culinary bastions in the capital Tom Aiken, one of Gordon Ramsay's many restaurants, Chez Bruce, the list is endless. Insead you are provided with a an extremely weakened version of what one would expect. An atmosphere and ambience more like the cafe found on the platform of east… More

September 2008
Overall:2
Food and Drink:3
Service:2
Atmosphere:2
Value for Money:3
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