Aqua Shard’s new seasonal menus are best enjoyed at sunset. Timed to land somewhere around golden hour thirty-one floors up, the sunset menu combined with the panoramic views of London second to none. Start with an Aqua Bellini – it reaches the table somewhere between apricot and rose gold, and matches the sky outside better than anything else on the drinks list.
The kitchen changes the new seasonal menu offerings monthly, which keeps them working closely with whichever suppliers have the ingredients actually worth using that month, rather than locking into a fixed list and hoping the weather cooperates.
The Royal Oak Farm Salt-baked Beetroot Salad brings multicoloured beetroot, a shard of crisp pastry balanced on top, whipped goat’s curd and wild herb pesto worked through underneath. The beetroot carries most of the sweetness, the curd cutting back against it, but the vibrancy against the setting London sun adds an extra freshness to a summer evening.
Grilled and glazed octopus turns up curled round a central dome of cod roe emulsion, tentacles charred at the tips, meaty with bite – just as it should be. Seafood on the menu comes from Bethnal Green Fish Supplies and Smith & Brock, making sure British fishing stays front and centre.
The Sweetcorn and Mushroom Spelt Risotto leans on The Wild Room, who forage the mushrooms in the UK before they end up folded through. Merrifield Farm’s duck breast arrives sliced, skin bronzed and blistered, sitting across a smear of carrot puree with pickled candy beetroot. The skin cracks first, then the meat, sour cherry sauce pooled underneath catching everything on the way through. Meat across the dishes comes from suppliers like Aubrey Allen.
Dessert brings the Yuzu Posset in a small white bowl, a shortbread cracker laid across the rim like a bridge – fitting, with the real ones strung out across the Thames behind it. Break it and the whole thing drops into the citrus cream underneath. The Caramel Custard Tart arrives as a slanted wedge of custard with a quenelle of creme fraiche melting slightly against the warm pastry, a spoon of macerated blackcurrant cutting through before the caramel gets too much.
The sky over the Thames turns from white to deep orange somewhere between the duck and the dessert, the sun dropping low enough over the city to catch every glass on the table. Aqua’s view has always been a major draw, but its usage of seasonal and local suppliers really does make it stand out a little bit more. The celebration of British producers making a bold statement as you look out, the capital sprawled beneath you, under a setting sun.
Level 31 The Shard, 31 St. Thomas Street, London, United Kingdom SE1 9RY
