My little sister and my flatmate’s birthdays are on the same date, so to celebrate their milestone (they turned 30 this year!) I decided to treat them to a special girls dinner in the Sky Garden.
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Girls dinner @ Sky Garden
The Sky Garden is based next to Fenchurch Street station. To get in you’ll need a booking, this is free whether you are drinking or dining. Be warned that it’s airport style security to get up to the 25th floor!
View across the Sky Garden at Fenchurch street.
A surprise dinner
This girls dinner was to surprise my sister and flatmate, who turned 30 on the same day, and a friend who had her birthday the week earlier. To keep it secret I met them in nearby Leadenhall Market first for a gin and tonic.
Look at that starry night ceiling – Leadenhall market.
This was a great juxtaposition of the old traditional London with the new modern London at the Sky Garden!
In the Sky Garden
The Sky Garden is at the top of the ‘walkie talkie’ building (aka 20 Fenchurch) in the City of London, and so has great views on all sides:
The Shard, South of the Thames
Tower Bridge – complete with reflections on the window!
Canary Wharf in the East
Pre-dinner drinks
The Sky Garden area
Our cocktail line up – one of each please!
From left to right: Papi Chulo (Zacapa rum and chilli), Members Club (Bulleit Bourbon), Winter Garden (Tanqueray gin and kaffir lime) and Fire Place (Zubrowka and apple)
Magic! The Members Club cocktail had a hidden chocolate coin at the bottom of its spherical ice block.
The garden
Selfie time! We all had our coats on still as the Sky Garden had good ventilation – I.e. It felt as cold up there as it did outside – but with less wind!
Hiding in the secret garden
Palm tree growing out of Miss B’s head
The Darwin Brasserie
As mentioned earlier there are 2 restaurants to choose from in the Sky Garden – Fenchuch and Darwin. As it was a last minute booking we had to go for dinner at Darwin brasserie, which is the cheaper/less posh of the two, but was still great!
Entrance to Darwin on floor 26
Starters
The Darwin menu is concise but full of tempting goodies. We all went for different starters:
This was the kale and pumpkin salad – full of interesting flavours and textures.
The Dorset crab
Smoked salmon and beetroot – a classic combination.
Peppered beef carpaccio – with goat cheese and rocket.
We all enjoyed every bite of the starters and obviously had to share them out so everyone could enjoy (and Instagram!)
Mains
I didn’t get a picture of the lamb shank – but here is the duck in all its glory, it came with beans, a great gravy and sausage!
Desserts
Honeycomb cheesecake
Mint chocolate marquise with mint choc chip ice cream!
Pineapple carpaccio – the dehydrated pineapple slices were a revelation!
There were some nice twists on traditional desserts here, so worth saving some space for.
We finished the meal with a celebratory glass of champagne and rolled downstairs to our Uber.
The birthday girls!
The verdict
I’d definitely recommend the Sky Garden and Darwin for special occasions like this. The other restaurant, Fenchurch even does a tasting menu with wine pairing if you need to up the wow factor! You can of course visit the Sky Garden without booking into the restaurants.
If you book to eat and want to go around the garden and enjoy the views, then make sure you leave plenty of time to do this. They say to allow 15 minutes for airport style security checks at the entrance and then another 15 minutes before your restaurant booking.
If you are having a drink at the Sky bar you might want longer – but note that the tables by the window tend to be reserved, so booking for the bar is advised for large groups or if you want those window tables.
See more, including the complete menu on Zomato:
Luxury Travel Diva says
I want to go to Sky Garden! Looks like terrific fun. Great article Katie.
Patricia Steffy says
That looks incredible! I definitely want to add that to my itinerary the next time I'm visiting the city.
Hannah Rollings says
Kale and pumpkin salad and gin-based cocktails.. yes please! I'll be in London in July. Maybe I'll check this place out. Nice post!
Katie Hughes says
Thanks Luxury Travel Diva – it was fun and fab views, I'd love to go back for the morning Yoga sessions they have on the main deck area, just in a month or 2 when its warmer!
Katie Hughes says
I really think you should Patricia, even if just for a drink and a look at the view!
Katie Hughes says
Haha sounds like it's right up your street Hannah! They also do yoga first thing in the mornings, but I'll be waiting until its warmer outside before I try that!