Skylon

Few visit London’s South Bank to marvel at the brutalist architecture of the Royal Festival Hall. At the time, when it first opened in 1951, it was considered daringly futurist. Now, it seems an unfortunate blight. At least the views it offers across the Thames remain impressive. Given that the government has mandated only outside dining is possible for now, Skylon is well worth considering. Normally the restaurant operates from the third floor of the Festival Hall where its floor-to-ceiling windows offer up those iconic views. Beggars (in the relative sense) can’t be choosers though and for now, Skylon has relocated to the ground floor terrace. The views are less stunning but the people-watching is arguably better. At least you know what you are getting in terms of food/experience/price point since Skylon is part of the now almost 50-venue strong D&D group, which can count the likes of the Pont de la Tour and the Coq d’Argent in its stable. Expect a confident but far from ground-breaking demonstration of modern British cooking with a few European twists. Given we are still in the early era of returning to normality, food and wine lists have a greater than usual level of brevity. At least it makes choosing easier. To complain though is to miss the point: what we have been missing is not chef-cooked food per se, but atmosphere – this is what venues such as Skylon are selling. Furthermore, after four months’ of dining absence, it’s even possible to overlook far from superlative service. It’s just nice to have someone else clearing away, and then washing, the dishes. Social distancing and new hygiene rule are things we all have to get used to. Anyway, the sun shone and my dining comrade and I luxuriated in the relative novelty of dining out. It was a delight for us to order a plate each of scallops and oysters to start, even if one of the scallops had mysteriously disappeared somewhere between the kitchen and our table (it was eventually replaced, after quite a wait). That salty, slippery, almost ethereal tang of the oyster was a sensation I had deeply missed. Sklyon executed well, even if the skills required to prepare such an offering are limited. Steak tartare was another dish after which I had hankered in lockdown and it was pleasing to see Skylon come up with the goods here. Beyond the presentation (pictured), I liked the addition of cheese slithers as a taste/texture foil. The egg which adorned my tartare was also wonderfully runny – cooked to perfection. Pricing is fair, at up to £15/head for starters and double that for mains. Overall, the dining experience was satisfying (helped by the company and the wine), but a further visit in more normal times would be necessary to give a truly objective assessment of the venue.