Groundhog Day at Skylon
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At Christmas, the Here Is The City team repaired to the stylish Skylon Restaurant in the wonderful Royal Festival Hall. We much enjoyed the food of the Finnish chef then and relaxed grandly, taking in the splendid view of the Thames, surely one of the best in London.
But we also noted that the service was excruciatingly slow - and, while it was no great sacrifice to sit there from 1-5pm on a winter’s day and have a jolly chat in good company anticipating the next delicious course - it occurred to us even then that this was a bit de trop for the average Londoner who is always in a hurry. Or indeed the tourist who has even more to do.
So it is with some sadness I report that while the food is still good, the service is even slower.
On this average Saturday, the place was so poorly staffed that the waiters didn’t have a hope in hell to satisfy their customers, and surly faces abounded. This is such a pity - and so obviously down to bad planning and worse training - that we feel a need to comment. Also worth noting is the very shoddy pricing policy, which seems to want to hide the price.
For visitors to the Psycho Building show at The Hayward there is a special lunch offer for £15, and your thrifty Southbank Gourmand wanted to take advantage of this. But nowhere did it mention this is valid only in the Brasserie, and when we arrived, only the a la carte menu was offered. When we queried this confusion abounded, and we were offered a short and not very interesting menu - sans prix! Out of that small menu they still managed to get the orders wrong, and we were told that one order would be kept warm while the other was prepared - hence, I suppose, the wilted salad when the two finally emerged 40 minutes later.
Now, having growled a lot, let me say that the duck leg confit was delicious, even when paired with peas. The salmon fish cake was equally tasty (even though the lack of a bit of mash was regrettable and would not really have broken the kitchen’s profit margin), and the pommes frites we ordered on the side were super crisp, tasty and plentiful. Desert of crème brule was perfect, light, and flavourful, but the chocolate mousse far too sweet. Even in England some of us now like good quality bitter chocolate!
While the maître d' tried his best to soothe my fevered brow (and it was pretty hot - nearing Michael Winner napkin temperature), it just seemed such a pity that D&D seems unable to deliver the service.
Style is important, but the essence of a good restaurant is good food delivered by pleasant, efficient people. The staff at Skylon sport what seems to be a Courrege-inspired uniform (anyone remember those cute, white mini dresses with big belts in 1968?), but they really only look good on the reception girls who stand still. The waiting staff look faintly ridiculous in their khaki shifts with huge plastic shifting belts - more factory than dining room. And there were certainly far too few of them to be able to deliver the goods - a great pity all round - and the ones who were there had little idea of service, not an uncommon thing in London these days when people get hired for looks and price instead of experience.
However, the food is excellent and the view is fabulous, so budget in two hours for lunch and you’ll be fine.
- The Southbank Gourmand
So it is with some sadness I report that while the food is still good, the service is even slower.
On this average Saturday, the place was so poorly staffed that the waiters didn’t have a hope in hell to satisfy their customers, and surly faces abounded. This is such a pity - and so obviously down to bad planning and worse training - that we feel a need to comment. Also worth noting is the very shoddy pricing policy, which seems to want to hide the price.
For visitors to the Psycho Building show at The Hayward there is a special lunch offer for £15, and your thrifty Southbank Gourmand wanted to take advantage of this. But nowhere did it mention this is valid only in the Brasserie, and when we arrived, only the a la carte menu was offered. When we queried this confusion abounded, and we were offered a short and not very interesting menu - sans prix! Out of that small menu they still managed to get the orders wrong, and we were told that one order would be kept warm while the other was prepared - hence, I suppose, the wilted salad when the two finally emerged 40 minutes later.
Now, having growled a lot, let me say that the duck leg confit was delicious, even when paired with peas. The salmon fish cake was equally tasty (even though the lack of a bit of mash was regrettable and would not really have broken the kitchen’s profit margin), and the pommes frites we ordered on the side were super crisp, tasty and plentiful. Desert of crème brule was perfect, light, and flavourful, but the chocolate mousse far too sweet. Even in England some of us now like good quality bitter chocolate!
While the maître d' tried his best to soothe my fevered brow (and it was pretty hot - nearing Michael Winner napkin temperature), it just seemed such a pity that D&D seems unable to deliver the service.
Style is important, but the essence of a good restaurant is good food delivered by pleasant, efficient people. The staff at Skylon sport what seems to be a Courrege-inspired uniform (anyone remember those cute, white mini dresses with big belts in 1968?), but they really only look good on the reception girls who stand still. The waiting staff look faintly ridiculous in their khaki shifts with huge plastic shifting belts - more factory than dining room. And there were certainly far too few of them to be able to deliver the goods - a great pity all round - and the ones who were there had little idea of service, not an uncommon thing in London these days when people get hired for looks and price instead of experience.
However, the food is excellent and the view is fabulous, so budget in two hours for lunch and you’ll be fine.
- The Southbank Gourmand
