New Year’s Eve at the Shard

As the tallest building in the EU, the Shard has been on my bucket list for years. Celebrating New Year’s eve in London used to be a dream too, and combining the two was for me, a life goal. Below, I’ll tell you about my experience of New Year’s Eve at The Shard as well as some practical information about celebrating in London.

MAKING THE RESERVATION

We inquired about a table on November 3rd. Since we were a bit late to the party (our reservation was confirmed on November 6th) we got the last window table available, at the Aqua Shard restaurant.

There are three restaurants at the Shard with NYE events, so check what venue and menu you want before inquiring. Payment has to be made in full, through bank transfer no later than three days after the inquiry. As a foreigner, it is expensive and time consuming to transfer money to a different country. They informed us that we could pay through purchasing gift cards on the Aqua Shard website up to the total amount of the experience to avoid unnecessary bank charges, which we did.

THE BIG DAY

A few things to remember before going to the Shard:

• Update yourself on the dress code, it is listed in the email confirmation.
• Take the tube to and from the Shard, it is cheap, (free during New Year’s Eve and surprisingly safe) and not crowded at all. Since most of the Thames river was closed off to the public, you can’t use the bridges to get across. Use the tube if you’re travelling across the Thames on NYE.
• You cannot enter the Shard before 19:30 but there is a bar by the entrance that was quite nice where you can wait if you’re early. Most stores closed early on NYE, so there’s not much to do during the afternoon or early evening.
• Have the reservation ready for the guard at the entrance. The guard will be slightly rude until you show the e-mail confirmation. Once they see that you have a reservation, they will change attitude completely into one of the most polite people you’ll ever meet.
• Remember that there is a security screening up next, make sure to not bring anything you wouldn’t be able to bring on a plane

THE EXPERIENCE

After arriving at level 31 of the Shard, we were greeted and directed towards our table. It was right by the panoramic windows, overlooking Tower Bridge and the Canary Wharf Business District. The view was stunning, and we saw fireworks in the distance numerous times that night.

THE FOOD

Below, you’ll see our full menu as well as the accompanying drinks.

We started off with champagne and a small amuse bouche. I went for the Foie Grass Ferrero Rocher, pictured below:

This was my least favourite item on the menu. It was my first time having foie gras, and I don’t think it went that well with the chocolate. This was like an actual Ferrero Rocher, with chocolate on the outside but foie gras instead of chocolate on the inside.

Up next was the seared orkney scallop with crushed Jerusalem Artichoke

This dish was really good, I haven’t had much experience with scallop previously but it had a great taste and I though the vegetables went well with it too.

Up next we have the Fillet of Turbot, leek and smoked salmon fondue

This was among the best fish dishes that I’ve had in a long time. It was creamy and well made. It was almost as good as the next dish coming up, which was the Cannon of English Wagyu with parsley root pure, braised shin ravioli, sprout tops and fresh chestnut.

This was my absolute favourite dish on the menu. The wagyu beef was perfect and it was also my first time having wagyu beef. The ravioli and other sides went well with the meat too and made it the perfect NYE main course.

Up next, we have the dessert, which was chocolate delice with blood orange, tonka bean ice cream and a tiny gold leaf.

This was essentially chocolate cake and ice cream, but a bit fancier. It tasted really well, but as a dessert connoisseur, I think they could have come up with something more dramatic or even sparkling since it’s New Year’s Eve after all.

Last but not least, we have cheese.

I am a bit picky with my cheese, but I liked these two. What I didn’t like was that we only got two types of cheese, and they both tasted pretty similar. This becomes boring after a few bites, and I wish that there had been more variety.

DRINKS

We had two types of wine, some champagne and a sour plum dessert wine. Our glasses were refilled throughout the evening, so it was pretty much bottomless. We got water as well, which they gave us a check for. I thought this was a bit ridiculous, as it only consisted of water and service fee, especially given what we’d pre-paid for dining here.

MIDNIGHT

It was around 11 PM when we finished our dinner. Then we walked around in the restaurant, enjoyed the live entertainment that we’d been sitting too far away from previously. We also spent quite some time at the table enjoying the views.

SEEING THE FIREWORKS

A few minutes before twelve, the personnel opened the part of the restaurant that offered the best views, to the public. This made everyone rush to the windows at the very corner of the restaurant. This was the only place from which you could see London Eye and most of the public fireworks. That’s when we realized that most of the restaurant was facing the wrong way.

A group were in the middle of having dinner at their table, right as the clock was twelve. Every centimeter of space around their table became packed with people trying to take photos and even record videos of the fireworks. Due to the crowds in that small corner, and to respect the group that were sitting there, I never took any photos of the fireworks. I must, however say that they were stunning and it was special to see them from the Shard.

MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THE VENUE

This restaurant is beautifully located at level 31 of the Shard, which offers panoramical views of London. The restaurant does, however face the wrong way for the fireworks, so we didn’t get to see as much of them as I expected. If you want better views, I’d suggest you pick Ting Restaurant at the Shangri-La or Hutong Restaurant which are also at the Shard and they probably have better views in that particular direction.

Aqua Shard was, however beautiful, and it is a good restaurant that you should definitely try to visit when in London. It is, however not ideal for New Year’s Eve, and the things we enjoyed most about our experience, such as the food, the view and the bathrooms, can be enjoyed at any time of the year to a lower price. I would, for instance be happy to try the Afternoon tea or the brunch at Aqua Shard.

THE SERVICE

The service at the restaurant is good, but there were a few instances that I found questionable. I previously mentioned that they gave us a bill that only consisted of two bottles of water. Well, that happened twice during the evening, and even though they apologized when we questioned the second bill, I thought it was a bit unprofessional to 1) charge us for water when we’ve already paid a lot for this event and water should have been included, 2) bill us twice and initially wanting us to pay the second bill as well.

I also think it was unprofessional to let everyone into the part of the restaurant wth the ”good view” while people were trying to eat there. They could have arranged it so that there weren’t any tables at that particular area, since it should be a priority that people can enjoy their food without people almost sitting in their lap trying to see fireworks.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Despite the criticism, I loved our experience at the Shard. It was magical, the food was fabulous and I would be happy to return for a different meal at a different time. We had a lovely time, but as mentioned, most of the things I loved about the evening can be experienced any day of the year.

What are your favourite New Year’s Eve experiences? Please let me know in the comments.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION ABOUT NYE IN LONDON

Celebrating New Year’s Eve in London isn’t cheap. It is hard to find a place with a decent view of the fireworks for less than 200 pounds. And that is without food or drinks. An important side note here is that there is only one public Firework event (The Mayor of London’s fireworks) in the city. People are not allowed to light their own fireworks in the city. This means that everyone, in a city where nine million people live, and tons of people are visiting is aiming to see the very same fireworks.

For New Years, the city closes off most areas by River Thames, and sells tickets for 10 pounds each to enter these areas. To see the fireworks there, you need to arrive no later than 9 PM, wait there in the cold until 12 and then, see the fireworks.

I don’t enjoy being in the cold, in a drunk crowd for hours, so we decided on going for one of those scenic venues with sweeping London views instead. Considering that they were 200 pounds without food or drinks, it was already expensive, and food on New Year’s eve isn’t cheap either, as you want it to be a bit special. A reservation at the Shard including a tasting menu and accompanying drinks, was up to a whooping 450 pounds, which made us initially think that it’s too expensive.

However, we soon realized that most options in London are expensive (at least 350 pounds) and the Shard was the experience we truly wanted, so if we didn’t go now, we’d still want to do it later, which would cost us even more as the Shard experience won’t be cheaper, we’d need new flights, another hotel stay and during our current trip we’d also pay around 350 pounds for an experience that wasn’t the one we truly wanted. It was a not an easy decision, but that’s what made us choose the Shard for New Year’s Eve, other than the fact that we really wanted to go there.

WAS IT WORTH IT?

It hurts to admit it, because as much as I would’ve wanted to say yes, especially to justify the most expensive dinner of my life, I have to say no. We had a great time, but as mentioned, the things we loved about the experience will be there every day, not only for New Year’s Eve, so it is better, and much cheaper to visit at a different time. I do, however definitely think that this restaurant was really good and definitely one of my best experiences in London.