Why look at a pub wall when you can look at the whole of London?
You have to wonder why people queue up to visit The View from The Shard , the highest public access point at The Shard, when they can go up to Oblix instead and enjoy almost the same elevated position, but with food.
Almost the same, because The View is seventy floors up while Oblix is just thirty two, but ‘just’ is relative when you’re sitting bang up against the glass and down below your feet the cars look like toys.
The ‘wow’ begins when you leave the dark corridor that leads from the super-fast lifts and enter the restaurant. The vista is stunning any time, but on this clear blue crisp autumn day it’s particularly brilliant. You find yourself feeling your way to sit down at the table as you can’t stop gazing out the massive windows.
It’s a funny thing that whilst I suffer badly from vertigo at much lower levels, I don’t up here. I think it’s because we’re so high up it’s more like being in an aeroplane. So don’t worry if you too fear heights.
Returning to earth we check out the Roast Menu. Obviously the main dish is what you’d expect – roast beef or roast chicken. I’d like to see pork there as well, but that’s no big deal.
We’re unsure which starters to have, but the waiter informs us, much to our delight, that we get all four to share. That’s an unexpected bonus.
Crispy buttermilk chicken with a honey, lime and chilli glaze, burrata with olives, granola and datterini tomatoes, a Caesar salad with Parmesan and serrano ham and devilled eggs is a tablefull of tasty.
Love the chicken. It’s crispy outside, moist within and the glaze is brilliant. We should have eaten it last though, as the chili is a bit fierce and lingers over into the devilled eggs, which are deliciously delicate and get a bit of a battering from it.
The burrata is good too, we like the granola idea, the crunch works well against the cheese’s creaminess, and the Caesar salad has dressing that’s spot on and the snow drift of grated Parmesan is generous. It’s impressive at any level (geddit?).
By the way, they do carafes here, 500ml of a decent red is just right for a Sunday when you don’t want a bottle
So, to the roast. We both have Dry-Aged Beef because neither of us really like roast chicken. It comes either medium rare or medium, which is fair enough, we have medium rare. I find it’s a bit too thickly cut for my taste, I prefer lots of thin slices, but it is good meat and generally tender.
The spuds come separate, and one could almost suspect they’ve been deep-fried, not roasted in duck fat, but perhaps they were finished in duck fat. This is pretty standard technique in nearly all places, roasting spuds across a three hour service is not really practical. These are a bit tough on the outside, but the red wine sauce (aka gravy) which is served in a jug, as it should always be, softens them up.
The fine green beans are nice and crisp and come with bacon bits, while the carrots are slightly undercooked. The Yorkshire puds are just how I like them; soft and crispy at the same time, and not ridiculously large.
It’s a decent roast, no complaints. By this point the sun was dropping and we were getting a bit dazzled, Oblix is ready for this and sunglasses are provided, a nice touch
Dessert is as easy as starters, the pretty looking Oblix dessert platter gives three things to share. There’s chocolate fondant with salted caramel ice cream, a New York cheesecake with mango, coconut and passionfruit, and some vanilla ice cream on crushed nuts. All very tasty indeed, we’re soon scraping the slate.
It’s a good value Roast, especially given the wonderful location. Take your Sunday lunch to the next level (as Jamie always says).
Available every Sunday from 12:00 PM – 2:30 PM for £55 per person
For reservations and more information go here
Level 32,
The Shard,
31 St. Thomas Street,
London SE1 9RY