For my 50th birthday I was treated to tickets to the dizzying heights of the viewing platforms at the Shard. An absolutely amazing experience, looking out over the City and down to the tiny toy like trains whizzing in and out of London Bridge station. Even my height fearing Hubby “enjoyed” the experience and on several of our adventures in the area we’ve talked about returning.

Over a decade later (I can’t believe I just wrote that 😬) and we finally made the journey. This time we were celebrating another of our friends joining the burgeoning 60’s Club and had booked a brunch in the Aqua Shard on the 31st floor.

Although we were 40 floors below the viewing platforms, the views were still spectacular and despite being October the sun was shining and it felt like a warm Summers day.

I had hoped to be seated at a table by the window, but on arrival they all appeared to be for couples. However we still had great views across the City and were free to wander around taking in the sights and snapping photos.

The set menu was incredibly varied. My choices of ham hock terrine, English Style Breakfast, followed by cheese didn’t really seem like a match made in heaven, but all were delicious and the wine pairing 🥂 cleansed the palette in between each course.

The food was beautifully presented, my ham hock arriving with an array of pickled vegetables, their flavours exploding in the mouth, yet complementing the terrine perfectly. My hubby’s fluffy pancakes with mixed berries and maple cured bacon oddly worked together.

The English Style Breakfast, looked like a little piece of artwork. A plate of breakfast ingredients unusually prepared for an ideal brunch. The remainder of our group enjoyed the Slow Roasted Rib Eye. A melt in the mouth extravaganza of taste. I thought I might be a tad jealous when their plates arrived, but beautiful as they looked mine was absolutely delicious and accompanied by another gorgeous wine.

The dessert finale, kept the taste buds dancing. Two of us had Banoffi Delight, with caramel, popcorn ice cream and additional chocolate and two of us had a wonderful Durrus Cheese, married with an apricot purée and sourdough. 😋😋😋. I’m not normally a lover of dessert wine, finding it too sweet, but the restaurants’ choice was the perfect accompaniment.

The whole afternoon was a delightful experience, from the views, to the food, the service to the presentation. Even the facilities were some of the “poshest” I have ever seen.

After 2 1/2 hours of pure indulgence, we were ready to head back out into the World and take a stroll to wear off some of the calories we had devoured, before one final drink for the road (or train) home.

A perfect way to celebrate a special birthday. One I would highly recommend and may even return to try the Peter Pan Afternoon Tea, exquisitely presented on wooden galleons – naturally 😁