Our first trip to Skylon was arranged for my girlfriend's birthday. The experience was, honestly, pretty underwhelming. We had, like everyone else, requested a window seat. We were advised that this may not be possible, but that they would "try their best". On arrival, we were lead to the opposite corner of the restaurant from anything glazed. Not wanting to complain, we made the most of it and sat down to eat, but were left confused by the visibly empty seats in much better areas of the restaurant. We were crammed so close to the people next to us that it felt like being in a school canteen. We ended up chatting to our adjacent neighbours because you couldn't have a private conversation with them sat so close. It soon became obvious we were sitting in a main thoroughfare for the waiting staff, who would constantly cut past our table to reach the other diners. Having trays full of drinks fly past my head every so often and constantly dodging and excusing myself from being in the way became quite tiresome. It felt like we were sat in a corridor. The proximity of the adjacent table, combined with the high ceilings and central island bar, created a bustling canteen atmosphere at odds with the food/ locale. I requested some bread for the table and placed orders for starters. I sat and watched my starter get cold on a serving stand, just out of my reach, until someone remembered we were there and passed it over. Two more requests later and the bread finally arrived just after we'd finished our starter. A young chap comes and sits next to us, and immediately starts complaining about how poor the table is and that he had requested a window seat. After causing a scene and threatening to leave, the manager swiftly moves them to a wonderful table with riverside view, leaving us in the school canteen, shoulder to shoulder with the diners next to us. That made us feel really special. To be fair to them, the wine selection is good and the menu is interesting. I ordered the beef cheek and oyster. The beef was pretty good, although let down by the cheap, dry rasher sandwich bacon that was stuffed into the pile of mash potato as some kind of decorative garnish. As part of the booking process, I had previously advised of her serious strawberry allergy. At the table, I advised again of her strawberry allergy. The potentially fatal "Happy Birthday" desert they brought out was covered with strawberries and had to be switched. Sadly, it was switched with some kind of coffee jelly, presumably as a punishment. I then asked for the bill three times before finally being allowed to leave. £100 for two people. Overpriced for what it was, with the premium seats seemingly held back for those who complain the loudest. For the same money, you could eat at Black and Blue round the corner and have better steaks, better wine and better service. If you're popping in for a bite before a show at the RFH, it is well positioned. If you're thinking of making this your "special occasion" venue, think again. Pro Tip: If they give you a crap table, just turn round and head for the door. You'll be sat admiring panoramic views of London in no time. read more

I highly recommend Skylon. I had booked ahead the Sunday 3 course meal for 32 pounds, which I had thought was a bargain by itself. In my reservation I asked for a view as it was our anniversary and they gave us the best view of the Thames in the house - how sweet! I also said that we would be making part payment with a 35 pounds toptable voucher which was welcomed. Service was excellent - with a fantastic bottle of wine and exemplary value for the 3 course meal. The soup was delicious to start and the roast chicken was superbly tender. I wouldn't crow home about the "chocolate tart" for the desert which didn't really have much chocolate but was touched by the "wheel" of little sweets with a "Happy Anniversary" tag on top of it and a candle. Amex via Tripadvisor also giving 10 pounds off. Couldn't ask for better value really!! read more

I love this restaurant. My absolute favourite for fancy dining in town. Wish I could afford to come here more. We came for a 40th celebration as 2 vegetarians. The staff were so accommodating, putting special touches to dessert without us even asking. And the food was amazing. Add in the great views and central location, it's a great place. read more

Fabulous cocktails. The manhattan is superb but they have a huge range. Fabulous views of the Thames. Never eaten but we'll worth a visit

The evening was ruined from the start by the smug and pretentious host. He kept giving us condescending look based on our attire and waving at us in a belittling manner. We proceeded to order the olives which turned out to be just grapes with sticks in them! My chair was uncomfortable and the toilets were out of order so I had to hold my poo in the entire meal. The burger was read more

Tiny beers. Slow service. Really bad food! I really felt I was ripped off here. Worst meal I've ever had in London, and I paid through the nose for it. Also - why is there a burger on the menu? It is gross. Do not have things on your menu that you cannot do well. read more

Took a close friend here for a blow out for his birthday - the restaurant not the (rather cramped looking) grill. The food is really very good - quality, diversity and inventiveness. I had a really nice endive salad with an onion tarte tatin to start with, then red mullet with a delicious sauce and a contorno of saffron risotto, followed by chocolate and coffee dessert which is one of the most unusual creations I've seen - it looked like a shiny ball and you have to smash it to get inside to all the deliciousness. Very good. Superb wine list (wish i could say the same for the attitudy sommelier) - we opted for the Arneis - and generally very good service (possibly slightly fussy). We were at the back of the restaurant but were quite content with the view from where we were sitting. BUT it is really very expensive - £190 for 2 - for what it is so it loses at least one mark for that and the other one is lost by our friend the sommelier. I will go back but think they need to watch their rather high margins. read more

Skylon, the name stirred various types of images in my head when I first heard we were going to dine there for a colleague's maternity leave celebration. The name inspired space-like images or some kind of futuristic setting of a ship perhaps. Alas upon landing there after a bit of struggle to find the exact location. I wandered through a corridor and eventually found a very lovely dining room. Not quite the futuristic and Jetson-like setting I'd imagined but it is open and airy with great views. Our group of 12 experienced wonderful service regarding delivery and the food quality was exceptional. My lunch was delicious from the seasonal salad with roasted pumpkin seeds to the mushroom risotto with truffles. While dining the view of the Thames is quite wonderful to gaze upon. The dining room is very nice and the finishes are in good condition. Considering the hall itself was opened in 1951 the renovations of 2007 are still looking good all around. The staff is very kind and helpful and the restaurant itself reminds me of 11 Madison in New York however Skylon is more affordable. The bar, set in the center of the room looked very nice and I can only imagine they would serve a fantastic dirty martini, shaken not stirred of course. So, while the name itself had stirred wild futuristic images I was not disappointed in my dining experience at all. Sure it would have been fun based on my overactive imagination but I will certainly plan to dine here again. For me it's another posh and down-right fabulous place added to the list so bon appétit, y'all. read more

When charged with finding a place for a fancy work dinner with a foreign colleague, I was looking for the epitome of London. Near to my office but with something a bit special, I chose Skylon Bar and Grill for the views over the river. Getting a reservation was easy ( don't believe their website - call!) and I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience. In the first floor of the Royal Festival Hall, the location is great and has the added bonus of a walk on the South Bank and a creative vibein the area. We has a 3 course meal, mine was pan-fried asparagus with poached egg starter, beatifully baked salmon with risotto for main and the most amazing white chocolate egg shell filled withrasberry and rhubarb compote for dessert. The wine list was fairly extensive and we tried a champagne from the impressive trolley. I particularly love the atmosphere - double height ceilings let loads of light in, tables are covered with all-white linens and simple settings. The best thing is that it's not too noisy - call me old! - but I also like that you can have a drink at the central bar, and then choose either the lower priced grill or the higher-end restaurant for dinner. In the right weather conditions the views of the sky are amazing, and well worth the £40.00 menus. Good for a date you want to impress, good for theatre buffs, good for work dinners, good for a drink. Did I forget anything? read more

We went there for Sunday lunch. The view and service were good. The food, however, was below my expectation. The quail is and the cous-cous were tasteless. The pork belly was over-cooked. The rib eye was a big disappointment. Instead of a steak, it was straightly from the carving station. I wonder how they made my particular piece "medium rare"... It is a shame that the food did not match the view at all. read more

The restaurant is located in the Southbank Centre but easy to miss out. I must note that they provide excellent service. The staff was so helpful and polite what meats the expectations. I cannot say the same for the menu. Especially set menu offers limited selection. Duck liver is a good option for starter. Beef was juicy so it hit the spot for me. It has also wonderful view by overlooking Thames. I recommend this restaurant to anyone who looks for a special dine out near Thames. read more

All Pictures at The London Foodie(http://www.thelondonfoodie.co.uk/2010/08/brazil-festival-and-jose-barattino.html ) Going to the Southbank brings back memories of my college days in London in the early 90's - I had no money, and like many other university students, I scraped a living working in bars, shops or doing odd jobs. The Royal Festival Hall became a regular haunt then because of its free Jazz on Fridays and other events, and also for its well priced pints and good cafeteria food. Built in 1951 as an exhibition and music venue for post-war Britain, the Royal Festival Hall has been a focal point for music and cultural events in London ever since. Following a £91m refurbishment of the hall and surrounding area between 2005-07, the area has now been transformed and the Hall's 1950 features sympathetically restored. The D & D London group of restaurants, of Quaglino's and Bluebird fame, joined forces in this project to create Skylon, a single space that incorporates a stunning raised cocktail bar, a fine dining restaurant and an all-day grill. The menu is modern European with a strong British influence. As part of the Brazil Festival at the Southbank this summer, Jose Barattino (the award-winning head chef of Hotel Emiliano in São Paulo) was invited to Skylon to introduce his modern interpretation of some of Brazil's best loved dishes, and so I went there to meet him. My student days are long behind me and now cocktails at Skylon is one of my favourite London things to do - the raised bar gives you a great view of the surrounding restaurant and the Southbank and Thames below; it is the perfect place to soak up the elegant atmosphere of the place and for people-watching. I was pleased to see a selection of Brazilian-inspired cocktails devised by Skylon's mixologists, and Barattino's accompanying bar food on the menu. For cocktails, I went for "Delicia" which was made from Leblon cachaca (Brazilian sugar cane spirit), Chartreuse liquor and muddled fresh strawberries and lemon. Dr G opted for "Terra Samba", served in a snifter glass, it was also made from cachaca, passoa liquor, passion fruit and fresh lime. Both drinks were priced @ £10.50 and were exceptionally well executed with some vibrant flavours. Rather like in Spain or Portugal, in Brazil alcohol is never drunk without food. The bar food at Skylon was an excellent representation of what is served in Brazil and included "Pastel de Bacalhau" (deep fried salt-cod dumplings), "Pao de Queijo com Pernil" (cheese bread with pulled pork), "Coxinha de Frango com Catupiry" (deep fried potato dumplings with shredded chicken and cream cheese), and "Torresmo" (Brazilian style crispy pork belly). These dishes are ubiquitous in Brazil and found from the simplest ("boteco" bars) to the most expensive eateries in the country. It was interesting to see Barattino's take on such popular dishes, and appreciate these very familiar and delicious flavours in London. On my visit during the first week of the Festival and whilst Barattino was resident at Skylon, only the fine dining menu was available to the public at £40 and £45 for two or three courses respectively. Surprisingly, the options were in my opinion less interesting than the ones from the Skylon Grill menu which were priced at £20 and £25 for two or three courses and only available a week later. To view Skylon Grill's menu, click here. Dr G and I shared the two available options which were "Legumes Assados com Emulsao de Castanha do Brasil" (roasted vegetables with Brazil nut sauce) and "Cordeiro Assado com Especiarias Brasileiras, Quirera de Milho e Mel Nativo" (roasted lamb with Brazilian spices, corn meal and native honey). Both dishes were beautifully presented and delicious with very distinctive flavours. I loved the corn meal which I ate many times in Brazil as a child (mingau de fuba). It is similar to soft polenta but has a strong corn flavour and coarser texture. It was a perfect accompaniment to the deliciously tender and well seasoned lamb. I found Barattino a highly talented chef - few can bring such modest ingredients into their cooking and make them taste good and feel right in a sophisticated dish like the one I had. From the bar menu, I also ordered a "Escondidinho de Carne Seca" (Shredded jerk beef "hidden" under a layer of cassava cream gratin) @ £7.50. I love "cassava or manioc" which was brought to Brazil by Africans and the Portuguese in the 16th century and cannot recommend it enough as an alternative to potatoes. It makes for the most fantastic chips and mash. In this dish, the cassava is creamed and combines beautifully with the salty meat underneath. This is one of the dishes I make sure to eat whenever I visit Brazil. For dessert, we had a "Torta de Banana com Sorbet de Açai" (warm banana torte with "Açai" sorbet). I love any desserts with bananas in it, but the real surprise for me was the Açai sorbet. Açai is a berry from the Açai palm tree which grows abundantly in the Brazilian read more

Skylon left me feeling just a bit meh. We went for the express lunch menu (£15 for 2 courses £18 for 3) and while I realise this is the cheapo option, in my opinion set lunches are supposed to act as a primer for what the kitchen could really do if you gave them a decent budget. Skylon's tables are all crammed into next to one another and I know this is to maximise the return on the view that they trail so heavily on their website but I would rather not have such a good view and not practically be sharing a table with my neighbours. Also Skylon exemplifies one of my pet hates which is making dishes sound like a complete plate of food when they're not. Take for example my main which read, onglet steak, baby new potatoes, spinach. Now I read something like that and think that I don't need to get sides because everything I would want is already on the plate. In actual fact what they've done is use the things that aren't steak as garnishes e.g. 3 slices of one tiny potato dotted artfully around the plate and the smallest dollop of spinach you can get away with. This kind of thing really annoys me and I would rather they just said steak on the menu because that's a much more truthful descriptor. Service was also fairly bad, desperately struggling to make eye contact with servers is never a good thing. Actually in this price point there are quite a few places I would rather go (both Lauceston Place and Clos Maggiore do set lunches for around £20) that are far far better. I won't be wasting my time or money at Skylon again. read more

Great date night here! Got the taster menu, around 10 mini courses, each impeccable! This is a stuffy, fine dining experience so definitely don't stroll up in your shorts and tees (as comfy as that would be ;) We had seats next to the window so fantastic views of the Thames - very romantic location! Only qualm is the staff were a little toooo over attentive - like folding my napkin when I went to the toilet seemed a bit much. Highly recommend for business gatherings or romantic dates. read more

I've eaten here (the restaurant) three times, all during the day and at the weekend. At this time you get a set (two or three course) menu, which works out much cheaper than if you were to dine in the evening. As a result the choice is slightly limited but there is certainly still something for everyone and I haven't seen the same dishes offered twice. Inside it's beautiful and compliments the view brilliantly, while managing to not be too stuffy and formal. I found the service to be very efficient, maybe a little too efficient sometimes its nice to be left alone for a while. This is by far my favourite restaurant in London, the food is varied and just amazing. I've never left disappointed or hungry. The only problem with Skylon is trying not to spend too much money on the good range of wine the (always great) sommelier will offer you. EDIT: Been another few times recently = STILL AWESOME! read more

This is a fantastic place to take out-of-town friends and family because of its spectacular views. The food is good, but not great and the prices are high. It is the perfect place for cocktails and nibbles, however. If you want/need to impress, then you won't go wrong here. read more

Went to Skylon recently for Lunch as I wanted to see how much it had changed since it was The People's Palace when I had eaten there last. The views are great and the waiter service was impeccable.The food was cooked to perfection and was impressed by the simple yet classy presentation.Overall an enjoyable lunch. read more

The setting and service is good, however the food is just okay. For the price I would expect the food to be a lot better than what it is, so much so that with everything considered this place gets two stars. read more

The cocktail bar has a very luxurious feel to it, and a spectacular view of the North side of the river. The food in the restaurant is pretty good - a little too fussy for my liking though. Worth a visit once, but not worth going back to. read more