On a cool September evening, I ventured over to the iconic 72-storey building that juts out of the London skyline like a glass glacier. The Shard, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, is home to an array of offices and three restaurants, which are extravagant in their own right. I was here to dine at the award-winning Hutong at the Shard, a Northern Chinese eatery on level 33 that’s part of the Aqua restaurant group. Named after Beijing’s narrow roads, AKA hutongs, it takes inspiration from authentic dishes served in Old Peking imperial palaces and was celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival with a special, decadent £90 set menu upon visiting.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a harvest celebration when the moon is believed to be at its brightest; it falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar. It’s one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture, and I was braving airport-style security, travelling tens of floors up with my ears popping like I’d boarded a flight, to try Hutong at The Shard’s dedicated menu, featuring the iconic moon cake.

It's not every day you get to see a wall made up of compressed Chinese tea. 

DesignMyNight Review Of Hutong Shard

Upon entering the elegant space, my dinner date and I were immediately taken aback by the striking interiors designed by Gordon Young (of Gordon Young Architects) in collaboration with Aqua Group’s David Yeo. Hand-carved, dark wooden lattices surrounded us, lit up by the warm glow of red lanterns; there was even a wall made entirely up of compressed Chinese tea bricks and, just outside the restaurant, a toilet where you can do your business while overlooking the London Bridge train tracks (a novelty that was not lost on us).

We began by diving in the deep end as four golden deep-fried eel puffs topped with luminous green tobiko (a type of flying fish roe, which the waiter attested to naturally being the colour of plasma) were presented to us on a rectangular slate. I’d never tried eel before, and was thankful that for my first time it was encased in flaky pastry. It soaked up the saltiness of the fish and left a sweet aftertaste without any poignant notes of the sea, an aspect I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Looks to k-eel for: Hutong, The Shard, is an absolute stunner. 

To accompany, we popped delicate slithers of chilled, thinly cut marinated beef shank with chilli and coriander in our mouths and felt our eyes water as the heat cut through and kicked the back of our throats in a delightful, warm way. Each strip was incredibly meaty, with earthy, soy undertones; a moreish combination.

As the mains arrived, the sun began to set, casting a fiery orange over the city that ping-ponged off of buildings and was the same colour as our Chinese Lantern cocktails. Made up of Aperol, passionfruit, plum and prosecco, they were a tart, orange-flavoured autumn version of a summer spritz that left our lips enjoyably sticky and bodies fuzzy.

I pierced my chopsticks through pan-seared sea bass that was enveloped in a crispy crumb, curled up in a ball from where the heat of the fryer had pinged it together, and drizzled in a pickled sweet and spicy sauce. This quickly became my favourite dish of the night as big chunks of white fish melted in my mouth and waves of tart sauce washed it down. It created a nostalgic longing for a sweet and sour dish and then satisfied it in an elevated way with fruity notes. We wolfed down the wok-tossed green chilli peppers that had an addictive charred skin and spooned transparent, silky strands of stir-fried glass noodles with beansprouts down, marvelling at how everything had a spicy soy aftertaste but never made you feel like you had to down a pint of water afterwards (which is usually the case when I’ve finished slurping).

The pan-seared sea bass was a standout. 

Not before long, it was time for the moon cake, a traditional Chinese dessert that’s given out around the Mid-Autumn Festival and its round shape symbolizes completeness and reunion. It’s typically made up of sweet baked dough and filled with red bean or lotus seed paste and salted duck yolks. Our one featured layers of nuts, creating a crunchy texture while, flavour-wise, we were left with a slightly earthy nuttiness, a hint of warmth but nothing particularly identifiable. We appreciated its symbolisation nonetheless, nibbling away and feeling suitably full. After a couple of minutes of watching trains weave through houses and the beckoning glow of Flat Iron Square below us, we said goodbye and descended back down from among the clouds.

Hutong Shard Overall:

Chinese is one of the most popular cuisines in the UK, and Hutong at The Shard does a wonderful job of elevating it to match its location's high-profile status, while maintaining its accessibility (you’ll notice an array of classics on the menu). While the price was a little on the high side, the quality of the food was impressive: full of flavour and without the heaviness of your typical takeaway, it's a restaurant I’d return to if I were looking to treat someone special to some fancy noodles and experience a VIP level of service. 

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