The Sky’s Not the Limit
Where to, where to? Andaz Hotel, Doha? Armani Hotel, Dubai? Bab Al Qasr Garden, Abu Dabhi? Il Baretto, Riyadh? Jumeirah Muscat Bay, Oman? Reyna, Paris? Sachi Milano, Milan? Wassim Aal Baher, Anfeh? Paris (and everywhere else) can wait. We’re off to the Shangri-La Hotel in London’s most striking cloudscraper. The Hall of Abstinence in Beijing’s Forbidden City already a fading memory, today is all about the bottomless Veuve Cliquot Champagne Sunday Brunch in the Sky Lounge on level 34. No rest for the wonderful. SupperClub Middle East has 700 plus exclusive worldwide offers and Shangri-La is just one of them in the English Capital.
Britain’s tallest building – all 95 storeys of it – is the ultimate vertical town. It replaced a titchy 24 storey office block on this valuable site next to London Bridge. Owned by the State of Qatar (95 percent) and Sellar Property Group (five percent), The Shard contains shops, offices, restaurants, bars, apartments, a public viewing gallery and of course the 202 guest room Shangri-La Hotel which takes up the middle 18 floors. Italian architect Renzo Piano took inspiration from the spires of London churches and the masts of tall ships in Canaletto paintings of Venice. On 5 July 2012, The Shard was formally inaugurated by His Excellency Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassem Bin Jabor Al Thani, Prime Minister of the State of Qatar. Its name should really be pluralised: the exterior comprises eight shards of glass slicing through the air.
“Standing at almost 310 metres,” says His Excellency Sheikh Abdulla Bin Saoud Al Thani, Governor of Qatar Central Bank, “The Shard is one of the tallest buildings in Europe. For me, however, the height of The Shard is only a secondary feature. What is special is the solid and continuing relationship between two nations, Qatar and Britain, which was an important factor in completing this project.” Just into its second decade, the point of The Shard is already as integral to the London skyline as the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral. Lunching two years ago in Passionné restaurant, Paris, the waiter and waitress (a couple) excitedly told us about their first visit to London. Where did they head for first? The Houses of Parliament? The National Gallery? The Shard.
The double height Sky Lounge lives up to its name. Fully glazed sloping walls face the ever changing elements while framing views of the Capital far below: Blackfriars Bridge to the west; the City of London to the north; Tower Bridge to the east. Even the bathroom has its own panorama with Southwark Cathedral in the foreground. The three course menu is long enough to satisfy the carnivore to vegan spectrum and short enough not to be hard work on the day of rest. Devon Crab Pancake (avocado, lemon aioli, rainbow relish) and Beetroot Tartare (St Ewe’s organic egg yolk, walnuts, beetroot cracker) are wonderfully light, full of taste and textural contrast. A double buffet follows: The Cheesemonger and Sweet Sensation. Belt bursting Continental and British cheeses vie for attention with irresistible cakes and puddings.
This is our third venture up The Shard. The first was a (very memorable) Royal Town Planning Institute party in December 2019 commandeering the Sky Lounge to crown a year of professional accomplishments. The second (somewhat memorable) was the launch of the Essex Mayoralty Race in December 2025 in the private dining room of Mitie on Level 12. The election was postponed the night before but the breakfast went away anyway. Sunday brunch in the Shangri-La Sky Lounge will soon become a new memory of an elevated afternoon. As winter light glistens over the River Thames in the distance, we raise our crystal Champagne flutes to this 21st century Crystal Palace.
