Sky Garden Access Ticket & 2 Course Dinner at Larch Restaurant

Not worth the money not worth the experience !! Very disappointed ! The photos and advertisement are not what you see and the food on the package is not what is served. There was no aircon on the ground floor and it was a sauna! The plants are not taken care off ….

Amazing experience everyone was so friendly and helpful food was amazing and I highly recommend to do this

We visited Sky Garden for an à la carte dinner on 1 August. I really dislike leaving negative reviews, particularly as there were things I genuinely liked, but unfortunately the service left a lasting impression for the wrong reasons. The setting itself is beautiful. The greenery, huge windows and views across London make it a lovely place to visit, and I imagine it is even more impressive at night. I would actually like to return one evening for that reason. The atmosphere outside the restaurant was more mixed. It was extremely busy around the bar and seating areas, with people constantly moving around those trying to sit and have a drink. The choice of music also felt slightly out of keeping with the surroundings, although obviously that is personal preference. Unfortunately, the drinks were disappointing. We weren't given a cocktail menu at the bar, and the cocktails we received were genuinely poor. Given the prices, I would expect consistently well-made cocktails from appropriately trained bar staff. The restaurant itself was where the experience really fell down. The food was OK – I wouldn't call it bad, but equally I couldn't call it particularly good. It didn't feel worth the price based on the food alone, although I appreciate you are partly paying for the location and views. There was also a small fly repeatedly bothering guests and our food during the meal. Perhaps the amount of plant life makes this more difficult to avoid, but it isn't something I would expect while dining in a restaurant of this level. My biggest disappointment, however, was the service. At one point I was specifically asked whether I was enjoying my food. I answered honestly: “No.” Rather surprisingly, the response was essentially a smile, an acknowledgement and then carrying on with the service. Nobody asked what was wrong, whether anything could be improved or whether there was anything they could do. This happened with both the starter and the main. That became particularly significant at the end of the meal. I chose not to pay the discretionary service charge because, quite simply, I did not feel the service warranted it. Only after this was communicated to a senior member of staff did there suddenly appear to be considerable interest in why I had been unhappy. Unfortunately, the manner in which I was repeatedly questioned felt confrontational rather than concerned. To be clear, I have absolutely no issue with direct questions – asking why a customer was unhappy or chose not to pay the service charge is entirely reasonable. The problem was the delivery. There was a level of passive-aggressiveness in the tone and body language that completely changed what could have been a perfectly reasonable conversation. It felt less like, “We genuinely want to understand what went wrong,” and considerably more like, “Why haven't you paid our service charge?” Nobody was aggressive, but there is a sizeable space between aggression and good hospitality, and unfortunately this interaction landed firmly in it. That is a very important difference. I actually tried to de-escalate the situation by asking for an email address or another way of providing my feedback privately. I did this deliberately because I didn't think it was appropriate to have that conversation in front of other diners or embarrass members of staff. I didn't receive an answer to this and was instead left with what felt like an angry response. Ironically, I felt I was showing the discretion and sensitivity in that moment that I would have expected to receive as the customer. There was a perfectly reasonable opportunity earlier in the evening to ask for feedback: when I was asked whether I was enjoying my meal and explicitly said “No”. A simple, “I'm sorry to hear that – can I ask what isn't working for you, and is there anything we can do?” would have demonstrated genuine concern. Waiting until the service charge was declined unfortunately created a very different impression. I also think venues need to be particularly thoughtful about questioning customers over discretionary service charges. Not everyone is comfortable speaking up for themselves, and putting somebody on the spot in front of other diners can leave them feeling pressured or embarrassed into paying something that is supposed to be optional and, in this case, was not reflective of the experience received. Overall, Sky Garden is undeniably a beautiful place. The plants, natural light and London skyline make it somewhere worth experiencing, and I would still like to see it at night. The food was unremarkable and the drinks disappointing, but honestly neither would have prompted me to write this review. It was the service – and particularly how my decision not to pay the service charge was handled – that turned a mediocre dining experience into a genuinely disappointing one. I hope management takes that distinction seriously. Good hospitality isn't demonstrated by asking what went wrong once the service charge disappears; it's demonstrated by caring about the answer when a customer first tells you something is wrong.

Dinner at The Larch was fantastic and seeing the Sky Garden was the cherry on top! Absolutely beautiful experience!

Beautiful view, GREAT Italian meal. Super friendly people. Would totally go again. Such a fun evening!

Really enjoyed the food and sat out on the terrace. Lovely atmosphere and very friendly professional staff. Sky garden is really worth visiting too. Amazing views at the top and really buzzing atmosphere. Great fun and recommend to all travelkers

We will only allowed evening entry. This was not clearly stated in the details when we booked. The place was quite disappointing.

The restaurant "Larch" has nothing to do with Sky Garden; it is simply located next door. In hindsight, we found out that entry to the Sky Garden is free, and with the combo ticket, we simply paid for the 2-course menu at the Italian restaurant, which was £95 excl. Drinks are very expensive. The offer consisted of Pizza Margherita, penne, and bruschetta. The Sky Garden itself was breathtaking! It is better to book a free ticket right away or a combo at the restaurant above.

Brilliant! What a great night out - the restaurant service was excellent, as was the meal. And we chose the finest night to enjoy the sunset at the Sky Gardens, the musicians were great. My sister and her husband were very pleased their special anniversary present!

Overall we had a good time. Know that 1) the restaurant is not up in the tower (they are much more expensive!) but at ground level, 2) you will need age ID (over 18) if you want to go up after 18:00, 3) it is cheaper to book direct with operator, and 4) the drinks up in the sky garden are expensive (of course) and mostly ice! However, all staff were lovely, the food was reasonable (nothing special but fine, fairly good atmosphere), and the sky garden itself....well it is just a few large plant beds and some of the plants were a little sad...but the views and the party atmosphere were great! Honestly worth it for the views and feeling special. Magnificent. You can linger and enjoy.