It was a long time coming but it was worth waiting for, for Skylon is the best yet at the Royal Festival Hall.

The Venue
Skylon is named after the iconic structure built for the 1951 Festival of Britain and there’s still a fifties feel about the design. It’s a long, wide and airy space with a terrific view over the Thames if you can bag a window table. The architects have tried to keep as much of the original fittings, although in the restaurant everything is new but it’s very much retro chic with a modern twist in its clean lines: white pillars, beige chairs with tubular legs, carousel lamps, a smart bar and a general feeling of lightness in the air. The new space on the first level is divided into two halves, a bar and grill open all day to the left, and a fine dining restaurant open for lunch and dinner to the right. Tables are set comfortably apart although cushions might be called for as the seat seems too low for the height of the table. It’s the sort of place that’s always busy, so book well in advance, particularly if you are attending a performance.

The Atmosphere
Smart is definitely the word here and obviously the fine dining restaurant wishes to attract those diners who are really serious about their food, although it is not solemnly snobbish about the fine detail in its cuisine. The bar and grill is more straightforward, catering perhaps more for those in a hurry either before or after the concert. Staff are attentive and on the whole quite helpful and friendly, although there is still a kind of reverential hush about the place that’s rather akin to being in church.

The Food
Executive Chef Helena Puolakka from Finland has certainly made her mark by paying attention not only to the basic ingredients which are superb, but also to the mixing and matching of individual items in a most original way. Presentation cannot be faulted either, because everything looks so invitingly delicious. It’s a modern European menu with British influences based around seasonal ingredients. There are two menus in the fine dining restaurant: The 1951 set menu at £19.51 for two courses, £24.50 for three, and a more extensive a la carte from around £30.00. The grill offers lighter meals: starters, salads, eggs, pasta, fish, meat and puddings plus pre-and post- concert set menus and a kids’ menu.

The pea and mint soup is both delicate and rich in flavour. Roast baby squid with acacia honey roast ham and homemade preserved lemons are tender whole examples of the seafood, cooked to the point where they are still slightly yielding. The wild Pacific halibut, warm smoked, with baby artichoke and tapenade jus is fish at its best, soft and flaky and packed with flavours, while the three different cuts of lamb, caramelised shoulder, pan-fried fillet and kidneys, make a statement that says lamb has never before been this tender or so lusciously tasty: a real revelation. The desserts are fantastic too. Chocolate milk mousse, dark chocolate cake and white chocolate ice cream form a dessert-lover’s dream. Braeburn apple in a crisp pastry parcel with vanilla rice pudding and calvados sauce is just the best way to eat baked apple and rice, while the Crepe Suzette cooked at the table, is a classic reinvented here for the 21st century, flames and all.

The Drink
An enormous wine list begins with the 1950s Collection, which add up to hundreds and thousands. The rest, about 200 or more bottles, does have several under £20, with single glasses from £3.50.

The Last Word
It is rare to find a restaurant so perfect that it is completely beyond criticism. The service cannot be faulted as all the staff are charming in the extreme. This one should run and run because it must be one of the best restaurants in the capital.

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