Hoisted high up in the London skyline, on floor 32 of The Shard, you will find Oblix – a sophisticated and contemporary restaurant serving delightful food and drinks.
Visiting as a belated Valentine’s dinner, my girlfriend and I were treated wonderfully by highly attentive staff throughout the evening.
We were shown into the restaurant, which takes you on a path through the kitchen with starters being prepared on your left and main course dishes being grilled, seared and garnished on your right.
Upon being seated at our table, although not directly next to a window but still offering a spectacular view over the west side of London, we were handed a glass of top quality champagne.
Whilst gazing out at the beautiful skyline dotted with red and white lights, we picked out our orders from the extensive and highly appetising menu.
The view over the west side of London was beautiful (Image: Gianni Cirillo) We were initially served a warm dome of sourdough bread, sat upon a bed of pine nuts and accompanied by a creamy salted butter – a simple but perfectly executed plate for us to graze on whilst our starters were prepared.
We shared three starters: crispy squid, crispy buttermilk chicken and the burrata.
The squid was battered in a light crumb – making for delicate and crispy mouthfuls which were further enhanced by a squeeze of fresh lime.
The buttermilk chicken was equally well battered – despite being coated in a sweet and sticky sauce, the chicken maintained a delightfully fresh and crispy texture.
My favourite of the starters though was the burrata. This felt like the epitome of fresh and well-handled ingredients.
The burrata was soft and milky and paired perfectly with tomatoes, pesto and granola, making for a somewhat wild combination of textures that harmonised faultlessly.
The steak was charred well, forming a crisp, textured crust on the outside whilst indeed being cooked rare inside. The meat was tender, flavourful and quite simply near-impossible to critique.
I wouldn’t usually order cod for my main course but the description of the dish on the menu intrigued me highly – ‘cedar smoked black cod flavoured with lime and jalapeno’.
I can confirm that the dish exceeded expectations. The flesh was flaky and barely required a knife to break apart, the flavouring was well balanced with neither the heat of jalapeno or the citrus of lime forcing their way as the dominant flavour profile and the influence of the smoke cedar wood was there for both my tastebuds and eyes.
The only minor issue we encountered was the length of time that our cocktails took to arrive (they were served whilst we were enjoying our main courses) but our waiter apologised profusely and explained that the order software had gone down.
Had the meal been an average dining experience, perhaps this would have been of more annoyance but such was the tremendous quality and stunning views, it was barely noticed.
Oblix provides you with a real taste of luxury and allows all of your senses to profit – from the flavour of the dishes to the outlooking views of the capital, I’d recommend the restaurant to anyone in search for a special and luxurious dining experience.
