Breakfast with a view

Situated on 20 Fenchurch street, just a short walk from London bridge, you will find a commercial skyscraper that is commonly known as the walkie-talkie due to its shape. Hidden away 155 metres up inside this building is an oasis overlooking the city that believe it or not is open and free to the public!

The sky garden opened in January 2015 and I have wanted to visit for ages. There are two restaurants that sit above the centre of the gardens and I booked a table at the Darwin Brasserie which seemed to be the more relaxed (less posh) of the two.

We arrived nice and early for breakfast which is split into hour slots and we were free to wander the gardens before and after our booking. The restaurant was really modern and chic looking and luckily we got a table next to the window so got to eat our breakfast with a lovely view over London.

The menu has a few choices of cooked meals and a continental buffet style breakfast for a set price. We chose the buffet which had a choice of cereals, pastries, yoghurts, fruit and muffins with tea, coffee or juice.

Typically when at a buffet you have a few bites to eat and feel miraculously full up so not sure I really got my moneys worth and if I went back I would probably chose one of the hot meals instead. The staff were lovely but we had a problem finding our waiter because for some reason they all looked really alike.

If you were planning on visiting but didn’t want to book a table you could still buy food and drink at the city garden bar and sky pod bar situated in the gardens.

The gardens open from 7am and it is fairly quiet but doesn’t take long to fill up. Although it is free to visit you do need to book a slot online to visit the gardens if you don’t have a restaurant booking as it is very popular and would be overcrowded otherwise.

Inside the gardens there are a few seating areas and stairs to explore the wide open space, it is a great place to do a photoshoot and as everyone has cameras you don’t seem out of place taking photos. Although there is loads of greenery I thought there would be a few more exotic, fancy plants to admire but I suppose everyone is more taken with the amazing views than to worry about looking inside.

The balcony is great for spotting landmarks over London and I could have stood out there all day, my daughter actually asked me if we were ever going home because I made myself so comfortable that I didn’t want to leave!

I was recently asked where my favourite place to visit in London is and the sky garden was the first place that sprang to mind, if I lived closer I think I would be there every morning with a coffee and a newspaper.

Have you ever been to the sky garden?

Where is your favourite place to visit in London?