City Social

It pains me to give three stars and maybe this just says a lot about my expectations and past experiences, but outside of the view I felt City Social was pretty average. Sure, it is decorated beautifully inside with dramatic dim lighting and dark wooden enclaves all over. But to me it lacked a certain wow factor that I was expecting. This just reminded me of another restaurant in London that just happened to be 24 flights up. The service was excellent and food was very good, but it didn’t blow my mind. To start I had the tuna tartare and for an entrée I had the Halibut. I think this is the kind of restaurant you bring someone you want to impress (makes sense since I was taken here by a potential business partner).

It’s smart, it’s in the city and the views aren’t bad too. Is it better than Duck & Waffle that’s only across the way? It’s different, but it probably has to be to give it its own intrigue.
It’s part of the social eating places (including Portland street, eating house & somewhere else) so you can expect well thought through menu.
I only popped in for a special cocktail talk but the visit was enough to tempt me to want to come back soon.
So check in later for a full review ;)

We came here for my boyfriend’s birthday on Friday and it turned out to be amazing. I called that morning and asked for a window seat which we did end up getting, though I’m sure eating at 6:15pm played a role in that :) it was actually the perfect time as it hadn’t gotten too busy and loud yet. We were able to enjoy the wonderful view (gherkin included in that) while waiting for our waiter. The waiter was helpful with choosing drinks and all the other staff were very lovely.
Now onto the food. The food was absolutely incredible! It looked beautiful and tasted even better. I had the linguine seafood for a starter and I wish I had more because it was to die for! My duck main was delicious as well though a sharper knife would have been pretty helpful :) my bf had the quail starter which also tasted incredibly flavourful and the rabbit, which he really enjoyed. For dessert we had the chocolate tart and the beetroot creation and both were terrific!
At the end we thought his birthday was forgotten, but then our waiter brought out a small box. Inside was a beautiful passion fruit and white chocolate cake. All in all a great experience and I highly recommend it. It is pricey but we worked it out that it isn’t more than other high end restaurants in London. When you factor in the view and service, it was very much worth it to us!

We reserved a table for a special occasion and asked for a table with a view. When we arrived we were seated at a table where one of us faced the wine cellar, not the view. The restaurant was nearly empty at that time, so we asked for a different table. Francesco, the manager, explained that those were too large for our party of three – even while a party of two enjoyed a table of equal size. I pointed to one that would be perfect and could afford all three of us a nice view. He refused because «that is a table for four, and you are only three». When he began to debate the «three-​four rule» again, I pointed to the other table which had remained empty until now. When he continued to press his «three-​four» argument we sent him away. Ten minutes later a party of three was seated at that table.
Our experience reminded me of the old management axiom: any idiot can manage to a rule book, a real leader manages to the exception.

I booked this restaurant after a last minute change in my friends’ travel plans left me scrambling to find a decent table for four people with two weeks’ notice. At first, I thought of taking them to one of the restaurants in the Shard, but then realized that the high rise dining scene can do one better, with the one Michelin starred City Social. Though Tower 42 isn’t a pretty building, it is right by Liverpool Street and our table was directly overlooking the Gherkin. The restaurant is panoramic and we also got impressive views of the Shard, and the bathroom looked out onto St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was so great that we ended up taking pictures in the bathroom.
We started off with a round of drinks, with the cocktail list featuring a special emphasis on different versions of gin and tonic, but with a large number of other options too. I got the Dorothy Parker gin and tonic, which came with a pansy flower in it, and my friend who got Do Me a Fava got both a flower in the drink and a disk of parmesan cheese clipped to the glass. Parmesan cheese is a bit random, but it got points for presentation. The Marvelous Medicine was also so cool — it came in a medicine bottle and there were instructions to break a small pill into the glass before pouring in the contents of the bottle.
As for food, I got the seafood linguini, and my friends got the truffle risotto and the rabbit saddle. I felt a bit guilty about ordering such a normal sounding dish, but I had a big craving for seafood, and Jason Atherton’s creativity delivered. The linguini was in one unbroken ball in the middle of the dish, with some fried seafood on the side and a lovely consommé of seafood juices was poured over it all. It wasn’t at all like a creamy sauce-​centric seafood linguini that you would find at an ordinary Italian restaurant. It was also a very good portion size — I was concerned about being too full after a heavy pasta dish, but this was just the opposite.
For desserts, we had something called «English strawberries, elderflower, pistachio, strawberry juice, honeycomb.» I don’t think that does a very good job describing what came out. It was a pistachio custard covered in a strawberry gel, with bits of strawberry and honeycomb on top. My friend thought it was too heavy on the pistachio, and I agree that you wouldn’t enjoy it unless you have a strong love of pistachio. I liked that it wasn’t too sweet, but the size was probably more appropriate for sharing.
Having dined at a lot of Jason Atherton’s restaurants in recent weeks, I prefer City Social over Pollen Street Social, but I think I see myself more at home at Social Eating House. City Social is great for the views and for well-​presented food, but Social Eating House has a buzzing, vibrant atmosphere than I prefer to the stiff and rather quiet tables of City Social. We were in semi-​circular booths that lent themselves to great views for everyone at the table, but not so great conversation. City Social also just wasn’t very busy; I could only get a reservation for 6 PM, but throughout our time there, the restaurant was only operating at about half capacity. I have no idea why they didn’t let us book for later!

Best view in town!
I absolutely love this restaurant! Every time I visit I am surprised by a fresh menu that can never get boring. On top of that the view is AMAZING. Not to mention the professional staff that is extremely knowledgeable always able to make a suggestion.

Gorgeous classy setting inside Tower 42 — this is the latest (and I think the most romantic!) addition to the high rise bars popping up around London. I like that they haven’t packed the tables too tightly into the bar area so it still feels nicely spacious and intimate, rather than having 3 other groups in eye/​earshot. The sexy dark wood décor and low lighting also help with the romance factor.
Best to call ahead to reserve a table. The view (as if I needed to tell you) is excellent; our table had us looking over onto the gherkin. I am a sucker for a puntastic cocktail menu (‘Vermouth? You Can’t Handle Vermouth’ — ahh just brilliant) and also spotted a decent scotch selection, both of which I’ll have to try another time along with the food. It was a special sort of evening though so we went for bubbles, and I can confirm the lift whoosh down is twice as much fun after half a bottle of prosecco… :)

Housed within Tower 42 on the 24^th floor City Social is an impressive restaurant with spectacular views. The food was great, chef could work the Medium Rare steak cooking they were a little more Blu than medium. Portions sizes were spot on and the sides delicious.
The things which lost it a star from me were:
— staff were a bit pretentious and they really didn’t know what they were offering.
— Why we needed a different waiter to take food and wine orders amazes me. If we were looking to discuss the wines I could understand having a semmelier in our case we knew what we wanted.
— lack of signage at the tower entrance meant the entire group walked into the build reception where as the entrance was around the corner.
— Cheese selection was great but the waiter didn’t know the cheeses and the portions are so small it took an age to cut them.

So we went for dinner last night and I am a bit in two minds. The décor is great, the lighting at night both intimate and also facilitates seeing the view, decent enough wine list with mark-​ups that are not as scary as they could be (I only looked outside the long list from the traditional French regions), and overall we had a great time.
But there are a few things that just make it feel good rather than somewhere memorable — the service was competent but failed to excel when given the chance (my wife didn’t like the Rose champagne and the sommelier didn’t make any effort to understand why and offer a good choice, just reeled off his list of available drinks, we asked for a break after the starters and it was met with surprise). Similarly the food was all very good but lacked any real ‘zing’ (terrrine, trotter/​ham hock, lobster, venison). Finally, and possibly crucially the tables for two along the back wall are packed-​in making you very close to your neighbours; much more so than I’d expect for a restaurant of this ambition.
We didn’t go to the bar but was a decent size, interesting cocktail list and feels more than just an add on.
Overall then if you make the assumption it’s competing against other destination restaurants then it’s a very good attempt, and for a special night probably the best. However, I’ve enjoyed the other ‘Socials’ much more and the overall package didn’t quite come together for me so if I was to recommend a place with a view I’d give up the height and head back to Skylon where the food is not be quite as good but the overall package hangs together well and you can afford to explore the wine list a bit more.

I have to agree with previous reviews on the view and the service. I think the setting, décor and view of the city are fantastic. The service was also incredible — all of the staff were very friendly and helpful.
I can’t give it 5 stars because of the food. Don’t get me wrong — it was good — but there wasn’t anything that really impressed me. I feel like the restaurants with the best atmosphere/​views tend to fall short a bit on the food. I had the ribeye for my main, which was probably the most disappointing. They somehow managed to make it very tough and difficult to both cut and chew, which kind of defeats the purpose of ordering ribeye. The starters and desserts were good, but nothing stands out as amazing.
I think this is a great place for drinks, and while the food is good I would probably choose to spend that kind of money elsewhere

Went here for a birthday dinner last night and loved it.
The Place:
The atmosphere and décor was laid back and very classy but also very relaxed and most importantly spacious and not cramped, which can be hard to find.
The Food:
Menu had a great selection (and more veggie options than I expected) and dishes were just the right size, I left feeling pretty full. Highlight: the cocktail list — the cocktails here are amazing and I only wish I could have tried them all.
The Service:
The service is what made this place extra special for me, it was amazing. Friendly, helpful and very sweet, I even got a small birthday cake box to take home at the end of our meal. Unfortunately in our excitement we got caught up taking pictures as we left and forgot the cake which I felt awful about especially as it was given with such kindness (plus it looked great and couldn’t wait to get home and eat it!) :(

We loved our dinner at City Social. The food was delicious, service divine, and view beautiful! Try to request a spot by the windows when you go or even sit on the bar side (it has a better view than the restaurant). The tuna tartake, potato gnocchi, duck, lamb with shepards pie, and white chocolate mousse were all divine. Thank you for the beautiful night!

Hands down, my new favourite place in The City.
For some reason, I’ve been tempted to think that higher/​taller was better in the destination restaurant world. Sushi Samba, AquaShard et al and so ONLY eating on the 24^th floor seemed lowly (pun intended).
However, It’s awesome to be in the middle of the City towers and it makes the city seem bigger and cooler, especially at night.
More importantly, the food is perfect. No, really, it’s perfect. I’ve had lunch and dinner here now it’s just wonderful. The service is crisp. They have table clothes, which seem to be missing from many new places and wine list is just right.
I’ve even propped myself up at the bar and sampled the cocktails.
All in all, it’s terrific and I hope it’s becomes the City Institution it deserves to be in time.

City Social is the new spot from Jason Atherton, of Pollen Street Social (and also Little Social. What can he say, the man likes being social.) This one’s a little bit different though.
Mostly because it’s 24 floors up.
You go in through the side entrance of Tower 42 (not the main doors, as they’ll send you around to the right) and then take an elevator that’s so fast your ears pop. But when those doors open — woah.
Unlike a place like Duck and Waffle, where the windows can be blocked by tables and lights, City Social is all view. High windows, the place is beyond mood-​lit to almost too dark (almost though, it does create that lovely romantic feeling) and the view is phenomenal. We were sat looking right out to the Shard and it was hard not to be impressed.
Of course, as with any Atherton creation, it was also hard not to be impressed by the food. We did bar menu only but this was no nuts and crisps. Our meal included goat’s cheese churros (amazing), a shrimp roll with duck fat fries (both hot and delicious) and calamari, which were the low point — but not by much. They weren’t bad, they just didn’t impress like the other two.
The only issue we ran into was we really wanted one of his legendary burgers, but apparently the chef was not happy with how they were being done and took them off the menu. Sad. Hopefully by the time I go back, they’ll be back on there.
The price reflects the restaurant (meaning, it is very high) but you get what you pay for. Excellent food, excellent service, amazing view. Absolutely worth going to.