TĪNG

We booked in advance of our London stay. We wanted the view and the ambiance that this
restaurant was supposed to have. We arrived for a late lunch. No problems getting seated
but it took awhile for the menus to arrive.
The appetizers were ok but can you imagine serving Fois Gras with San Francisco sour dough
bread?! The same bread for a very good fish tartar. The entrees– a risotto and an ocean trout were delicious. Much better than the service –we had a chilled bottle of wine that was kept in a cooler out of my reach– I had to ask THREE times for more wine, 2 times for more water. For desert my wife had a cheese course – mystery ones since our server did not identify them– probably just as well since they were old, not at room temp and reaked of ammonia — served with extra thin flour poppadoms. My chocolate 3 ways had no taste even of chocolate. also we asked for bread with the cold Nh3 like cheeses and received –guess
what? — more SF sour dough. I recommend going up to the restaurant level for the view-​maybe a drink and have good meal elsewhere
No freebies or palate cleansers were served at our table
Also the wait staff seemed to congregate away from all the patrons

Ting Lounge is another high rise restaurant in London, situated on the 34^th floor of the Shard as part of the Shangri La Hotel. This time we were here for their afternoon tea.
Given its prestigious location and it’s fancy décor they could have improved vastly on their service and quality of food. There was only two staff present meaning service was slow and forgetful. We had to ask several times for our food and tea to be refilled yet sadly even to the end, my parent’s tea never got refilled. Would have helped if they wrote the order down on paper.
However the price somewhat made up for the lack of efficiency and we were later told after being seated that the price of £54 for an afternoon tea was actually between two people so essentially it’s only £27 for one person which isn’t bad compared to other afternoon teas. The platters and tea also had unlimited refills.
It was a spacious area, beautifully dressed tables and chairs with gold tassels. With floor to ceiling windows you cannot miss the fantastic views of London. You could hear the live pianist playing from the floor above too.
Between eight of us we ordered two Asian inspired afternoon tea and two English afternoon tea to share. As we waited we also made an order of tea from their menu which had a nice varied selection of the classics and the more uncommon ones. However when the tea arrived, more than half were luke warm, mainly the more classic varieties as if they have been made beforehand and just sitting in a jug. A disappointing start already.
Asian inspired afternoon tea
Savouries consisted mainly of generic Asian starters. The vegetable rice paper roll and mango chutney was one of the poorest additions I’ve had. It was so bland I felt like I was eating paper. There was no seasoning other than the generic mango chutney you get from a bottle. The rice paper itself was hard and dry as if it had been made hours beforehand and sitting there to dry out.
Siew mai with tobiko tasted pre bought and microwaved, lacking sweetness and complexity. There was no bounce or any textural differences to distinguish between the filling, only the addition of the fish roes on top that provided some spark to it.
Deep-​fried gyoza with spicy mayo. No attempt to be creative. It was barely filled or had any taste from the promised vegetable filing, mainly masked by the hard exterior pastry outside. Again all very one noted, only the spicy fermented broad bean mayonnaise on top that gave it flavour.
The only promising dish out of the savouries was the beef sandwich. The beef slice was suprising full of flavour being marinated in ginger and soy beforehand with sweet notes. It was nice and tender and matched well the soft fluffy white bread.
English afternoon tea
So on the lower tier of the stand contained the platter of sandwiches. Stilton blue cheese, caramelised walnuts, cucumber lacked balance, being much stronger in the cheese masking most of the caramelised walnuts. As much as people may enjoy blue cheese, a lot of people don’t so it is a risky sandwich filling to have.
Egg and mayo could have been more generous with filling as I tasted more of the bread than the filling itself. The bread also drew out a lot the moisture making it very dry.
Smoked salmon was okay but I definitely had better, lacking that richness and oiliness a good slice of smoked salmon should have.
Roasted organic chicken, jamón Serano, tomato in a brioche roll– The brioche bun, tasted like it dried out and the jamon was too hard and tough. Luckily the chicken itself was juicy enough and sweet to give it at least some moisture and decent flavour.
Tea Poached Prawn, lemon mayonnaise, baby gem was okay. Nice herby mousse, full of flavour and creamy. Sadly the pastry was too dry and hard and breaking away that soft texture.
On both the Asian and English afternoon tea, the scones were probably the highlight. Both lovely, fresh buttery and fluffy. On the Asian, it consisted of Oolong scones and on the English, Camomile scones for a more unique touch. They were all very good. The accompanied jams were also delicious and moreish especially the mango jam which was deliciously fruity and sweet.
Desserts were pretty good, most of them being quite creative and all freshly made. Sadly I don’t remember every individual piece apart from the macaroons that was the only real disappointment. Don’t think I’ve had one that was so dry and brittle.
Although the price is better than paying to see the Shard alone, I still feel quite let down my Ting. As nice as the atmosphere was our meal was poorly executed with missing orders. Quality of the savouries were also poor.
But I wouldn’t dismiss this place completely. It was nice that even those who order an English menu could have their next refills exchanged with an Asian & visa versa. Price and the sweet dishes weren’t bad either. They even gave us doggy bags to take away the food we couldn’t finish. Just don’t come with high expectations

Ok, this is a tough one.
I was taken here for my birthday on a Wednesday lunchtime. We specifically requested a window seat and said it was for a birthday, with quite some notice. When we arrived, as splendid as the view was, we weren’t near the window, and I was disappointed to note that we were pretty much the only people not to be, so it did feel like a snub.
Entrance through the Shangri’La hotel is impressive, it’s a truly opulent location and it felt quite exciting. Ting itself is beautiful with gorgeous furniture, rugs and even velvet menus. However, some sort of event was being set up just next to the seating area and there was loud banging and talking throughout the day. There were a LOT of staff, and they seemed attentive. Unfortunately this did not translate to a good service.
We ordered one of each of the afternoon teas, so we could sample the full range of food on offer, both classic and eastern. We upgraded to the champagne, which was delicious, and when the food came it looked very impressive. We soon realised though that it must have been sat out for quite a while. All the sandwiches were very dry and not particularly tasty. I ordered extra sandwiches and these took a while to come and were also dry, so I assume the kitchen must make them in advance.
The scones and cakes were mostly delicious though and beautiful looking, so I can’t really fault those.
The tea was the real problem. The first (small) pot took a while to come, well after the food had arrived. The second pot took over half an hour and I asked four separate members of staff to check on it, all were very apologetic but it still didn’t materialise. We spent the majority of the afternoon tea thirsty and irritated. I still have absolutely no idea how so many members of staff couldn’t work out how to pour hot water into a teapot!
In conclusion, if you want a amazing view, go to the view from the Shard or Sky Garden. If you want an amazing afternoon tea with incredible service go to Tartufo at 11 Cadogen Gardens. If you want to go somewhere just because it’s posh, go to the Ritz. Sorted.
Otherwise you could just go to Ting and spend a ridiculous amount of money, up to you.

I agree with the middle of the road reviews of this place. The setting and the views are great, the food is good, but not great. Ate here twice while staying in the hotel and both meals were fine, but not anything I would go out of the way to get, I would recommend having a drink and an appetizer at the lounge, skipping the restaurant.

View was spectacular!!!
The desserts were ok nothing special very sweet if you have a bite that’s more than enough to satisfy your sweet cravings.
Sandwiches were mediocre. Before they give you the menu they offer you a glass of Champagne. Not good.
The afternoon tea has two different prizes one with champagne one without. Well after we got the 1^st glass of champagne they mentioned second one is extra charge. Not cool.
Yet they mentioned we can have as many different types of tea we want. As well that they will bring sandwiches and scone as much as we want.
We ordered the type of tea we wanted, but got it after 1hr 10minutes… they forgot! We had to ask for it again. They tried to compensate that with a glass of champagne. Which was a good gesture but at this point I was very disappointed.
They were not apologetic.
We’re there for two hours they didn’t check on us.
After we asked for our tea we got a second plate of sandwiches. But we ordered a classic and Asian so we should have gotten a plate of the classic and a plate of Asian plate.
Well I didn’t want to make a scene in this high establishment we are the only blacks very very upset.
When everyone left they got a small box of treats We didn’t get that either.

Coming to Ting for afternoon. The view is unsurprisingly nice but food is surprisingly awful. We had classic and Asian set each but both disappoint me. The appetiser is creamy, salty and too much infused by truffle, keeping my appetite low already. Savoury dishes are very dry and the bread tastes cheap. Scones are not in the traditional baking way, which is fine but still very mediocre. I like the Yuzu Cheesecake as their signature dish but the rest of the sweets plates are in a poor standard. Overall it’s a bit pricy and I would prefer Langham maybe or next time come here for dinner.

Oh dear, it’s hard to know where to begin. The food at Ting is horrific and strange and that is an understatement. My five course tasting menu came with turnips in the first three courses (and they were raw). Dessert never came at all, or at least after a half hour of waiting. Service is incompetent if cooly pleasant. Prices are higher than the high rise location. London is filled with solid restaurants; Ting is not one of them.

The location is simply phenomenal. The views are grand and luxurious and this restaurant sits on top of the shard which is one of the highest hotels in the world!
I must say however, the service wasn’t too great here. We had a 9:30 reservation and we were sat promptly but our server didn’t describe the menu too well, nor did he seem too interested in our likes.
With all that aside, I had the hazelnut and coffee rubbed steak and mashed potatoes on the side which were okay.
I think this is the type of restaurant that just simply is all about location. I wouldn’t eat here again.

The view was fantastic! We were seated directly in front of the window showcasing the Tower Bridge. The service was equally phenomenal, attending quickly to our every need. Also, even though they suggest a 2 hour limit, you’re not rushed in any way.
We wanted to try as much as possible from Ting so we opted for the the 5 course tasting menu with wine pairings. The wine selection was perfect, enhancing the flavours of the meal and vice versa… But I think that’s the only reason I really enjoyed the meal for the price. Spending around £225, I wanted my socks to be knocked off by more than just the view and (most of) the wine. Do yourselves a favour and order what you know you’ll like, rather than this option.

Well I got as far as tasting the fizzy water. With no reservation our only option was to eat in the lounge. After almost 20 mins of waiting for our order to be taken, we decided to bail. From a couple of dull hostesses without many people skills or personality to a unintensive waiter we left. Second time I have ever done that at a restaurant in my life. Not all lost as we got to enjoy the views of London for the 20 minutes we sat and were ignored. I gave one star as I didn’t have the option on giving no stars. Very disappointed but had a great meal at Gaucho Tower Bridge instead. So all ends well.

Went here for dinner not really expecting much but the food turned out to be super delicious and they threw in a ton of unexpected freebies too.
I ordered the venison (£27) and mash potatoes (£5) which were yummy and they threw in a mushroom mousse starter and some petit fours for dessert, plus the standard bread and butter.
Service was professional and the décor is how you’d expect it, grand and marbley. Great food with great views of London!

The food — although somewhat limited optionwise — is top-​notch and of course the view doesn’t hurt either. It is worthwhile doing a bit of research about seating and timing as this makes a big difference as to your whole experience. I recommend timing your meal for dusk/​sunset if possible.
The hidden gems in the menu are the drinks. Not only is the wine-​list excellent, I wholly recommend the virgin drinks and cocktails too.

Elegant restaurant with wonderful view. Major difference is two-​folded. 1. The lunch menu is very affordable and gracefully presented, European continental with a bit creativity. A wonderful place to being your friend or client for a quick lunch. 2. Ting restaurant guaranteed with Shangarila’s reputation and service so it doesn’t appear as noise as Hotong. Staffs are better trained and you always feel been served properly. Remember to book in advance. Sometimes walk-​in has to be lucky, but it worked for me when there’s cancellation. Enjoy it!

Ting at the Shangri-​La is a beautiful restaurant with amazing views of London, especially at sunset, the service was wonderful and the waitresses really knew their stuff, we took recommendations from two and we were not let down!
The food was delicious albeit slightly cold, the dessert on the other hand was out of this world!

A beautiful all-​day restaurant in the Shangri-​la hotel on the 35^th floor of the Shard. ‘Ting’ apparently comes from the Chinese for ‘living room’, and indeed this place looks straight off the pages of a glamorous interiors magazine. There’s large thick rugs over smooth wooden floors with all the furniture in muted neutral tones of pale pinks, golds and beiges that made it feel a little like we’d arrived at a spa.
We were led round to our table next to the east-​facing windows, which gave us a stunning view over Tower Bridge and towards Canary Wharf. Arriving at 6.30pm and leaving a few hours later was perfect to watch the day-​to-​night transition and sunset sky colours. Our seating was on plush sofas that looked more suited to an afternoon tea than dinner but I suppose it works if you’re serving food all day.
The gorgeous setting is, as expected, reflected in the prices. Luckily I was being treated this evening! Not that we wanted to bankrupt our generous sponsor though, so we decided to go for the 4-​course set menu for £55pp, which meant we got to try more dishes and worked out cheaper than getting 3 courses from the a la carte menu. There’s a good selection of British dishes available, most with some kind of Asian twist. You could also get matching wines for an extra £35pp but it looked as though that was for 2 small glasses plus a dessert wine which we didn’t think seemed worth it. The sommelier superbly helped us choose a chardonnay instead, listening to what we wanted and actually recommending one of the cheaper bottles (around the £50 mark) rather than the usual move of guilting you into the pricier ones.
The food was beautifully presented so firmly ticked the first-​bite-​is-​with-​the-​eye box. It tasted delicious too — I would only highlight that the portion sizes were quite small. It was fine for me, but I know a lot of guys who wouldn’t have been full (and perhaps I’d feel differently if I’d paid!). The starter of Portland Crab was light and fresh, with flavours of mango, passionfruit and ponzu decorating the plate. The second course of salmon had two fairly small strips of cured salmon among slivers of apple and beetroot. For main two of us went for the duck which was nicely tender and served both breast and leg, whilst my other colleague chose the plaice which appeared covered in some kind of foam but she seemed to like it. Dessert looked particularly arty on the plate and disappeared quickly — rhubarb pieces with other components of white choc and basil flavours. Petit fours followed with coffee which is always a nice touch to round things off.
Service was on top form throughout — attentive and unobtrusive. I liked that the tables were quite spread out compared to some of the other Shard spots I’ve tried where you’re crammed in more closely — it gives a nice feeling of privacy with space. It was also nice to see a focus on locally and ethically sourced ingredients in the menu, with our set 4-​courses being called the ‘Rooted in Nature’ menu. All of this and the lovely atmosphere it created served to outweigh their slightly strange behaviour when booking, as they told my colleague they were fully booked in the evening and we could only have a 6−8pm sitting. However we were the first ones in the place to arrive for dinner and it remained largely empty for the next hour. The window tables began to fill up from 7ish but it was still far from ‘full’. As such they didn’t get rid of us at 8 as they’d said they would and we lingered until past 9. Not sure why they forced us to start so early!
A final note on the wonderfully hi-​tech toilets that I’d guess have been ordered from Japan. Press every button for the fun of it (I did) and enjoy the unique sensation of sitting on a pre-​heated toilet seat. Lush hand cream too :)

Superb set menu at the Shangri la with excellent service and great value for money. A 2 course set menu and a couple of glasses wine will work out around £50 pp all in.
Great for a special occasion or just because you fancy lunch 35 floors up the Shard overlooking London. Excellent!

Great food and view if you have a window table. :) a bit pricey but they will have 2 – 3 course set menus.

We went to Ting for my birthday celebration with my family. We booked lunch in December way in advance, which I imagine was essential, given that the restaurant was busy.
I would split my rating of Ting in two. As an experience, it was a delight. The décor was beautiful, everywhere was extremely polished and clean, the staff were extremely courteous and of course the views were stunning. In this area, Ting gets a five-​point-​five out of five, certainly compared to going for lunch at a more conventional venue.
The food and drink though; this was less clear cut for me. We had the Christmas set menu which was a very delicately composed and original take on festive flavours such as Turkey, cranberry, squash and stuffing. If I’m honest I chose this in the interests of not bankrupting those who were paying for the meal. And it was… pretty good, I suppose. I think that was the problem. It didn’t wow me and I was left feeling that it didn’t really marry up with the rest of the fantastic experience. A ‘B’ when everything else was an ‘A’, type-​thing… it just lacked something for me slightly, somehow. £10 for a green tea was humorously steep, too. But maybe I’d be writing differently if we had gone for the standard menu.
Overall I would recommend this place, although if I could I would give it 3.5 stars. Unless you’re going all out on the £££, I’d expect to get more out of the total experience than the restaurant itself.

This restaurant, and hotel for that matter exist because of the views. Not the food or service. my first day here I had the afternoon tea of which I chose the «Asian style» over traditional. Once I was seated a waiter placed an empty water glass in front of me. And then for 20 minutes I waited.
Once the waiter came back — and believe me, there are plenty of staff, I ordered my tea and a peach Bellini. I got the afternoon. tea that had a weird taste of burgomont. The bellini was absolutely the worst I have EVER had. I was starting to wonder if it were lychee or something. When the tiered trays of food came, the scones were missing. I waited 15, minutes for them to come out. The savory selection. were mainly dim sum. Cold, bland, dim sum. I started to question. myself if I was at the correct hotel.
Once the scones came. I finished two and was out of clotted cream and jam. I had to ask TWICE to get more. I had to ASK to get more water. My glass sat empty for over 30, minutes. I had to ASK for more tea (I switched to the breakfast tea which was much better). The only thing I didn’t have to ask for was the second serving of cold, bland dim sum.
This was the MOST expensive tea service I’ve ever had. 54 GBP and 6 GBP service charge. In American dollars that is around $ 100. OUTRAGEOUS.
I’m writing this during breakfast at Ting where no one has asked me if I want more tea, nor have they removed the finished plate sitting in front of me, nor have they refilled the empty orange juice glass. In fact NO ONE has even come by to ask me if I needed anything else!
The staff at breakfast is the same as at the afternoon tea. Running around like they dont know what to do and doing a damn fine job of ignoring the guests.
At least my breakfast was included in the astronomical room rate I paid for this zoo of a disorganized hotel.

Agree with Boon, you are paying for the view but it’s a pretty decent one! The service is excellent and the venue comfortable. It was a lovely sunny afternoon and the views were superb. It would be spectacular of an evening.
The food is good, pretty fine dining. What you’d expect. 2 lunch courses for £27 was reasonable. The peas and foiegras was superb, but the ‘piglet’ was slightly let down, too much fat.
They sting you on the drinks, cheapest glass of wine is about £14. Again, it’s what you expect.
Nothing out of this world, but the views alone are why i’m giving it 4 stars.

The views are stunning, but when you make a reservation you do have to request for a window table otherwise you could be placed inside. Ask for views northwards or westwards — looking across south London isn’t that spectacular!
The Asian afternoon tea is a unique concept in London. Tasted good, and they will bring you more of something if you request. We devoured close to 10 gyozas between the two of us!
It is very pricey for what you get though. You are very much paying for the view.