Sky Pod Bar — Restaurant in London

We will not be returning to the Sky Garden for any evening activities. Tldr: awful seating, rude and inflexible staff, unclear instructions on the website.

I booked a table on the day we were visiting, and there wasn't any reference on the website that there are multiple types of seating available. When we got there, we got seated at a table which shouldn't exist - next to the revolving exit door, a 'no entry' sign as a view, chairs facing towards glaring lights which are out of sync with the rest of the lighting at the venue. We asked if we could be moved anywhere else, as there were empty seats, and got told they were paid seats and were booked, which is completely fine, but it's important to note that we couldn't have known that different types of seats existed, so I didn't appreciate that the staff made it seem like we were being unreasonable from the start.

We ordered drinks and food, then decided to move the chairs to face away from the glaring lights, as the tables near us were empty and we weren't facing anyone. A waitress came over and told us we couldn't do that. We wanted to understand why, because the other seats were empty, and she instantly got frustrated and told us it just wasn't possible, and she didn't want to argue with us. My partner is one of the most gentle people in the world, so it was really jarring for us to be told we were arguing when we were calmly enquiring about possible solutions. She angrily told us how much every other seat cost (we didn't even know paid tables existed!) and that our table was free. We tried to explain that we didn't know that and the waitress walked off. The only conclusion we came to is that the staff must get complaints about this table daily, so she just took out her frustrations on us. We then had to wait a long time for the food (bread because pitta wasn't available, and hummus...), so we couldn't walk around the venue and had to awkwardly sit in a bright spot trying to calm ourselves after the experience with the waitress. As soon as we finished our food, all we wanted to do was leave the place. I think the main issue is that the table shouldn't exist, but I also think the staff need much better training considering this is a hospitality venue. Will be making it clear to everyone I know that this is not a worthwhile...

ALLERGY SUFFERERS BEWARE!

I came to the Sky Pod Bar after doing a yoga class on the upper deck, (which was fantastic & doesn't come into this review) this comes with a free breakfast which is a muffin or chia seed pudding and a smoothie. I have quite a severe allergy to walnuts & pecans where my throat can close up & I usually carry an epi pen.

There were no allergy signposts with the breakfast or any description of what the food was, I took a muffin and a smoothie & went to sit down to eat it, after one bite I could feel my throat tightening and my lips starting to swell up. I went to the bar & queried the ingredients, the waiter Matteo didn't know & continued to move around the bar only half engaging in the conversation with me, I said I've got a severe nut allergy, and queried why this had not been sign posted, he snapped and said "Well you should ask before you take" this was incredibly rude and not what I'd expect from a supposedly classy & expensive establishment, I stood there staring at him for a second then he finally went to grab his manager. He didn't know whether the muffins contained nuts either & came over with a folder with all the lists of ingredients, he told me it did contain nuts but he didn't know which ones - which absolutely isn't good enough, then just stared at me open mouthed. I commented that Matteo had spoken to me rudely but he continued to stare. I gave up at this point as no one seemed to have any concern over the fact I was becoming unwell, and I couldn't be bothered to engage with a gormless manager & a rude waiter. There were also the breakfast options for the yoga goers had run out so was left hungry despite having paid for a breakfast in my ticket.

I emailed the Sky Pod Bar complaining about this, yet received no reply which added to my frustration. Its incredibly concerning that no one seemed concerned about an allergy sufferer which could potentially be putting customers lives at risk.

This experience spoiled a very enjoyable & relaxing morning, I certainly won't be returning to the Sky Garden after such worrying treatment, and I would urge other allergy sufferers to...

Review for evening drinks, midweek.

Summary; Avoid. Unless you are a small group of under 30s wanting a lively atmosphere without over the top prices. Order two rounds or bottles to get around the slow service. Might be worth it then. Atmsophere is visually quite nice and the views are a plus.

We arrived 5 minutes early for our slot, not expecting it to take 20 minutes to get seated. It would be good if they gave people a heads-up about this at booking, especially considering the slots are tightly time bound. It felt a bit like a cattle farm. The staff we interacted with were very polite but looked like they were not supported to do their job. Our waiter was constantly busy rushing from one table to another and apologetic. It seemed understaffed. It also seemed like there was no preparation for the amount of people whose slot began at 830. One check in desk meant a long wait for everyone. By the time we were served, we had only 50 minutes left. It took 10 minutes for our drinks to arrive and our dersert was missed off. We waited another 10 minutes before saying anything because we felt bad for the staff clearly under pressure. When we did reorder, the desert was sent to an empty table next to us. We had to wait more time to get the error corrected. By the time we had the pudding we had finished our drinks. With only 20 minutes left on our booking we didn't want to order more. We just wanted to leave, but there was no one to get the bill from. Very frustrating evening which I would have paid to get out of. On top of that the live band had a terrible time trying to defy the acoustics in the space, with other guests clearly frustrated the whole thing was a shambles. Prices were fair, and staff friendly, but the management of the whole venue and staff is...