John Wiltshire, General Manager of aqua shard, joined Aqua Restaurant Group in April 2013 to lead the opening of the restaurant – one of the biggest and highest-profile restaurant openings in London, and indeed the UK, that year. As GM, John is in overall charge of every department of the restaurant and will be familiar to regular guests who he always makes time to greet!
Anyone who has visited aqua shard on a Saturday night – our busiest of the week – will know how vibrant, exciting and energetic the atmosphere is in the restaurant. With every table occupied by guests enjoying themselves, the bar buzzing, music pulsing and staff gliding around the floor ensuring every need is met, the ambience is unlike anywhere else in London.
But what is it like for the team ‘backstage’ in the kitchen? Executive head chef Anthony Garlando and senior sous chef Francisco ‘Paco’ Carrasco lead a brigade of nearly thirty who between them, over the course of a typical six-hour service, will prepare over a thousand individual dishes for three-hundred-and-fifty guests, all unseen – until now!
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Here at aqua shard we’re not ones to tell you that, come January, you should be giving up this or quitting that. We think it’s much better to give yourself a break in the cold, quieter first few weeks of the year and enjoy – within moderation, of course – a soothing treat or two.
At £31 for two-courses or £34 for three, our seasonally-changing Market Lunch menu is an affordable indulgence with sumptuous dishes that won’t leave you feeling like you’re depriving yourself of anything.
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Christmas Day is the only day that we are closed over the festive season and thus won’t have the pleasure of cooking for you, but don’t worry – we’ve asked our executive head chef Anthony Garlando to share some simple tips for making cooking Christmas dinner at home as stress-free as possible.
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Join us for weekday lunch from now until Christmas Eve and you’ll be able to enjoy our fantastic Festive Lunch menu featuring seasonal dishes created by executive head chef Anthony Garlando.
At £31 for two courses or £34 for three, the Festive Lunch is great value and perfect for celebrating Christmas in style. And with three choices for each course including a vegetarian option, there’s something to suit every taste and appetite!
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Last week we introduced you to ‘It Was A Very Good Year’ from our new cocktail list, but it’s not the only exciting new creation! In fact Bar Manager Myles Donneky and his team have created a brand new list for this Autumn/Winter, in three distinctly different sections.
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Next time you join us in the bar at aqua shard for a cocktail, don’t think the barman’s got more than the drinks mixed up if you see him pouring yours from a wine bottle. For that’s the innovative way in which one of the new ‘Autumnal Attractions’ called ‘It Was A Very Good Year’ is presented!
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With winter approaching, the menu will gradually start to reflect the instinctive shift from summer and autumn’s lighter dishes to the more substantial, soothing food we all crave in the coldest months of the year.
New to the a la carte menu in November is this sensational Confit suckling pig, sourced from Blythburgh in Suffolk, slow-cooked in oil at 80C for twelve hours until meltingly tender and served with compressed pear spiced with pink pepper, black cabbage, potato and truffle gratin and a rich gravy.
The suckling pig is further complemented by the addition of air-dried pork loin from another of our superb suppliers, Capreolus Fine Foods of Rampingham, Dorset who also made our extremely popular Bonfire Bangers recently.
You can view the current menu and book on our website, and we look forward to welcoming you into the warm to try our winter dishes soon!
This week coincides with both British Sausage Week and Guy Fawkes or Bonfire Night, and to celebrate head chef Anthony Garlando asked Capreolus, one of our favourite suppliers, to create a special breakfast sausage and smoky ‘Bonfire Banger’.
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In the latest in an occasional series introducing members of our team, we chat with Front-of-House Manager David Boyd. A familiar face to anyone who has visited us at aqua shard, David ensures that every guest receives the warmest possible welcome.