Nantucket Beach Club, City
When an invitation to drink Lanson champagne cocktails and eat lobster at a rooftop bar comes along, you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be there. And so, last week I found myself on the Fenchurch Street side of the City, negotiating my way up to the top of the Double Tree Hilton for their Sky Lounge (not to be confused with Sky Garden, still on the list) which has been giving a New England style nautical makeover for 2015 to become the Nantucket Beach Club. And it's a club that I, for one, want to be in. With views taking in the Gherkin, Tower Bridge, Royal Mint and that awful bloody Shard, who wouldn't?
Rooftop bars in London are not always good. They're packed with tourists, soggy 80% of the season and you end up paying £30 for a bottle of really rubbish rose that you have to drink standing up anyway. I'm pleased to report that Nantucket has addressed the soggy part by cleverly having a few clear sections of roof, and no need to force down mediocre pink wine when there is a vodka slushy machine and this very refreshing Salty Dog cocktail (vodka, grapefruit), plus very nice bar staff to help you out.
Seafood is the name of the game here, with East Coast style chowders, seafood survival buckets (!) and of course, lobster rolls. The survival buckets, despite being served with requisite tools and instructions, are still rather a feat, but the clams and oysters are a revelation in finger food:
There's a range of Lanson champagnes to choose from whilst drinking in the view. I heartily recommend the white label for summer (light, zesty, incredible quaffable):
Thank you Nantucket for an evening of city swanking beach club style. You haven't seen the last of me.