Birthday at The Shard

It was good friend Matthew's birthday last week so I booked a table at Aqua Shard restaurant which is situated on the 31st floor of The Shard in London.

We had a table right by the window; it was a clear night so the views over London were spectacular. 

The meal was delicious; Rhug Estate venison tartare to start, followed by West Country loin lamb. We both had the exclusive Christmas dessert inspired by the Human Nature installation at The Shard with 50% of the proceeds going to the conservation charity Fauna & Flora International. Based on the some of the fruits and eco systems the charity protects, the dessert comprised of an apple compote, chocolate soil and twigs, almond crumble and honey ice cream. Simply divine! We ended the evening with a cocktail in the Aqua Shard bar.

The lighting was very subdued which, as you can see, made taking pictures particularly difficult (I could have done with the DSLR and a tripod!), however it did create a lovely ambience. 

A lovely evening in a beautiful setting with great company :-) 

I've added an extra of the 'Human Nature' installation. The 9 metre cascading Christmas tree created by Timothy Hatton Architects in collaboration with Sir David Attenborough, consists of thousands of individual woodland leaves made from recycled 3D-printed materials. After Christmas, each leaf will be sold in support of Fauna & Flora International of which Sir David Attenborough has been vice-presidnet for 37 years and a member for nearly 60 years. 

Another extra of the sumptuous dessert added for LAS :-)