Introduction: Exploring London’s Walkie-Talkie Building
Hi there, and welcome back to another article. Today, I’m back in the city of London, the United Kingdom’s capital and financial district. I’m in London for another weekend, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to showcase another of London’s iconic modern buildings, 20 Fenchurch Street, otherwise known as London’s Walkie-Talkie building.
Sky Garden London Tour
Overview of 20 Fenurch Street
20 Fen Church Street takes its name from the postal street address in London. It replaces a previous building known as 20 Fen Church Street. The present building is a commercial skyscraper, completed in April 2014 at a cost of around £200 million sterling. It is neo-futurist in design and gained its nickname from its resemblance to a 1970s walkie-talkie, although that wasn’t part of the design spec.
Design and Features of the Building
The building has office space apart from the top three levels, which are known as the Sky Gardens. The building has 37 levels and is 160 m tall, which is tall for central London but not for a world skyscraper.
The Sky Gardens Experience
Okay, don’t worry, I’m not here to show you boring office space—that would be much of a fun video, would it? No, today we’re going to go up to the top floors of 20 Fenchurch Street as I have a lunch date in Darwin’s Brasserie, and also it gives me an opportunity to show you around the Sky Gardens. The Sky Garden is the name for the glass atrium that houses levels 35 to 37 at the top of 20 Fenchurch Street.
Accessing the Sky Gardens
There are two ways to gain access up here. You can either make a reservation at one of the Sky Garden’s two restaurants —Darwin’s Brasserie, where we’re having lunch today, or the Fenurch restaurant—or go to the building’s website (I’ve put the link in the description for you) and book a free public access ticket.
A Word of Warning: Public Access to Sky Gardens
A warning: these public access tickets book out quickly and far in advance, sometimes weeks ahead. Also, the timing you’ll be given is a guide—you’ll join the back of a queue and wait until there’s space at the top of the Sky Gardens before you’re allowed access. Sometimes, this wait can last for hours, which is a miserable experience for the public.
Recommended Dining: Darwin’s Brasserie and Fenurch Restaurant
Alternatively, I recommend the restaurant route. The entrance to the Sky Garden is located on the south side of the building. If you have a restaurant reservation, you don’t queue. Do not join the queue—go straight to the main entrance through the doors and report to the restaurant concierge desk. You can arrive up to an hour before your reservation as a restaurant guest.
Exploring the Sky Gardens
Once the concierge has confirmed your booking, you’ll join the public to go through airport-level security. From security, you’ll go into the lifts and straight up to the Sky Garden. On arrival at level 35, the time is now your own to explore the Sky Gardens.
The View Across London
20 Fenchurch Street is directly opposite the river from the Shard building, Europe’s tallest skyscraper. I recently stayed in the Shard in the five-star Shangri-La Hotel, and made a video about it. You can check it out in the top right-hand corner.
Facilities at the Sky Gardens
There aren’t that many facilities in the Sky Gardens for the public. Obviously, there’s a toilet, which is very modern and clean, but there is also a wine bar that serves wine, champagne, bottled beer, and snacks. It’s pretty pricey, but what do you expect up here?
Balcony Restrictions and Rules
A warning on the balcony: you’re not allowed any form of food or drink on the terrace. You’re also not permitted to use selfie sticks out there for some reason—selfie sticks are banned on the balcony, but you can have them elsewhere in the Sky Gardens. The security guards are rigid and will be on you in seconds if you break any rules.
Summary of Sky Gardens Experience
Hopefully, that gave you a good overview of the layout of the Sky Gardens and a taste of some of the views over central London you can see from up here. I do think it is much better than the vastly overpriced London Eye. Unlike the London Eye, you can stay up here as long as you like.
Weather Conditions and Comfort
We were lucky today because it was a beautiful, clear, sunny day. The view across London in normal weather isn’t as good, sorry about that. Another point is that the Gardens have no air conditioning or heating. So, on a hot day like today, it will be sweltering in the atrium, and conversely, in the middle of winter, you’ll need a warm coat up here.
Dining Experience at the Restaurants
In this next part of the video, I will look at the restaurants in the Sky Garden. There are two in their price range, and b are cashlesthey. Firstly, the Fenurch restaurant on level 36 is a fine-dining British contemporary restaurant. I’ve included the link to the descriptions and a link to the menu. Now, I didn’t eat here, but looking at TripAdvisor, I see that it comes particularly highly recommended.
Darwin’s Brasserie: A Dining Experience
The lower-level restaurant is Darwin’s Brasserie. On level 35, it’s London’s highest rooftop brasserie again serving contemporary British cuisine. You access Darwin’s from the far end of the Sky Garden.
The Service and Dining Atmosphere
The service from the get-go in Darwin was absolutely excellent, and the staff was particularly on the ball. However, as in the Fenurch restaurant, the restaurant is quite small, and the seating is quite tight. It didn’t affect our dining experience, but making a YouTube video was virtually impossible.
The Brunch Menu at Darwin’s
The quality of food in Darwin’s is absolutely fantastic, as you would expect in a fine-dining restaurant. The brunch menu has a fixed price for three courses, and you have a number of options for those courses. My main course was a ham-grilled pork chop, which was beautiful, succulent, and well-marinated.
Pricing and Review of Darwin’s
Darwin’s has a 4 out of 5 rating on TripAdvisor, but I disagree. I think it’s closer to 4.5. The price for two of us was about £150, including the optional service charge. I don’t begrudge the service charge; the staff was exceptionally attentive.
Nighttime Experience at Sky Gardens
That was a daytime experience. I’ll now quickly show you the nighttime experience at the Sky Gardens. During the week, the public is not permitted to go into the Sky Gardens after 6:00 p.m., so if you’ve booked a nighttime restaurant, you get the place for yourself.
Conclusion: Views at Night from the Sky Gardens
Even without a balcony, the views across nighttime London from the Sky Gardens are astounding. The public is permitted on weekends until 9 p.m. Restaurants stay open until 1:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and midnight on Sunday.