For one of Michael’s birthday presents I wanted to give him an experience.
When I then heard of London in the Sky, and realised that it was taking place in September, it was as if the Gods of Fate had spoken to me.
It was sounded perfect.
London in the Sky takes place once a year for an exclusive 14 day-period. Diners are elevated 25 metres high in the air and served food from London’s best restaurants.


First, you pick your meal (based on the price that you are willing to pay) – breakfast (£50pp), lunch (£125pp), Taittinger in the sky (£75pp) or dinner (£200).
Then, you choose the day that you wish to attend, based on the chef and menu that is being served on a given day.
As Michael was already doing rather well out of his birthday, I opted for the Taittinger in the sky (£75pp) experience, and picked celebrated chef Robert Ortiz from Europe’s first Peruvian Michelin-starred restaurant, Lima Floral, to feed us.
The Taittinger in the sky experience lasts for 30 minutes, during which you are given two glasses of Taittinger and a selection of canapés prepared by the chef of your choice.

Safely strapped in, we went up, up, up and away, and began to spin (no joke).



The waiters talked us through the menu.


And began to pour champagne.

I know it must be hard to believe, but it’s actually pretty nippy suspended above London’s skyscrapers!

I’ve wanted to visit Lima Floral for some time now, so was super excited to finally get to try some of their dishes.
Our first canapé was ‘crab, lime granita, celery cress’, which was rather underwhelming, with the base tasting like a stale prawn cracker.

Next was the ‘seared beef, huancaina, yellow aji amarillo’.

Again, nothing to write home about. The cracker overpowered in both taste & texture, rendering the rather stingy portion of beef a total non-event.
The canapés then began to come hard & fast.
Not a moment before I’d put one on my plate, the next arrived, and the next.
The ‘smoked lamb loin, black quinoa bread, olive mayonnaise’ was slightly better than its former friends but, still, poorly executed, with the ratio of bread to meat too high to appreciate the flavours.

‘Hot salmon little burger, spice cucumber salsa’ was the canapé that Michael & I had been most looking forward to but, again, fell flat.

The bread-to-salmon proportion was totally off, and the salmon dry and tasteless.

At least they weren’t being uptight about the ‘two glasses of champagne per person’, and topped us up regularly, else I might have begun to focus on just how bad the food was.
The only canapé worthy of being accredited with Lima Floral’s apparent esteemed name, was the ‘sweet corn cake, soft cheese, aji panca juice’, which I will admit was rather good.

It was crisp and dense and claggy and gooey and flavoursome. It was comforting, and having foregone dinner with promise of Michelin-starred food, at 10pm, it was much-needed.

There was also a rather generous plate of chocolates (already placed on the table when we sat down, which I think is poor form) to be shared between each couple.


Maybe that’s where all of my money went…
And just like that, it was time to head back down.
Thankfully, in spite of the incredibly lacklustre food and poor organisation (in addition to the chocolates, there were no napkins, so I was handed a stretch of blue paper towel… ALSO, where was my celebrity chef???), Michael & I did actually have an enjoyable time, due to some pre-dinner cocktails and two good senses of humour.


But, sadly, having to create your own fun when you’ve paid £150 to eat gourmet food in a once-in-a-lifetime setting, doesn’t really bode well with me.
I hope that our experience was an unfortunate exception, but there’s simply no way that our food was freshly cooked or assembled during our flight, as we hopped on immediately after those that had had dinner and, having now checked the jam-packed timetable, I can’t imagine that theirs was either.
Eek, at least I didn’t pay £400 for pre-cooked food!
The silver lining…

4/10
What a let down! Sometimes these gimmicks are just that!
Sam x
I know, so disappointing Sam! 🙁 xxx
Well, though the food was a let down, you’re 100% braver than I would be to dangle up there any way…!
Haha, the experience would have been awesome had the food been better!!! xxx
That’s a shame, but don’t let it put you off Lima, the food there is amazing! One of my favourite restaurants! I was invited to do the lunch in the sky with Scott Hallsworth but I had to say no cos I was too scared!!
Lots of love,
Angie
Really??? I’ve read quite mixed reviews but would like to try it – just don’t want to fork out another load of cash for a sub-par experience! Ahhh Angie!!!!! One can always overcome their fears for food, surely 😉 xxx
I’m sorry to hear that the food was a letdown but hopefully the champagne and view somewhat made up for it!
http://thecourtneydiaries.com
It definitely did 🙂 xxx
Such a pity that it wasn’t really as spectacular as it should, or at least could, have been. Crazy expensive to not be that great!
Lauren xx | The Lifestyle Diaries
I know, but somehow still glad we did it and we did have a great night food aside xxx
Oh what a shame, Lima normally has such a good recommendation I can see why you went for that experience. I’ll certainly think twice before booking something like this!
I know, it was pretty surprising! And yeah, I guess sometimes off the rail things sound much cooler than they actually are! xxx
What a shame about your experience! And rather surprising as I love Lima & Lima Floral because their food is usually superb! I suppose it’s difficult to keep it the same standard when you don’t have an industrial kitchen up in the sky, non?
Still, hope the bubbles, the view, and the company made up for it!
Honey x The Girl Next Shore
PS – how funny that we both posted a bowl of Taittinger in the past few days. See you later! x
I know 🙁 Guess I need to give the Lima’s a fair chance but I’m just put off now and feel extortionately ripped off! Bubbles and good company always help 😉 (the view was pretty sh*t, if I’m honest!). Can’t wait for tonight! xxx
It’s a shame the food wasn’t up to much. I kept seeing the press releases about these events but couldn’t make it down Tomlinson for any. I can see how it would hard for the chefs to prepare whole fresh meals but you would think canapés would be better!
The price either needs to be massively reduced or they really need to improve their food and the overall level of service! You didn’t miss out 😉 xxx
That’s such a shame! I’ve been wanting to do the Dinner in the Sky for ages but not sure it’d be worth the money now! Thanks for being honest though! 🙂
Tahira | ramblingsofafoodaddict.com/
Yeah I thought it sounded absolutely awesome but unfortunately it just wasn’t. I would save your pennies (pounds), go on a rollercoaster and visit the restaurant itself if I were you! xxx
Total disappointment. This experience was something I considered… but the price and that very same point you mentioned about the cooking of the food really put me off! I know that for £200pp I can definitely get an outstanding meal… and with cocktails somewhere beforehand if I’m desperate for a view! 🙂
Exactly Connie – wish we’d just gone to Lima Floral for dinner instead but, oh well, you live and learn 🙂 xxx
Such a shame it was such a let down! I do love Lima Floral, but this sounds disastrous!
C x | Lux Life
I know, I still can’t really believe it… still deciding whether I should give Lima Floral another shot! xxx
Ah that’s such a shame! At least you still had a good time and plenty of Tattinger x
Sophie Loves Food | Recipes & Reviews
Indeed Sophie 🙂 xxx
Ohhhh I’m so disappointed reading this! I really wanted to try this but the price didn’t sit well so I decided against it, quite glad I gave it a swerve now! x
http://www.ellebloggs.com
You made the right call Elle! xxx
Oh no, what a disappointment :/ I guess the money went into the ‘sky’-part here…
Indeed, which is not really what I wanted, haha! xxx