Hutong at The Shard: Aqua Restaurant Group reveals skyscraper restaurant plans

Aqua Shard and Hutong at The Shard will launch in the summer on the 31st and 33rd floors of the 72-storey tower which will also house Oblix, a new restaurant from Rainer Becker and Arjun Waney, and the first London hotel from luxury hotelier Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts.

While the 220-cover Aqua Shard restaurant will feature a menu showcasing classic British produce using contemporary and international cooking techniques, Hutong at The Shard will be smaller, 130 covers, and will focus on cuisine from northern China.

A three-storey atrium bar serving British cocktails with an emphasis on tea and gin will link both restaurants.

Hutong

The group already operates a restaurant under the Hutong brand in Hong Kong. The London outpost will be open for lunch, dinner and late night drinks. A set of private dining rooms will also be available for parties and events.

A spokesperson for the group said inspiration for the concept came from the Lu school of cooking which has its roots in the Shandong province of China.

"This school spread throughout the north and was served in the Imperial palaces in Peking.

"Hutong’s cuisine captures the subtlety and surprises of Lu cuisine with a wide array of produce with an emphasis on seafood and occasionally influenced by the fiery spices of neighbouring Sichuan province.  

"Based on the much-loved restaurant of the same name in Hong Kong, regarded as one of the world’s leading Chinese restaurants, London’s Hutong will be the first overseas location for the brand," the spokesperson said.

Aqua Restaurant Group’s head chef for Chinese cuisine, Yuan Shihai has developed the Hutong menu which will feature a number of signature dishes including crispy deboned lamb marinated three times over a 24-hour period, Kung Po wok-fried prawns with cashew nuts and chilli and imperial Peking duck roasted in the restaurant's own duck oven.

A dim sum menu will also be available at lunchtime.

Aqua

Founded in 2000 by Singaporean-born former lawyer David Yeo, Aqua Restaurant Group now operates 23 restaurants in Hong Kong, Beijing and London.

The first two Aqua restaurants in the capital were opened on the top floor of a former department store in Regent Street in 2009.

Unlike Hutong, which is named after Beijing's narrow lanes, Aqua Shard will feature a contemporary British menu devised by Yeo and executive chef Anthony Garlando who has worked with Pierre Gagnaire.