Shangri-La The Shard: GONG bar, cocktails on level 52

Enter through the Shangri-La hotel entrance on St Thomas Street and take the lift to level 52. The venue describes a cocktail bar and a sushi bar, with the city beyond the windows. That makes GŎNG a useful address for an evening spent around a table: choose it when the view, the drink and the company are the reason for coming. The hotel describes views towards the west, north and east; the particular slice of London depends on where the team seats you.

The current cocktail collection is Icons of Asia. Its subjects range from Japanese arcade culture to the streets of Hong Kong and Indian cricket. The Master Stroke brings together Enemigo 55 Blanco tequila, Darjeeling tea, Alphonso mango, passion fruit and Khoosh aperitif, lengthened with soda. Bangkok Heat puts Thai basil and lemon balm beside vodka, Cadello 88, coriander bitters and bitter lemon. These are drinks with quite different ingredients, so tell the bartender whether you prefer tea, citrus, herbs or something bitter before choosing by the illustration.

Neon City takes the bitter route: gin, kumquat, Campari, Barolo Chinato, Fenjiu and tangerine with jujube berry. Golden Orchard is built around Haku vodka, white peach, lychee, wakame, wild blueberry and Fenjiu rose. Global Stage has mezcal, Grand Marnier, gochujang, sesame-spiced miso, agave and yuzu ponzu. The menu makes the food-like ingredients part of the flavour of a cocktail; anyone with an allergy should speak to the team before ordering from a name alone.

You can eat alongside the drinks. The linked food menu has pork and cabbage gyoza, vegetarian gyoza, prawn tempura, sushi and sashimi. The GŎNG Platter brings the chef’s sashimi selection with California roll, edamame and prawn tempura; Chef’s Choice combines sashimi and maki roll with inari sushi, vegetable tempura and chicken karaage. This is an easy way to give the evening a little more time at the table. Book a restaurant separately if a long, multi-course dinner is the main event: GŎNG allocates its tables for 90 minutes.

The reservation is worth reading as closely as the menu. Card details secure it, and a cancellation within 48 hours or a no-show incurs £30 per person under the policy read on 17 October 2026. The bar cannot accept requests for window seats. Those rules make a fixed plan easier: choose a time you can keep, leave room for the lift and arrive together, so the booking is spent over the city.

For a celebration, the venue offers flowers and cakes by arrangement with 24 hours’ notice. Its own website gives the contact address. The same site sets an age limit of 18 after 8pm. An earlier table is the practical choice for a party with someone younger, with the timing agreed through the reservation team.

GŎNG puts London outside the glass. The Connaught Bar makes its martini trolley part of the occasion and takes guests without reservations. Claridge’s Bar stays open from lunchtime, while the Nickel Bar at The Ned has musicians on its stage. Each gives the evening a different centre of attention.