Up on the roof | Rum Shack at Skylounge London, Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, Tower of London, 7 Pepys Street, London EC3N 4AF
You can imagine the embarrassment as all the cups turned up at Rum Shack wearing the exact same outfits…
Photo: Sky Lounge
Rooftop bars are the place to be this summer, now that we’re actually having one that is. With the sun beating down and a craving for that holiday feeling, I headed to Rum Shack, a Caribbean-inspired pop-up at the Double Tree Hilton hotel’s rooftop Skylounge.
If it wasn’t for a sea of suits and well-heeled ladies we could have imagined ourselves in far more tropical climes. Reggae music (with a touch of Peter Andre’s mysterious girl thrown in), wobbly decking and a shack-style bar with multi-coloured bulbs greeted us.
The three men weren’t impressed by Keith Harris’ invisible Orville routine…
Rum Shack has a small chalkboard menu of classic Caribbean fare. Salt fish fritters with hot sauce £9.50, all-spice monkfish and prawn skewers £10.50, vegetarian Jamaican patties £3, and a marinated jerk chicken wrap with rice and peas £9.
You can also make your own guacamole £6 for 2 people, £12 for 4 or £18 for 6. This was the part my friend was most excited about but unfortunately they were all out of avocados. And the monkfish and prawn skewers…
Fish fritters – salted!
‘My Patty went to the Caribbean’. ‘Jamaica?’ ‘No she wanted to go!’…
…That was the last ‘Jamaica’ joke that Jerk Chicken ever told
The moment the enamel dishes arrived we were back to London with a bang. The super-crunchy fritters were great, if a little on the chewy side. The little golden veggie patties went down well with my pescatarian friend (who’s recently delved back into the world of baby sheep). There’s also the option of ordering from the Skylounge menu itself should you want something a little more substantial. Which the guys in suits knocking back buckets of beer possibly should have done.
Nice jugs!
I spy with my little eye something beginning with ‘S’
Beware, if you order a bargain jug of cocktail for £20, it is big, really big. We had one Mojito and one Rum Shack Sangria between us. They do half jugs (£14) too, which sound like a better option enabling you to try the different options such as Daiquiri and High and stormy. We’d have had to stay until the next morning for us to work our way through them all. For non-cocktail drinkers there’s Red Stripe and wine by the glass.
The views are stunning, this is London after all, over the other side of the bar you can look out over London Bridge and the majestic Shard, just a shame about all the bloody cranes. Get down quick before this heatwave is over and we’re all moaning that it’s too cold.
doubletree3.hilton.com
Skylounge London, Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tower of London,
7 Pepys Street, London EC3N 4AF
Telephone: 020 7709 1043
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 4pm–10pm until the end of November, also available for private hire
Follow them on Twitter
Like them on Facebook
Nearest tube: Tower Hill or Fenchurch Street
I used to be a werewolf but I’m alright noooooooowwwww. Photo: Doubletree by Hilton
