GŎNG

GŎNG sits on Level 52 of Renzo Piano's Shard, inside Shangri-La The Shard, London, the highest hotel bar in Western Europe. Floor-to-ceiling glass runs the full circuit of the room, so the Thames, Tower Bridge, St Paul's and the City lie open to the west, north and east while the bar itself stays low-lit and close. The design borrows from dougong, the interlocking timber bracketing of classical Chinese architecture, carried through the joinery, the sculpted ceiling and a palette of dark wood, bronze and deep leather.

The room reads as three connected settings. The cocktail bar is the heart of it, a lounge of tan leather tub chairs and marble-topped tables arranged for conversation against the skyline. Alongside sits a champagne bar angled to the western sunset, and a Sky Pool, an interior infinity pool under a sculpted wave ceiling, open on Wednesday to Saturday evenings. The list runs to a serious cocktail programme and grower champagnes, with Asian small plates and sushi from the counter.

For a private event the whole of Level 52 takes a standing reception of up to ninety, held above London with the lights coming on below. The events team dresses the room to brief and builds the menu around it; the dress code stays smart and elegant. It sits within Shangri-La The Shard and is reached by a dedicated guest lift, which keeps a party here self-contained. LIT.ME arranges the reception or buy-out through the house.