Duck & Waffle is quite possibly one of the most blogged about restaurants in London. With a massive 114 blog posts on Urban Spoon, Dan Doherty’s restaurant based in the Heron Tower is clearly the talk of the town. But there’s a reason for that…it’s brilliant…perhaps one of my favourite restaurants in London. I thought I’d add to the list with my own blog post and show you why Duck & Waffle is basically restaurant perfection.
Even the lift journey has become iconic….
Stepping into that Great Glass Elevator you hurtle at great speed to the 40th floor of the tower…
Taking in the incredible views as you go…
The bar at Duck & Waffle is super-cool with the decor being an eclectic blend of materials, a steel bar, cool tiling, light fixtures made out of bottles and edgy graffiti on the walls.
Floor to ceiling windows allow for the incredible views of the city that Duck & Waffle is renowned for. Actually the restaurant’s position on the 40th floor makes it the highest restaurant in the UK.
Mr S and I were meeting my two best girlfriends and their other halves as we had lots to celebrate! Anna, my best friend from school, had recently got engaged and I am very excited that she has asked me to be bridesmaid. We were also meeting Lauren, one of my best friends from university who had her first baby in December.
Here’s the beautiful bride-to-be! Obviously it was champers all round to toast the happy couple!
We were really pleased with our position, a comfy booth with a round table so it was easy to talk to everyone. We could also gaze out at the glittering London skyline from our perfect vantage point. The restaurant was very busy and as it’s one of the most popular in London, it’s very hard to get a booking – I booked exactly two months in advance for a table of six on a Saturday night.
What I love about the menu at Duck & Waffle is that it includes some favourite British comfort foods and dishes but gives them a unique and innovative twist. There is a mixture of smaller dishes for sampling and larger dishes to share but this a place where you’ll want to everything, so order as much as possible and share it!
A classic beef tartare is given a facelift with the addition of leek kimchi, smoked chilli and hay oil.
Octopus can sometime go horribly wrong but I loved Dan Doherty’s dish which perfectly pairs the sea creature with a spicy chorizo sausage.
Now you have to be living under a rock to have not heard of Dan Doherty. Dan has been the executive chef at Duck & Waffle since 2012 and he is a total all-star. Not only was he named ‘Rising Star Chef’ by Tatler, but the Evening Standard also included him as one of London’s ‘1000 Most Influential People of 2014’. Another thing that I find very impressive about Dan is his dedication to promoting his restaurant via social media, I think he’s the chef most active on Twitter. And talking of active, he is clearly a man of many talents as he completed the London marathon on Sunday too!
From the raw section of the menu we chose yellowfin tuna with blood orange, pistachio and mustard. Just look at that perfectly prepared ruby red tuna, it was so delicious that we actually ordered three plates for the table.
Dan’s signature dish, that provided the name of the restaurant was an absolute must order, so we got two for the table. The leg of confit duck was beautifully crisp and that fried egg is total #eggporn. It seems like such an usual combination but it works perfectly. You have to gather together the perfect bite with a bit of each component, the soft, pillow-like waffle, the crunch of the duck skin and the runny egg yolk with a drizzle of mustard maple syrup. It’s no wonder the dish has achieved iconic status in London.
There’s a whole section on the menu for freshly baked breads (now you can see why it’s my kind of place) and there are six to choose from! We plumped for the garlic and rosemary which arrived piping hot, ready for us to dig in.
Dorset crab with white and brown meat, English wasabi and basil was another great, light choice.
If you order the whole roast chicken be aware that it takes forty-five minutes to cook…but trust me it’s worth the wait! Our waitress first presented it to us whole so we could see the beautifully crisp and golden skin.
It’s then taken back to the kitchen to be jointed and divided up to be shared by the table. The chicken was perfectly cooked and I loved the accompaniments of wild mushrooms and truffles.
Our other large sharing dish was whole roasted sea bass served with new potatoes, baby radicchio, monks beard and oyster dressing.
Our other dessert was based on the concept of ‘tea and biscuits’ the ultimate British comforter! Earl Grey tea and bergamot custard with gingerbread crumble and white chocolate.
I think you can see why Duck & Waffle is one of the most popular restaurants in London; for me it is basically restaurant perfection. A great bar, fantastic atmosphere, a wonderful view, delicious food and an amazing social media presence. Even better? Duck & Waffle is open twenty-four hours a day so you can sample restaurant perfection at any time!
Duck & Waffle
110 Bishopsgate
London
EC2N 4AY
0203 640 7310
