Duck and Waffle
British and European
110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY
££
Located on the 40th floor of the Heron Tower, Duck and Waffle is open 24/7. Infinitely popular and highly desirable, you have to book 3 months in advance to get a table at a decent time. Tom and I went at 8pm on a Tuesday evening, and this involved waiting up until midnight exactly 3 months before to secure the table.
So is it worth the hype? Upon entering we were asked to que up for a security check, pretty standard I assume for places like this. After a brief pat down and bag search we were told to go into a glass lift which took us up to the 40th floor at supersonic speed - genuinely think it was about 5 seconds. Impressive, but would have actually been nicer to have a little longer to enjoy the ride (and views).
Once up there, the views are amazing. We came at a great time as we were able to enjoy them in both light and dark - and got to see a beautiful sunset. The restaurant itself is way smaller than I expected, comprised of around 20 tables, ranging from 2 seaters up to 10 seaters. This probably explains why it gets booked up so quickly, and did make the 3 month wait seem slightly more forgivable.
The staff were friendly and not snobby in the slightest. In fact, everyone in the restaurant was a lot less dressy and flashy than I was expecting. The price for the food is also pretty reasonable, we went for the Crispy pig ears (£6), some Lamb keema bread (£7) and two portions of Duck and waffle (£17). The crispy pig ears were like a sophisticated version of pork scratchings, very tasty and and spiced with BBQ. The Lamb keema bread was nice, the Hara Bhara sauce which came with it even nicer. However, it was the Duck and Waffle which really stole the show.
A smaller portion than I expected, confit duck is placed on top of two waffles, topped with a fried duck egg and a side of maple syrup. The waffles were fluffy on the inside, with just the right amount of crunch on the outside. The fried duck egg was the most perfect sunny side up I've ever seen. Unsurprisingly though, it was the Duck that brought it home. Perfectly crisp and beautifully tender, this was definitely the best duck leg I've eaten and every bite reminded me why I had waited up until midnight to book 3 months before.
Whilst the food here is reasonably priced, I cannot say the same about the alcohol. A cocktail will set you back minimum £14, whilst the cheapest bottle of red wine is £30 - with prices going up to £548, for those that really want to show off. We ordered a bottle of red for £36 as the £30 was out, it was lovely, but so is the bottle of Casillero Del Diablo I get from Tesco's for £6. You could have a cheap(ish) meal here if you don't drink and skip the pudding (a chocolate fondant with peanut butter ganache and praline sounded heavenly, but was average at best). Make sure you get a window seat (we didn't and I held a grudge for the first half hour we were there), and before you leave, take a trip downstairs to Sushi Samba and check out their smoking terrace.
Overall, a great experience and some delicious food. I'm not wholly convinced about the waiting time to get a table at a reasonable hour, but if you haven't tried it yet you definitely should.
OVERALL RATING: ****
https://duckandwaffle.com/
