Duck and Waffle
Yes, they serve duck and waffle. To celebrate the big milestone that was my Mom’s 50th birthday, we thought it be no better occasion to check out the exclusive Duck and Waffle restaurant.
Due to its overwhelming popularity, we had to book the table 3 months in advance – easily making this the most well planned event in our family history.
After a series of travel blunders on the day (with all trains to London being cancelled!) we piled into the car and madly dashed to London. Despite heavy traffic we arrived in Liverpool Street with five minutes to spare.
On the 40th floor Duck and Waffle is the highest restaurant in the UK. With glass windows surrounding the entire floor, the seating area offers an almost 360 degree view London – and at night, the views were spectacular.
After what seemed to be the fastest elevator ride in history, we were warmly greeted by the maitre d’ and were ushered to our table. Seated next to the window our table offered amazing views. The dark decor and dim lighting in the restaurant highlighted the spectacularly lit up London skyline.
Surprisingly there was not a lot on the menu, and unsurprisingly, everything was slightly bizarre. Starters included ‘foie gras crème brûlée’ and ‘spicy ox cheek doughnut’ – both too intriguing to turn down. With 6 of us at the table, we decided each to order a different starter with the aim of sampling as much of the menu as we could. It comes as no surprise that for the main course, all six of us ordered the famous ‘duck and waffle’.
Unexpectedly, the starters each arrived at separate times – although a shock to the system at first, it actually worked out better as it gave us the opportunity to savour each of the dishes individually.
Out of the six starters we ordered – while each delicious – my favourite was the freshly baked onion jam and stilton bread – warm, soft, fluffy bread drenched in oozing melted cheese and topped with decadent caramelised onions. If Heaven was a taste this would be it.
After our starters were all cleared up it was time for the dish we had all been waiting for – the notorious duck and waffle! Any reservations one might have had at the start were quickly overcome by the delicious aroma that the dish brought with it as it was served.
The duck leg was served between a waffle and a lightly fried duck egg, and was accompanied by a little pot of wholegrain mustard maple syrup (!) on the side. All conventions say this shouldn’t have worked, but it did. Well.
By the time we had polished off our plates we had all eaten far more than our stomachs could cope with, but after waiting so long for a reservation it seemed a shame not to try any of the desserts.
The dessert menu was just as bizarre as the main, with ‘mushrooms on toast’ being the first item on the list. We settled for ‘torrejas’ – a sweet Cuban toast with maple caramel apples and cinnamon ice cream – and their ‘chocolate blondie’ – served with pistachios and raspberry sorbet.
When the desserts turned up we were wise to have only ordered two dishes between the six of us as they were huge! I’m sure if we weren’t so full from the earlier courses we could have devoured another portion – they were absolutely delicious.
With dinner finally finished and our bellies just about ready to burst, we paid the bill and headed back to the car before the inevitable food coma kicked in. As a first time guest I can confirm that the restaurant undeniably lives up to the hype. I definitely plan on going back (reservation depending!), although perhaps during daylight hours to see the beautiful view from a different perspective.
A definite recommend.
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