Are you afraid of heights?
If so, you will find accessing the Duck & Waffle rather difficult. This 40th floor restaurant is based at the very top of Heron Tower, a minute walk from Liverpool Street tube station.
The incredibly fast glass elevator will take you in record time to the restaurant floor. Just enough time to admire the view of the City.
As far as I remember, I’ve never been afraid of heights. When I was 13 and I visited Toronto, I found myself happily bouncing on the 342m glass floor while my mum, as pale as Snow-white, was trying to get me off. But apparently this is an important issue for many of us.
I certainly looked like a little girl with my nose pressed against the elevator window, admiring the magnificent view and technology London beholds! But who cares, we should always be capable of astonishment at any age.
Once arrived the first feeling is WOW! The 360° glass walls surrounding you will allow you to admire the incredible view further. The design of the bar welcoming you is simply marvellous, and a hint of street art mixed with the elegance of a modern chandelier. A very colourful and vibrant place that surrounds the bar perfectly. You feel right at home with the option to prepare your own drink with all the tasty ingredients presented in front of you.
While I waited for the staff to set our table, I treated myself for a drink or two at the bar. Cocktails are very ingenious, blending new flavours to classic ones. Think cinnamon in a Manhattan, yuzu in a G&T and truffle in a Whiskey Sour. Duck & Waffle also offers a fantastic wine selection.
The restaurant area is a lot more cosy with its rough wooden furniture. This creates a strange sensation… You are in the middle of the city, surrounded by huge buildings and so far away from any form of nature. Yet you find yourself surrounded by the most natural element of them all: wood.
But let’s talk about the food! The menu offers plenty of small dishes that are easy to share. The best thing to do is to go there with a bunch of friends and order many of the dishes for starters. So we went for; the Rosemary and Garlic Bread which was delicious. The Bbq-Spiced Crispy Pig Ears, and I must admit that I wasn’t really too keen on tasting due to the fact it doesn’t really sound attractive. I quickly changed my mind though, thanks to the crispiness and spices that makes you forget what this really is.
At that point we were all extremely satisfied with what we had tasted. Next, the main dish; a Whole Roasted Sussex Chicken. Marvellously baked with a mix of wild mushrooms in a delicate truffle sauce. I could have eaten the whole chicken by myself if my stomach would allow it, as it was incredibly delicious! The Chicken is brought to the table, already cut, on a huge plate just like you would at home. This is very appreciable as it gathers your guests around the same dish, passing the plate so everyone can have their piece, just like you would on a Sunday family dinner. It gives a nice warm feeling.
Time for dessert; the cheese of the week was a little bit disappointing. The given piece was very small and the cheese itself wasn’t incredible. The winner of the dessert list was unanimously the Torrejas followed by the Warm Chocolate Brownie and the Eton Mess.
Torrejas looked a lot like a Tarte Tatin, with its warm maple caramel apples. The maple simply adds a taste that complemented the dessert perfectly leaving you with an extreme desire of an other bite. The Warm Chocolate Brownie is a classic, with a smooth heart combined with Peanut Butter Ice Cream, it blended incredibly well. Eton Mess is just like any good Eton Mess, with lots of meringue, fresh berries and so fluffy that you feel that you could eat two more of it.
I highly recommend the Duck & Waffle for any occasion! The staff are extremely kind, it is fairly priced and the dishes are very well prepared. I went there during the day but I am sure that the view is also incredible at night! Isn’t London a beautiful place to live ?
If you do choose to go to the Duck & Waffle, be sure to have a look downstairs in the Samba Sushi terrace with its massive orange tree at the 38th floor. Samba Sushi is apparently one of the place to be now in London for their amazing sushi. I promise that I’ll go try it and write about it !
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