FIRST LOOK: Duck & Waffle (Soft Opening)
Duck & Waffle (soft) opened to the public on Fri 27th at the 40th floor of Heron Tower in The City. Finally, London welcomes a large 24h bar and restaurant with cuisine from Chef Daniel Doherty.
Unlike most international Cities, London seems to be in the dark ages when it comes to licencing. Unlike New York, a true 24h city, diners in London are often forced to finish up and leave by midnight. However, Duck & Waffle finally closes that gap with Western European Cuisine from the top of the Heron Tower.
Here is a first look…
BAR & DRINKS
Uniquely, this bar has an ‘open’ design which removes the barrier between the barman and the customer. Unlike the traditional ‘bartender-on-one-side’ and ‘customer-on-the-other’ the customer stands next to the bartender so you can get closer to the whole process.
The drink pictured below is a unique take on a Gin & Tonic. Impressively created by floating a sorbet of ‘Hendricks Gin and Rose Petal’ in Fever Tree tonic.
KITCHEN & CHEF & OVEN
The Head Chef at Duck & Waffle is Daniel Dochety, (ex Head Chef of the Old Brewery). With a promise of ‘modern European small plates’ an enthusiastic Daniel was keen to show off his new brick oven which he proudly announced to have been running at temperatures over 400C.
FOOD OVERVIEW
Clockwise from top left – The “Duck & Waffle”; “Summer Vegetable Salad”; and “Scottish Razor Clams”
PEAS IN THE POD
‘Peas in the pod’ was an appetiser presented as split pea pods with smoked bacon & eucalyptus. (Like a very British luxury version of edamame beans).
DUCK & WAFFLE
This signature dish of ‘Duck & Waffle’ sounds unusual. Separately, each ingredient was nice but nothing special, however when combined with the ‘Mustard Maple Syrup’ it works amazingly well. I highly recommend this…
RAZOR CLAM with ‘Green Sauce’
These clams come straight for the Brick Oven on a hot skillet. Perfect example of simple food done well. Fantastic.
SUMMER SALAD
Listed with ‘Toasted Nuts & Seeds’ ‘ricotta salata’ and ‘aged balsamic’. The ricotta salata and the pistachios cut through the balsamic with ease.
DESSERT: Torrejas
Torrejas was the recommended dessert from both waiters serving my table. Listed as ‘Maple Caramel Apples’ I was surprised to find apples covered in BACON ICE CREAM!
RED ARROWS & THE OLYMPICS
Not on the menu, but the Red Arrows flew past for the Olympic opening Ceremony. The restaurant overlooks the Olympic Stadium (albeit at a distance). I had the joy of watching the ceremony on a large projector screen with the live action in the background
TABLE PICTURES & VIEW
At the 40th floor of Heron tower the view is impressive! If you’re in a large group, grab the long wooden tables running alongside the floor to ceiling windows. Speaking to the restaurant manager, they wanted this to allow serving of huge roasts and carveries.
Full review to follow…
CONTACT DETAILS:
Duck & Waffle
Ad: 40th Floor, 110 Bishopsgate, City of London, EC2N 4AY (map)
Ww: www.duckandwaffle.com
Tw: @DuckAndWaffle
That Duck & Waffle looks just perfect, I think I will be making a journey there this week for sure.
The Duck & Waffle is actually a 24h venue. With no nearby residents and sat atop the 40th floor I doubt they will suffer from noise complaints. Additionally, their Chef, Dan Doherty, was adamant that their night menu won’t be a stripped down bare bones imitation of their day menu.