Incredible view of London at Duck & Waffle

Are you afraid of heights?

If so, the access to Duck & Waffle will be difficult for you. This 40th floor restaurant is based on the top of the 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 to admire the view of the City.

As far as I remember, I've never been afraid of height. 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 out the glass floor. But apparently this is an important issue for many of us. My advice would be to keep staring at your mobile phone during the whole trip, till we hit stable floor.

I certainly looked like a little girl with my nose pressed against the elevator window, admiring the view and the technology! But who cares, we should always be capable of astonishment at any age.

Once arrived the first feeling is Wow! Glass walls allows to keep admiring the view in 360°. And the design of the bar welcoming you is simply marvellous. A hint of street art mixed with the elegance of modern chandelier. A very colourful place that surrounds perfectly the bar. You feel a little bit like home as you could almost go prepare your own drink with all the tasty ingredients presented in front of you.

Bar

Bar

Bar

We first stayed there for a drink letting time for the staff to set our table. 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 great wine list.

The restaurant area is much more cosy with its rough wooden furniture. This creates a strange sensation, as you are in the middle of the City, surrounded by huge buildings so far away from what nature looks like but sitting in the most natural element of all: wood. But if you are here for a Sunday brunch, you'll find the couches much more appropriate!

But let's talk about the food! Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of the lunch (shame on me) but I hope that my verbal description will titillate your curiosity. And this will be a perfect excuse to go back there!

The menu offers plenty of small plates easy to share. The best thing to do is to go there with a bunch of friends and order many of them for entrance. So for starters we shared: the Rosemary and Garlic Bread which was delicious. The Bbq-Spiced Crispy Pig Ears, and I must admit that I wasn't really keen on tasting it as it doesn't sound really attractive, but I quickly changed my mind thanks to the crispiness and the spices that makes you forget what this really is. The Salad and the Crab Toast were delicious too.

At that point we all were very satisfied with what we had tasted. And kept going on with 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, in a huge plate just like you would do it at home. This is very appreciable as it gather your guests around the same dish, passing the plate so everyone can have his bite just like in a Sunday family lunch. It gives a nicely warm feeling.

To continue our food journey, we couldn't say no to dessert and of course ordered one of each!

The Cheese of the Week was a little bit disappointing as 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 add a taste that complete perfectly this dessert, leaving you with an extreme desire of an other bite.

Warm Chocolate Brownie is a classic one with a smooth heart and combine with Peanut Butter Ice Cream. Warm chocolate and peanut butter blend incredibly well.

Eton Mess in 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.

Private Dining Room

As for every restaurant I've talked about in this blog, I highly recommend this place for lunch, diner or brunch! Prices are fair considering the place. Dishes are very well prepared and the staff is very kind. I went there by day but I am sure that the view must be also incredible at night with the City lights! Isn't London a beautiful place to live?

If you go to Duck & Waffle, make sure to have a look downstairs to 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 post about it!

Meanwhile enjoy your evening!

Opens 24/7

Heron Tower
110 Bishopgate, London EC2N 4AY
+44 203 640 7310