duck & waffle

foie gras, duck, chocolate and nutella for breakfast.

we were first in the restaurant and had a choice of table, so opted for one by the window. the menu was as equally pleasing as the view, and it was a difficult choice between the full english or the chocolatey waffles!

whether you’re an obsessive diner or prefer to save and treat yourself, there’s no denying this venue has the wow factor – which, surprisingly, if you think about it, doesn’t happen that much in this city. that being said, the food has a lot to live up to and it just about hits the mark. i like the tapas-style portion options, and the anything goes, mix it up approach to mealtime. go.

duck & waffle sits with its bar on the top floor, with sushisamba on the 39th below, which serves a fusion of japanese, brazilian and peruvian food (i’ve heard mixed reviews, but yet to visit). the bar is quirky with its open stations displaying the interesting ingredients for their really innovative drinks. the gin and tonic (£11) came as a glass of tonic water with a ball of potent hendricks gin and rose petal sorbet floating in the top, with a yuzu foam – really fun and an excellent drink.

so one of the most covered openings in the blogosphere over the last 6 months has to be duck & waffle, a restaurant located on the 40th floor of the heron tower in bishopsgate, and subsequently, contender for most awesome view in london while you eat. so much has been written about this already (like here , here , here and here  just to name a few) that i will keep this very brief. the food on offer is essentially "british fusion", british ingredients and inspiration in most part, with ingredients and ideas from the rest of the world. for the most part, the food is really decent. with most dishes based around sharing (small plates etc...), we managed to order a decent amount amongst the four of us. snacks of crispy pigs ears and battered cods tongues get the party started, and scallop with apple to follow acts as the most decadent palate cleanser. i enjoyed some of other small plates like the smoked haddock scotch eggs and the nduja clams, but others like the tuna sashimi and the bacon

...we shared a spicy ox cheek donut with apricot jam (£5 each). the rich ox cheek and the sweet donut covered in a spice rub was absolutely divine. the sharp tangy apricot jam cut through the sweetness perfectly. meat donuts are my new favourite thing!

it was no doubt one of the more memorable meals i had this year in london. the food was quirky with sophistication and a touch of class to go with its location. we decided it was a great date-restaurant, the food sharing, the not-trying-too-hard ambience, unbeatable view, though i wouldn’t sit so close to the kitchen as we all ended up smelling like we had been cooking too. i’ve already put my next reservation in for 3 weeks time.

whoever thought food was secondary to the view here at duck & waffle, think again.

the service was impeccable. friendly, polite and very keen to please. our waiter was knowledgeable and even took the time to explain the menu, encouraging a shared experience through its tapas-style menu. the menu itself has a playful twist, head chef daniel doherty has definitely had fun inventing this.

all dishes were pleasant, however there were three stars to our meal. the smoked haddock scotch egg, soft goats cheese and the signature duck and waffle stole the show. the latter being a leap of faith well rewarded.

heron tower has now become the location of some flash new restaurants in london. slightly daunting for the acrophobics amongst us, located sky high up on the 40th floor of the tower is duck and waffle. not to be confused with the ‘soul food’ inspired american classic of chicken and waffles – often eaten as part of a sunday morning meal – with the most famous being roscoe’s house of chicken and waffles.

having bitched about it i must say that, really, i liked it. not enough to trek from west to east on a regular basis, but enough to suggest it for client meetings/breakfast if i have to venture into the ec postcodes. i love the fact that it’s open 24 hours and there will be somewhere for me to eat after the theatre and late meetings. i’m not sure that i’d want to be there at 3 a.m., when the corporate boys will doing their big swinging dicks thing, but i think it fills a real gap in london and especially in the city. another step closer to new york.

in some places the food was hit and miss, but hey let's put it down to teething problems. after discovering the rather exciting breakfast menu i have booked a table to return later this month. this is saying something as i rarely find time to re-visit a restaurant in london. i expect i will be blown away again by what will this time be an early morning view of london waking up. i can only hope the food impresses me again in round two.

fresh and zingy with a light added saltiness, this taste as gorgeous and it looks. although a larger portion of scallop will definitely give a much better balance. once the scallops are polished off, feel free to lick the salt block and order a shot of tequila on the side.

when i visited, the restaurant had only been open for two weeks but both kitchen and front of house were already running like clockwork and that is no mean feat in a restaurant that seats 98 and is more or less fully booked all the time. the food at duck & waffle is a mixture of modern british fare and classic favourites from the mediterranean.

before i get on to the food at duck & waffle , let me start with the journey to get there - the lift up to the 40th floor of heron tower in the city was amazing.  speeding up the outside of the glass tower - gazing over london, feeling like i was going to pop through the ceiling like charlie & the great glass elevator  meant that i arrived at duck & waffle pretty buzzed.  anyone who has a fear of heights should face inwards on that lift journey - just a tip.  i loved it!  there has been a lot of blogger buzz and some positive reviews from the critics about d&w and i was really keen to check it out.  not so keen to check out sushisamba, also in the heron tower - jay rayner and i are aligned on our view of that place and like him, i am put off without actually having been there (hey, who said life was fair?).  anyway back to duck & waffle , which is fab.  i love the space, i love the view (the photo below is the view you get as you enter the restaurant - how cool is it to be gazing down