London is, in my opinion one of the best cosmopolitan city in the world. However, compared to Asia, it still lacks some good late night eateries if you fancy a decent bite past midnight. One exception is the Duck & Waffle that is open 24 hours a day in the city of London. I've heard of the Duck & Waffle for a long time but have never been before. You need to reserve in advance, and I made sure I did for my recent trip to London.
Ascending to the restaurant
Duck & Waffle is located on the 40th floor in an office building. There's a separate entrance from the main office entrance, and two lifts that take you directly up to the restaurant. The lift lobby had a very tall mural on the wall of a girl on a swing under a cherry blossom tree. I think that may be a nod to its sister Japanese restaurant located in the same building.
The ascend up to the restaurant in the full length glass lift was an experience in itself, even though I had already seen similar views from Horizon 22 further up the road last year. I have posted about that visit here if you want to see London skyscrapers.
A nice welcoming surprise
As the lift door opened up, I was welcomed by the restaurant sign, and the Chamber of Magic. I was quite surprised, in a nice way, as I thought this was a normal restaurant, yet this felt a bit like a Harry potter theme.
The wine bar was at the entrance of restaurant, and there's a special parking area for the wizards. I wonder if @gtg is here 🤔🧙♀️🪄
The decor
We were shown to our table, spacious and big enough for 5 or 6 people, but nice and cozy and not squashy for the 3 of us to sit together on the sofa with the enchanting Christmas trees behind us.
Sadly we didn't get a table by the window, but that's ok, the restaurant area wasn't very big and we got a nice view of the outside, and the Christmas decorations inside. I managed to get a few photos before the tables were gradually filled up.
The signature dish
The open kitchen was on the other side of us. I love the buzz of the kitchen and getting a glimpse of how the dishes are prepared.
And now finally for the food!! We had to order its signature dish, named after the restaurant. Or was the restaurant named after the dish? I'm not sure to be honest. But you've probably figured out what it was. Yup, duck and waffle - a confit duck leg on a freshly made waffle, topped with a fried duck egg and maple syrup. My photo doesn't do the dish justice because when hubs gave me a bite of duck to try, it was very tender and tasty.
I ordered the duck benedict. This was shredded braised duck leg on a waffle topped with two poached eggs and hollandaise sauce on too. When I cut open the poached egg, the golden yolk spilled over the duck and waffle making each mouthful an absolute delight.
The verdict
Normally with these types of restaurant, the food is quite mediocre as people tend to come for the hype. Surprisingly, for such a popular restaurant, they food was very good. I mean it's not the best food I had, but it's definitely food worth coming for. Then you get the view and the 24 hour convenience. And the best thing is that they have different menus for different times of the day. Finally, for London standard and the hype, it's not over priced at all.
It's definitely worth coming, just remember to book in advance.