Duck and Waffle Review: a gem that needs repolishing

I will start off by saying this – I love Duck and Waffle. Over the years I have dined there many times and have always recommended it as one of the restaurants to visit. I mean, what is not to like? An ultimate comfort menu laced with plenty of truffle and foie gras, good vibes, and with one of the best views a London restaurant can get. I wowed the first time I visited, and this latest venture more than 10 years after it opened equally took my breath away, but with a stark realisation that it has aged – and in need of some serious refresh.

Ambience

The DW experience starts from the moment you step into the dedicated entrance on the side of the Heron Tower (sorry, the Selesforce tower. So many years after the name change this still sounds like someone’s feeble attempt at being the next O2 arena – except without any of the fun and charisma – not that O2 arena itself has much to start off with anyway). After being greeted by the concierge who is obviously well versed in turning people away politely (yes, you better have a reservation before attempting to get in), you then proceed to the restaurant through an all-glass elevator. This elevator experience is incredible – it zooms up into the air like a rollercoaster ride and you really feel the thrill of seeing the soulless bankers pull away from your feet. Forget the Shard, or the Sky Garden – taking the Salesforce elevator gives you so much more thrill and I cannot recommend that enough. 

The main dining room consists of an open kitchen next to a cover of around 30 tables. If you are lucky you can sit next to the floor-to-ceiling window allowing you to soak in the incredible view. Most of the window seats are for 2 people, so I suggest that you be strategic and ditch the third wheel.

So, I love the elevator, the dining room, and the view – what is the catch? Well, perhaps that nearly nonexistent air-conditioning.

It was only spring when I visited but without sufficient air-conditioning I am already starting to get the drawback of what is basically a top-floor greenhouse. To be honest, it is not that bad, but there are other places where I’d rather be in to break a sweat. 

Also, their toilet is small and outdated. Having seen what it could be like in modern high rises like the Shard and Novotel’s Bokan37, I have unfortunately had my bar set high. I am not asking for the toilet to have a view as you can’t simply change the layout of the floor without significant investment – but it could definitely do with some upgrade and refurbishment.

Food & Drinks

The first time I visited D&W I was blown away by the food, and I believe that the quality is largely still there: the signature duck and waffle was as solid as ever, but the star had to be their foie gras creme brulee – this rich & flavourful dish was paired with brioche dusted with marmalade and pork crackling. Simply a sublime combination that I will happily have over and over again. Below are some more in-depth reviews: 

1. BBQ-specied crispy pig ears

Beautifully spiced, and perfect as a snack. Very moorish and delivering it in a sealed paper bag added to the charm. I’d urge the restaurant to make this available in all big supermarket

2. Crispy Polenta with truffle mayonnaise 

I am less crazy about this one. Yes the polenta balls are well fried and you can never go wrong with a truffle mayonnaise – but it is a far cry from being “crispy”. I would much prefer that they make a flat polenta crisp topped with the truffle mayonnaise and something that makes it extra special. Being priced at £4 a pop also came with a level of expectation that I am afraid didn’t quite hit the mark.

3. Foie Gras Creme Brulee with brioche topped with marmalade & pork crackling 

Literally the best dish of the day. Foie gras always pairs well with something sweet, and the caramel crust does just the trick. On top of that, the brioche really elevated the whole experience: warm bread with sweet marmalade & salty pork crackling is just perfect with or without the brulee. I’d happily come here just for this dish.

4. Duck and Waffle

If you come to Duck and Waffle and not have its signature dish, then you’d be judged. But to be honest, given how similar dishes have come in popularity after the restaurant opened, this dish is no longer as mind blowing as it first started. It is still good though – solidly good. But don’t go crazy over it. If there are two of you, I’d recommend sharing it so that you can free up your space for other dishes too (maybe the foie gras creme brulee above – have I recommended that enough yet?).

5. Spicy Ox Cheek Doughnut, apricot jam and paprika sugar

This was one of the dishes that I believe made Duck and Waffle a talking point and understandably so. The first time I had it I was impressed, but it is a dish that has since lost its charm: the filling was fine but the dough too dense & stodgy, and the apricot jam that is meant to balance that was just mostly sweet and doesn’t have enough tartness to cut through the heaviness. It didn’t help that it also arrived 15 minutes after we’ve finished all the other food (suspected it was missed from the order until we reminded them), but all in all this was the weakest dish of the day by far. 

6. “The Full Elvis” – PBJ, caramelised banana, chantilly cream, all the trimmings 

This is the pinnacle of indulgence: this dessert was a heart attack inducing combination of waffle, peanut butter, jam, caramelised banana, berries, and cream. I enjoyed it – but would have enjoyed it even more had they swapped out the chantilly cream with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, and more acidic elements that can help cut through the heaviness of the dish especially after all the overly rich food that came before. I also would suggest that they halve the size of this dessert so I can try other ones on their dessert menu because, let’s be honest, there is no way one person could have finished this. 

7. Cocktails: “Duck and Stormy” (left) and “Waffle on the Rocks” 

“Duck and Stormy” was a pleasant mix of rum, coconut, lime and ginger juice – overall I liked it. However, the other signature cocktail “Waffle on the rocks”, which promised to have waffle flavoured vodka and maple syrup was promising more than it could deliver: the only waffle & maple flavour you get is only from a tiny piece of an actual waffle & syrup in a mini syringe, whereas the the taste of this, if anything, was completely lost in the alcohol. Given how incredible the bar looks, D&W deserves a more impressive array of cocktails both in terms of flavour and look.

Service

If you look at the google reviews, you will quickly land on the common themes: the decor and view are amazing, food is mostly great if not a bit too expensive (which many accepted as fair given the view), but the service is highly volatile. To be clear, the servers are not rude or unpleasant, but in many cases they are slow and lack attention to detail. My experience was no different, notably: 

• Given the small table, we’ve had to pile the empty dishes up throughout the meal. No one really bothered to clear those up for a long time
• Service was generally slow – for example it took a long time for them to take our order, and we’ve had to chase multiple times for a water refill 
• Our ox cheek doughnut was missing and it took at least an extra 15 minutes to come, after we had already finished everything else. It was an awkward wait and I would have much preferred it if they offered us the chance to remove it from our order and go straight to dessert

As a defence, one might say that they are short staffed, but it certainly wasn’t the case on this occasion. The restaurant had around 30 tables, and there were 14 waiters (yes I counted. That is how much time I had waiting for my ox cheek doughnut). From my observation, while some staff looked after multiple tables,  there were a good number that were just standing around doing very little, or spending all their time slowly laying the empty tables. It was just a bit of a mess. A good waiter should always be aware of the diner’s status: if the water needs refilling, if they are trying to get your attention, whether it is time to clear the table and offer the dessert menu, and other basic things like that. Very little of this was done, and it didn’t look like it was down to people being too busy, but rather a lack of a good system and proper training.

Also, the final bill sneakily added a £2 donation for a “cook for Ukraine” initiative. I am personally all for donating, but certainly don’t enjoy being forced into it. A respectful restaurant would either commit to donating a portion of their proceedings to the cause, or simply give you the choice to add to the bill. Forcing people to donate, no matter how justifiable the cause is, is simply an irritating ploy to pass yet more cost to their customers to advance their own social agenda. And I am using the word “force” here because, well, is anyone really going to be that big a douchebag to dispute a £2 bill to help the people in Ukraine? No (at least I hope not). But it would certainly feel a hell lot better if you give people the choice, rather than sneaking it into the bill hoping that no one would notice.

In all fairness though, there were also some really good bits: 

• When I did get our server’s attention – she was very pleasant and helpful 
• Extra effort was made to sit us by the window without asking, after another guest took our seat by error 
• They provided an extra dish at the end to celebrate our anniversary – it was a very nice touch
• Email correspondence with the team prior to coming was very good and responsive

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Overall – Duck and Waffle does good, hearty food that has remained innovative and indulgent over the years. I would happily come back and recommend it to others – but with the clear caveat that you might come across some poor service. I am slightly harsh on this review because I do love Duck and Waffle – so much so that I have even bought its cookbook and made a few dishes from it.

Again – the hardware is there, so I look forward to them really taking people’s review on board and making it one of the hottest dining destinations in London again.

6.5/10