Duck & Waffle

Duck & Waffle is the highest restaurant in London, and the room makes certain you understand that before the first drink arrives. The view from the 40th floor is properly dramatic, although the windows could do with a clean; the city deserves a sharper frame. There is a comfortable half-couch quality to the seating and a relaxed sense of occasion, while SushiSamba below feels comparatively underwhelming once you have seen this room’s outlook. A friendly, slightly nervous waiter and a sommelier happy to banter kept the evening human.

The bread selection is outstanding, with lamb keema the table favourite, and the foie gras crème brûlée with pork crackling brioche was the dish that most clearly made the restaurant’s case. Seared octopus, a corn dog, ox-cheek doughnut and goat meatballs kept the meal moving through a wonderfully broad register. The signature duck and waffle divided opinion, the whole roast chicken was fairly ordinary and a 38oz rib-eye proved merely OK. Sides were also in shorter supply than the size of the menu might suggest.

Dessert recovered the mood: baked Alaska, salted-caramel choux buns and chocolate fondant closed with real pleasure. Duck & Waffle is at its best when the kitchen embraces contrast — familiar food with a little mischief, generous ideas set against the seriousness of that view. It is not every course that reaches the same height, and the restaurant can feel more accomplished in its details than in its headline dish. Even so, the combination of skyline, comfort and a menu willing to have fun makes this a very easy London classic to understand. At 40.5, it is a lively, memorable meal with a few ordinary edges rather than a flawless one.