Duck & Waffle Restaurant, London

Sitting on the 38th floor of the third tallest building in London, Duck & Waffle is a restaurant defined by its inability to be defined.

It’s a 24-hour eatery often frequented by drunk patrons in the early hours of a Saturday morning looking for some fried food. It’s also an upscale restaurant creating immaculate meals for the wealthy, for businessmen angling to impress a new client or for couples splashing some cash on date night. It’s even a top-ranking tourist destination in London, drawing travellers at sunrise and sunset with its incredible views of the city’s skyline.

The one thing — maybe the only thing — tying this experience together is the restaurant’s titular dish, the duck and waffle. It is exactly what it sounds like: “crispy leg confit, fried duck egg, mustard maple syrup”. It’s a play on your classic American fried chicken waffles, given a perfectly balanced dose of European class. The menu goes on to offer fresh-baked bread, small tapas-style plates of smoked eel, Angus beef tartare and raw yellowfin tuna, as well as heartier fare like miso-glazed rabbit or 38 day aged rib eye.

With a full belly, you’ll gaze out over the foggy London vistas in Autumn and start to get philosophical. Why did Duck & Waffle choose to be the highest 24/7 restaurant in London? Doesn’t the task of hopping into an all-glass elevator and getting whisked up 38 floors at 5 metres per second get old? Without these views, would Duck & Waffle be as tasty?

There’s just no way to define your experience at Duck & Waffle that does it justice. Which is fine, because they’ve since opened up a second branch, this time on the ground floor at St. James’s Market.