Duck & Waffle launches local sister site in St James’s

Despite serving 24 hours a day, seven days a week, demand is still high for London’s highest-up restaurant — and now it’s launching a spin-off.

Duck & Waffle Local will open in St James’s this spring, offering a duck-centric menu that’s designed to be served fast.

Chef director Dan Doherty said: “Duck & Waffle is incredibly busy and so we thought we’d like to make this restaurant more accessible, in terms of not having to wait six weeks for a table, and also in terms of price.”

Duck & Waffle founder Shimon Bokovza added: “We’ve served over one million guests and almost half a million Duck & Waffle dishes since opening in July 2012. We are now harnessing the energy of the brand and bringing it to the street in a more casual atmosphere.”

Included on the line-up is a duck jam doughnut and a duck burger made with crispy duck leg and the option of whipped foie gras, as well as its parent restaurant’s namesake classic: confit duck leg on a waffle with a fried egg, served with maple syrup.

Dan said: “We’ve seen that at Duck & Waffle people are ordering a lot of duck and loving it, so we thought why not explore that and focus on it while showcasing its versatility — it doesn’t have to be duck a l’orange.”

There will also be a decent showing for vegetable dishes, including grilled sprouting broccoli with chilli, garlic, lemon and almonds, and baby spinach with peas, avocado, grains and seeds.

Other dishes from Duck & Waffle to make the transfer include spiced pigs ears and the Full Elvis dessert: a peanut butter and jelly waffle with vanilla cream, peanut brittle, berries and caramelised banana.

Diners at the new site will order at the counter before being shown to a table in order to allow for speedy service, while there will also be the option of pre-ordering for a set collection slot for those wanting food-to-go.

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Drinks are designed to be equally speedy, with a short selection of specially-designed cocktails from Duck & Waffle’s resident mixologist Rich Woods available on tap alongside some bers and wines.

The restaurant will serve right through from 8am to 1am and is due to open in May. It is the latest restaurant to open within the St James’s Market development that also includes Veneta and Aquavit.

Is this the first of many Duck & Waffle Local’s to arrive around London? Probably. “If people like it and it’s popular then why not,” said Dan.

Visit duckandwafflelocal.com.