Duck & Waffle — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

Sorry Duck & Waffle, I'm not sugarcoating it

Due to the ratings, I had such high hopes. Unfortunately, it was by far the worst place I've eaten in Edinburgh. Starting with the atmosphere, I'll be quick. It's clean, very modern, but imo not well thought out. We sat in the bar area where it was set up to look cozy, like a café...but at 7 pm there was pretty loud club music where the DJ fluctuated the volume weirdly so you could never get used to it. We couldn't have a conversation without almost shouting, which was weird given the café style tables as shown in their pictures. I'm sure it's a great vibe for some people, but it was the worst of a club, a bar, and a café all in one place lol. I mean, I might just not be a fancy enough person to appreciate the place, but it was poorly thought out.

The service was mediocre at best. Now, I didn't revoke any tip or anything over it, because I'm not a Karen and like, they still did their job...but holy crap guys, please step it up. It was like interacting with a Tim Hortons cashier on a Sunday morning. They were there...physically...but I'm sure they wanted to be anywhere other than work (I get it, who doesn't) but like, the vibe the staff emit is basically depression (all but one guy who brought something out from the kitchen, who seemed basically normal). When I paid (after trying to flag someone down for 5 mins and finally just got up and walked over to someone) I was asked how everything was...I replied "awful" which was met with a taken aback look...and then silence...I paid, and we left.

Now, the most important thing, the food. It was pretty bad. Was it edible? Sure! But technically so is cardboard and I think cardboard has more flavor. My husband got the lamb, I got ravioli, the people with us got fish, and the other got the cesar salad. We got house bread, carrots, and broccolini to share.

The fish was apparently ok. Small portion for the price, not horrible or anything, but very, very forgettable. The ravioli on the other hand, I wish I could forget. It was a tiny portion, and I'm not a big eater. The truffles were nasty, but, I'm sure someone thought they were good. The pasta was like soggy cardboard...I don't think they even salted the water the pasta was boiled in. It was swimming in just...unsalted butter...and I think a brick of parm might have sharted on the plate at some point, but I can't be certain. The filling was almost tasteless, except for a weird...almost film...it leaves on your tongue with a slightly off cream cheese flavor. I asked for salt and pepper, they brought me pepper so, I was like...mmmkay (I also never salt my food. I don't like salty food, but this was like hospital food bland). I hosed it in pepper and it just wasn't enough. As a joke, one of the people with us suggested I try it with ketchup...I thought it would be hilarious to order a side of ketchup (I did it politely ofcourse), it was the most expression I got from any of them...the side eye at least made us snicker when they walked away. And no, it didn't help the flavor at all lol. My the other guest who got the cesar salad...they just plop whole leaves of romaine lettuce on the plate in a lazy fashion and toss some stuff on it. The chicken was definitely overcooked and dry. That one was just lazy. The lamb belly was absolutely flavorless. Like, you know when you're making soup stock at home, and you decide to just eat a random chunk of meat that's been boiling in stock for 6 hours and it tastes like almost nothing...but you can still tell it's meat...pretty much that. The seasoning used on it was so minimal that we wondered if they forgot a sauce or something...which happens, nbd...but no...it just sucked. Everything has yogurt under it, which, ok, different...but it was underwhelming flavor wise. It was just plain yogurt slapped on a plate. Broccolini was overcooked and the yogurt and the spices just didn't mix well. House bread was ok, and carrots were actually good, the yogurt worked there nicely.

Sorry to be so savage guys, but that was...

My wife and I went here for brunch last month. We managed to get a last minute booking. Our immediate thoughts on the establishment were lavish. There was a contrast in staff. The first guy we saw who was taking peoples bookings and to their seats, was very busy and intense, running back and forth. Then the next staff member that seen to us was a chilled lady who was much more relaxed and more our vibe. We were taken to our seats. We sat at the high tables meters from the chef’s working their magic. Theres a good selection of dishes on the menu including snacks, classics, eggs, savoury, sweets and sides. I was tempted by one of the many sweet waffles but since it was my first meal of the day I went with the classic duck and waffle. My wife went with full Scottish breakfast. My belly brain couldn’t resist and I also decided to order BBQ pigs ears and the honey baked carrots. Ofcourse we had to get drinks so we went for a lux hot chocolate and a soft drink. It was nice seeing the chefs prepare and cook the dishes in front of you. Although I wasn’t a fan of the amount of waste you see. Especially when you see them carving the waffles. All the scraps just get chucked. I felt like saying “excuse me, I’ll have that”. Anyway, the food was great. The standout for me was their speciality, the duck and waffle. The egg was cooked perfectly, the waffle was nice, the duck exquisite and the maple mustard syrup just topped it off! I could have devoured 4 portions of that and still wanted more. Although, I wouldn’t want to pay for portions as it was priced at £24 which I feel is expensive, especially knowing that they discard half the waffle when carving it. Having it as an occasional treat is justified. My wife quite enjoyed her Scottish breakfast, although she commented on how it’s not a Scottish breakfast without a tattie scone. What she did get was fairly satisfy. The baked carrots were a surprisingly big portion and they had quite a unique taste and were initially quite pleasant but towards the end became not as enjoyable. The hot chocolate looked the part and it tasted not bad. Finally the BBQ pigs ears came in a bag and there must’ve been about 100 pigs worth of ears. The bag was never-ending. I am not going to lie but I fair enjoyed them. A little messy fingers but enjoyable nonetheless. My wife and I both agree that this place warrants a 4 star. The majority of the food was lovely, the star of the show being the duck and waffle but I don’t think it warrants the expense. The service was relatively quick. Some staff were brilliant and others were average. I would love to come back to try some of the sweet options so perhaps it may get bumped up to a 5 after...

I was seated at around 11:15am at the bar with the understanding that my friend would come and join me in about half an hour. I was left alone for about 20 minutes before being approached for my drink order. I asked for a glass of water and, after informing the bartender that my friend would not be coming and checking that it was ok for me to dine alone at my current seat, ordered a Queen of Scots. I sat nursing my drink for the better part of an hour on my laptop (free wifi!! though you do have to give your email, full name, and bday for access) before I started getting upset. Two parties of 5 had come and gone and I'd never received my water or was offered a food menu. I'd honestly be ok with slower service, it happens all the time when restaurants are short staffed or busy, but the dining room was clear and other tables around me seemed to be getting their orders in just fine. I finally got the attention of a passing server about an hour and a half after being seated and asked to order some food. In my ample down time, I'd already searched for a copy of the menu online and knew what I wanted, which seemed to surprise the server who attempted to bring me my menu. Normally I wouldn't be so rude, but I'd arrived hungry and had only gotten hungrier. I got my food 2 hours into sitting there. The food runner had to circle back before setting my food down because no one had brought my utensils.

On the plus side, my drink was good, though maybe not entirely worth the price tag, and my duck and waffles lived up to its hype, with perfectly crispy confit leg, a well salted egg, and a sharp, but sweet mustard maple syrup. The flavors were well balanced on an honestly straightforward waffle, though I don't know that I'd wait 2 hours for it again.

I do think my dining experience was unique to my circumstances and whatever the bartender might have been doing at the moment, but being unattended for 2 hours was too much. I'd planned for an 1.5 hr brunch at most and having it turn into a 3 hour affair because of inattentiveness and miscommunication was upsetting. I honestly considered complaining in person but I'd spent too much of my morning there already, so I just went through the motions of my meal as fast as I could. My hunch is that there might have been some miscommunication between the server who initially took my order and the rest of the FOH staff about whether I was dining alone where I'd been seated or if I was waiting on a table for a larger party. However, if an increasingly listless patron has been sitting there for the better part of 2 hours and no one has bothered to do much more than the give the table a few stares, I'd at least have my...