Wandering through Soho on a Friday night in June, we decided to have something to eat. A simple decision really but 'Soho', 'Friday evening' and 'table without a booking' rarely go together.
So after hearing there was a 1.5 hour wait at a tried and tested staple, I spotted a vacant table.
Ducksoup opened at the same time as places like Burger & Lobster and probably another branch of the Polpo empire . It was reviewed positively for its quirky approach to handwriting menus and good food, and then it went quiet - for no apparent reason.
So when I noticed a vacant table for two near the door, I jumped on it (not literally) and found ourselves in a very small but very atmospheric restaurant. A bit French, a bit trendy but unpretentious, the aforesaid handwritten menu appeared. No starters or mains but the dishes 'get bigger as you go down the list'. No wine list apart from a [handwritten] whiteboard behind the bar. No lots of things but there is one thing that I've not seen for ages - a record player!
The food was excellent - and it really was, but I forgot to take any pics so you'll have to trust me that the artichoke hearts were to die for, the clams in a broth with pancetta and fresh peas were delicious and the sea bream was cooked to perfection - even the sour dough bread was amazing.And everything was interspersed by a very cool track from an LP (that's a vinyl record to all you millennials)
It just kept going - all these amazing tracks from the 70's and 80's even to the point that I saw Club Tropicana going on and raised my eyebrows to which (what turned out to be) one of the restaurant owners said ' you have to trust me on this one - it always works!' and I think it did.
Ducksoup is one of the quirkiest restaurants I've been to in a long time. Lovely staff, lovely food and amazing 'authentic' entertainment! Go.
