Back in the days when this blog was only laughably out of date, I wrote a review of a Ducksoup dinner for three. It was an unexpectedly enjoyable evening with some impressive dishes which still stick in the memory today. Some time on - with the blog now hilariously out of date - I'm writing about another visit there when four of us went for dinner.
Ducksoup remains a place I find exciting and interesting. It's quirky with its handwritten menus and wine list daubed on the room-wide mirrors, welcoming with the low-lit candles and vinyl player and - most importantly - good food. It's the last part that makes the whole thing work, since without good food, gimmicks become mind-numbing and irrelevant.
We ate dinner the way four friends should eat dinner - in a collaborative and unreserved way. After bread & butter were dispensed with, we ordered some salted foie gras on crispy toast (left). It was soft, unctuously rich and satisfying but (critically) not over-dressed or showy. For something that tends to be considered rather pretentious, this was refreshingly simple and fairly priced at £8.
Our next choice was a pleasant-sounding combination of goat's curd, courgette flowers and honeycomb. These delivered visually but the taste was a revelation for me (right). They were crisp-fried golden in a light batter, but the creamy, salty filling was complemented perfectly by the refreshing crunchy coating and the coarse, sweet honeycomb. For someone who usually steers clear of goat's cheese, this was a huge surprise, which we hadn't heard the last of...
We spent £10 on some raw langoustines with chilli & lemon, which meant half of one each around the table (left). This was a mistake since, whilst fresh and nicely chilled, the seafood was rather tasteless and an unrewarding struggle to remove from the shells. There was a distinct absence of flavour, which made me wonder if we'd missed something in eating these. At £5 a prawn, I would expect more bang for my buck here.
It was back to familiar and reliable territory for the next small plate, which was lardo on toast (right). At this point, we had started to overdo it with the bread, but the silky, salty meat was a welcome savoury punch, showing again that with a dish like this, simple really is the way to go.
A Lyonnaise salad was the first choice from the 'kitchen' section of the menu, and at £7, this was just about right (left). A proper blend of bitter leaves with lardons, breadcrumbs and vinaigrette over a deliciously-poached egg, it was balanced, delicate, flavoursome and enjoyable. If you're going to eat salad, this is the way to do it. Our friends were particularly impressed and started debating how it could be recreated at home.
Our next larger plate was an interesting-sounding lamb, broad beans & labneh combination (right). There was something off about this, though it wasn't the temperature of the meat, which was a lovely red-pink inside. However, it was slightly charred on the outside, which doesn't really suit lamb - had it been a piece of beef it might have been great. Combined with the very mild yoghurt dressing and the inoffensive broad beans, this was a plate really missing a hit of flavour to take it to the next level.
We shared a plate of St. George's mushrooms with thyme & parmesan (left). These are (I later found out) very popular seasonal mushrooms in Europe and I really hope they had been picked locally - particularly given the name. They were an interesting variation of textures and sizes and they certainly had the flavour the lamb had been missing. The delicate seasoning of thyme and the saltiness of the cheese made for a sensible overall plate but there was still something nagging away at me. I think it was the relative insubstantial feel of the whole thing. It just didn't feel right without a bit of starch to give it body. I'm aware that's probably not what the kitchen was going for but in terms of textural dimension, it was a near miss.
At this point, we decided the courgette flowers were so great we had to have another couple before turning our thoughts to pudding. The wife and friends demolished their crème caramel as soon as it hit the table (right). There's something about this classic which never hits the mark for me. Always too gelatinous to the touch and too bitter from the caramel sauce, I can't say I've ever loved it. However, the guys all thought it was excellent and - as often in cases like these - I bow to their superior knowledge.
Ducksoup is now affirmed as one of my very favourite casual places to eat. Always affordable, rarely off point and adorably appropriate. This is a restaurant which deserves to be more than just an also-ran in the Soho pantheon of friendly, rustic eateries. It's a great restaurant in its own right.
Ducksoup
