Review: Duck and Waffle, Bishopsgate, London

Back in January I booked my boyfriend and I a table for brunch at Duck and Waffle for our anniversary. It felt like it had been on our list of restaurants to try forever so celebrating nine year together seemed like the perfect excuse. Not that we often need one to eat out...

Located on the 40th floor of the imposing Heron Tower, Duck and Waffle is famous for it's incredible views over the Big Smoke. It's also famous for it's signature dish which is of course what I opted for.

Starting the breakfast off with a spicy Bloody Mary and a refreshing mimosa, we finally settled on a full English breakfast for my boyfriend and the signature dish for myself - with a side of BBQ spiced pigs ears to share. So how did the food perform?

Incredible! The crispy duck leg confit was perfectly crisp, tender and juicy. No mean feat! It providing a great contrast to the mustard maple syrup and the sweet fluffy waffle - sweet and savoury at its finest. Topped with a fried duck egg, I not surprised this dish is so popular.

The house special got a massive thumbs up from my boyfriend - a man who believes a Full English is a food group. I can confirm those hash browns were a game changer and I may have nicked a bit of his cumberland sausage - ooooh saucy! I loved the fact the portions were decent. Expensive restaurant sometimes tend to be a bit under-generous and you can leave feeling you need a macdonalds on the way home. Those pig ears were a revelation and something I'm desperate to recreate. Incredibly addictive and tangy, they were like a skinnier and better version of the humble pork scratching.

Despite being suitably full and after having a discussion about how we needed to stop eating out so much to save money, we obviously opted for dessert when the waiter came over!

Dried fruit, crunchy granola and Greek yogurt was my boyfriend healthier option whereas I opted for the selection of homemade biscuits to fill my dessert belly. The homemade ginger nut had the ideal mouth of crunch and a suitable kick - exactly how I like it. The biscuits finished off what was probably the best brunch of my life.

It certainly wasn't cheap - costing £85 for a two course breakfast with a cocktail each - but the service is impeccable, the food is delicious and the view is out of this world. There's something about looking over London that makes me feel a little emotional. I feel so darn lucky to work and play in such a fantastic city.

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OOTD: Little black dress

Outfit:
Black crepe midi dress: Zara (similar)
Ombre midi coat: ASOS (similar)
Burgundy leather ankle boots: Next (similar)
Black leather Bayswater: Mulberry

Not the most ground-breaking of outfit but when all else fails, the little black dress always succeeds. It's foolproof when you're having a breakdown in front of your wardrobe struggling to know what to wear. I always like to add a few splashes of colour if I'm going for the all black everything look. This time I opted for burgundy. Again. One day I'll promise I'll stop wearing this coat and these boots so much. Maybe when spring finally arrives. It is coming right?!

I've been making a conscious decision to slow down recently. Clearing my diary and just concentrating on myself. The early nights aren't quite happening but I'm feeling a lot better in myself. I think I was trying to cram in a bit too much, eager not to get FOMO and spending too much money. I love working in the city but commuting is tough. I think you forget how much travelling knocks you for six. So I've been spending the last week - and probably this week! - obsessively watching Dickensian, eating spaghetti on toast, taking candle lit bubble baths and reading Game of Thrones conspiracies. Pretty much perfect.

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Why we shouldn't strive for perfection

We want it all eh? The amazing career, the stamps on our passport, the incredible social life, the big friendship group and the enviable relationship. And we're often told that we can have it all. But the reality is totally different. No one has it all. No one has perfection. And it's ok. We shouldn't strive for it anyway. Perfection is overrated.

Perfection sounds great on paper but in reality it can be a downward spiral. It can be exhausting trying to constantly reach the peak and once you're there? You constantly looking for something else because it's never enough. Because true perfection doesn't exist. It can't ever be achieved. It can damage your mental health searching for something that doesn't exist. It stops you from living in the moment. Life is so precious that it shouldn't be wasted worrying about what you don't have. Concentrate on what you do have.

It's natural to constantly compare yourself to others. They have nicer hair, a attentive boyfriend or a better job but I can guarantee that they don't believe that. You always want what you don't have. 

It's ok to be content. It's ok to do things to the best of your ability. To plod along at your own pace. And it doesn't matter if it doesn't live up to anyone else's standards. It's also ok to be happy with this. It doesn't mean you don't have any ambition or that you're settling. Being content with your lot is a wonderful thing. It's amazing how much happier you become. Concentrate on what makes you happy. As long as you do things your own way, then that is perfection.

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