�I was pretty much beside myself with excitement on the way to Duck and Waffle. It’s not every day you get to eat 40 floors up in the sky, with panoramic views over London.

And not only that, more than one person had raved to me about it, one claiming it was their favourite restaurant – not a bad reputation for a new place.

It’s at the top of the Heron Tower an imposing glass monolith on Bishopsgate. The trip up in the lift is majestic enough, it shoots up at a fair rate of knots as you look north over the city.

Once there, the view is nothing short of stunning. The fact you are level with the top of The Gherkin gives a sense of perspective, and I am told the sunset and sunrise are something to behold.

The vista was so good, it was a bit of a conversation stopper as we waited for the food.

The menu is divided in to snacks, light bites and bigger meals. From the former we chose pigs ears, which came in a brown paper bag and were crispy, slightly chewy little numbers with a sweet barbecue taste.

Then we had tuna carpaccio which was very tender, but not as flavoursome as you might think with garlic and chilli dressing. The haddock scotch egg, by contrast was dripping with smoky taste especially with the curry mayonnaise. I would recommend this to share as it really does pack a punch.

For the main course, I had the grouse, a meat I’d never tasted before. I found it a very dark and mysterious flesh, almost akin to liver. This portion was well cooked, and accompanied well by turnips and chard.

My girlfriend had the very pleasant mussels and clams, which came with a rich tomato sauce and satisfying crusty bread for dipping.

All this was made all the better by a crisp, zesty Sancerre.

For pudding, we had the warm chocolate brownie, one of the best I have tasted, with cinder toffee; ridiculously gooey and indulgent, and the Eton mess, a light palette tantaliser.

The food is good and inexpensive although the portions are small. Combined with such incredible venue, it makes the Duck and Waffle one to whip out when you want to impress.