Duck and Rice

 Beer and Chinese cuisine combo

Stir fry lobster in ginger and spring onions

Duck and Rice in Soho is a unique beast, you wouldn't usually associate pub food with Chinese food but this is what Duck and Rice is all about. The upmarket pub/restaurant offers plenty of premium beer, with a range of Chinese dishes that would work well with beer, such as Cantonese roasted duck and salt and pepper squid. I have visited once a while since 2016, and the below covers my recent 9th visit. It seems not a great deal has changed, with the menu more or less staying the same, with some dim sum and small plates which would work as starters, followed by larger dishes under the label 'chop suey'

Spinach dumplings

Pork shu mai

Prawn har gow

The house special Cantonese roasted duck had a wonderful sauce with the essence of five spices and soy sauce, the duck was served warm swimming in the sauce. I do think if the sauce was placed on the plate before having the duck on top, it would work better as the sauce softens the crispy duck skin. Having said that, the flavour of the duck was outstanding. I enjoyed the stirfry lobster in the ginger sauce a lot, the lobster was cooked just right, and the ginger and spring noodles absorbed all the lovely shellfish flavour, it also used less cornstarch compared to a regular Chinese restaurant which is ideal as it offers a cleaner taste.

Cantonese roasted duck

Wasabi king prawns

Black pepper version puff

Duck and Rice is not the best Chinese restaurant in London, but for sure it's much better than most if not all the restaurants you would find in Chinatown just down the road. The menu is mostly packed with dishes that are Western-friendly with plenty of takeaway classics, but all done in a more refined, upmarket style manner, within a pub environment. This is what makes this place stand out and I would keep heading back once in a while when I want simple but quality Chinese food with some fine beer to go along with it.

Food 3/5


Average cost without drinks and services:
£50

90 Berwick St, Soho, London W1F 0QB

http://www.theduckandrice.com/