Hattie Lloyd 20/12/18
NOTE: Monsieur le Duck is sadly now closed. May we humbly suggest Bowling Bird, serving fantastic meat and seafood dishes nearby.
Usually, when we hear about a place serving duck from South-West France, we canard-ly wait to check it out.
And Monsieur Le Duck is no exception.
One of London’s few duck-focused restaurants, it’s won itself a permanent site off the back of a barnstorming pop up loaded with critical acclaim. It comes to you from a trio of friends who all travel frequently to Gascony, and the space they’ve found is a far cry from the quaint rustic-ness you might expect; it’s light, airy, and a touch industrial feeling, with a double-height dining room at the back.
That quaint rustic-ness is brought right back by the menu, on which you’ll find “no pea shoots, no nasturtiums, no smears of emulsion”, but just classic, old-school duck, frites, and booze. Regarding the former; the quackers come in four main forms: confit duck, finished in the pan with garlic & thyme; Magret duck breast (meaning it’s from the rich, flavourful Moulard breed) either chargrilled or roasted; and a good ol’ duck burger. That’s offered alongside moules marinière and a veggie tart for anyone on a duck detox.
You can side it all with bread & duck fat butter; duck rillettes and croquettes; deep fried cauliflower; seasonal greens with lardons; or some frites. This kind of indulgence, in case you had not noticed, is quite literally not for the faint of heart. And if you’re dining with a similarly robust companion, you can both spring for the “Grand Jeu”, netting you all four styles of duck, or an off-menu duck wellington.
If you fancy quacking open something to drink, they’ve got red, white, rosé, and sparkling, all from south-west France, and more or less designed to go with food like this – much like their apéritif cocktails, digestif armagnacs and their house pale ale, aged in red wine barrels.
In short, you won’t want to duck this one.
Monsieur Le Duck | 27 Clerkenwell Road, EC1M 5RN
Looking for somewhere to eat? Check out the best restaurants in every London neighbourhood
The Nudge is an independent, searchable and highly-curated guide to the most interesting places to go and things to do in London, giving members unrestricted access to our full compendium of continually-updated restaurants, bars, events, exhibitions, date ideas, itineraries, member perks, weekend guides, monthly agendas and more – all delivered via our website, email newsletters & members’ app.
Join us to see what’s hot in London this week; to explore all of the recommendations & ideas stored within The Nudge’s website and members’ app; and to start making the most of life in London today. Start Free 14 Day Trial
Carpe Diem!
27 Clerkenwell Road, Clerkenwell, East London, EC1M 5RN
020 3970 0490
Visit Website
8 | Great
Submit Member Review
Got A Tip? Email [email protected]
Log In to add this to My Saved Articles
Not a member and want to find out more then click here
7 Day Free Trial
Member Log In
We rely on member reviews to help keep The Nudge honest, accurate & continually up to date with the very best of London - so thank you!