The Duck & Rice, London Sw11: ‘‘this Is Big Money For Dinner In A Shopping Centre’– Restaurant Review | Grace Dent On Restaurants

The Duck & Rice, nan Chinese gastropub successful Soho, London, has opened a 2nd tract in Battersea powerfulness station’s shopping precinct. To beryllium fair, my usage of nan connection “precinct” to picture this lovingly titivated landmark feels a spot shabby, arsenic does “retail experience”. And plain aged “mall” decidedly won’t do, because Battersea’s postulation of 150-odd shops is very overmuch successful nan la-di-da, aspirational, lululemon, Mulberry and Malin+Goetz scope of money-frittering, each group complete aggregate floors pinch melodramatic mezzanines. This is simply a sumptuous paean to business chic, pinch pleasing air-conditioning and polished floors, and location is presently nary much jocund and luxurious a spot successful London to walk money you don’t person connected things you don’t need.

‘Plump, voluptuous, wobbly’: nan Duck & Rice’s har gau prawn dumplings.

In keeping pinch each this luxury, Battersea’s flagship edifice correct now is nan caller Duck & Rice, created 10 years agone by nan renowned Hong Kong-born British restaurateur Alan Yau OBE, who besides founded nan likes of Wagamama, Yauatcha and Hakkasan. The original Duck & Rice’s declare was that it was a Chinese gastropub, which, to my mind, confused it arsenic a brand. Yes, it is so housed successful a erstwhile pub connected Berwick Street, but astatine nan clip it felt much for illustration a very modern Cantonese edifice that served roast duck, dim sum, “small chow” and wok dishes, astir of them astir nan £10-£15 mark, arsenic good arsenic alleged “hero dishes” specified arsenic lobster laksa for £72. Yes, they waste Pilsner Urquell, which successful 2015 was very gastropub-ish, but they besides connection an array of lychee, chilli and bluish curaçao cocktails, which is, well, a spot Ritzy’s nightclub.

At nan caller Duck & Rice Battersea, however, they person £415 bottles of Vega Sicilia, which isn’t astatine each gastropub, and overmuch much quaffing an oligarch’s cellar pinch George Osborne while celebrating nan glorious 12th. This is made each nan much peculiar by nan truth that you’re indulging successful specified pompery astatine a edifice that has nan dystopian reside of “Unit L1-003, Level 1, Phase 2”, and that’s adjacent doorway to a champagne barroom called Control Room B.

Even so, I find nan Duck & Rice Battersea fascinating, not slightest because nan awesome British nationalist are, successful 2025, still yet to afloat taxable to spending large money connected important dinners wrong shopping centres. The nutrient courts of Westfield, nan Trafford Centre and truthful connected are swamped pinch each mode of casual eating options, but for important anniversaries and day dinners, we still thin towards bricks and mortar down nan precocious thoroughfare or, moreover better, successful immoderate bucolic mounting aliases other.

The location typical astatine nan Duck & Rice successful Battersea: ‘£25 for a glossy, crispy, medium-rare fillet of duck laid crossed achromatic atom pinch a spot of cucumber.’

Yet present is simply a edifice successful Battersea powerfulness station, conscionable on nan measurement from a pilates workplace and a luxury gilet shop, that isn’t really your emblematic bowl-of-noodles stopgap joint. When we arrived connected a Tuesday lunchtime, we were to commencement pinch nan only guests, but location were 22 cooks successful nan kitchen, 3 bartenders and 4 level staff. This is simply a gargantuan abstraction pinch small astir it to love. Still, a information of plump, voluptuous, wobbly caller har gau, stuffed to nigh bursting pinch shrimp, were delicious, arsenic was a sheet of venison puffs wherever crisp, warm, buttery pastry meets rich, long-stewed meat. A “Duck aged fashioned” pinch Volcán de mi Tierra tequila and Mozart acheronian cocoa liqueur was punchy, moreover if it alternatively ripped up nan rulebook of what an aged fashioned should be.

For mains, we ordered nan classical duck and atom location special, a vegan action of solid noodles pinch tofu mince and a wildcard Indonesian crockery of Assam chilli prawns. After they appeared, however, we entered what I telephone nan “service Siberia” shape of a meal, erstwhile nary server speaks to aliases looks astatine america ever again. Those main courses were filling, but mostly unmemorable: £25 for a glossy, crispy, medium-rare fillet of duck laid crossed achromatic atom pinch a spot of cucumber, and tofu noodles that could really person done pinch much oomph, power and spark; nan whopping awesome chilli king prawns, connected nan different hand, were perchance nan item of nan meal: fiery arsenic heck, and successful a fragrant excavation of agleam red, tamarind-heavy sauce.

The Duck & Rice’s vegan solid noodles and minced soya claypot ‘could really person done pinch much oomph’.

I mightiness moreover person lingered complete a shoumei achromatic beverage aliases imperial pu er infusion and leafed done nan dessert menu, but nan infinitesimal we vanished nan prawns, nan measure was plonked connected nan table. By this stage, location were still only 8 different guests, truthful you mightiness deliberation they’d person liked maine to enactment and walk much money, moreover if only to make nan spot look conscionable a spot busier. After all, if there’s 1 point for judge astatine Battersea powerfulness station, it’s that location are plentifulness of different places wherever I tin walk my cash.

• The Duck & Rice Unit L1-003, Level 1, Phase 2, Battersea powerfulness station, London SW11, 020-3327 7881. Open each week, luncheon noon-3.30pm, meal 5-10pm (11pm Fri & Sat). From astir £40 a caput à la carte; weekday lunch, from £18, each positive drinks and service

• The adjacent section of Grace’s Comfort Eating podcast is retired connected Tuesday 9 September – perceive to it here.