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• Nearby tube stops: Waterloo Station

Archduke Restaurant

This bar/restaurant nestles under the arches of the Hungerford railway bridge, on the south side of the river. We went for a meal there fairly early on a Saturday (about 7.30). It was quiet when we got there, but very busy by the time we left.

Layout

It felt really spacious - large windows at either side of the restaurant had lovely views (but the window tables . The tables are not too squidged up together. It's very multi-levelish - lots of stairs. The toilets are located in the lowest bit of the bar - at ground floor level.

food

The bar downstairs serves snackish food - sandwiches and snacks, as far as I could see. We ate upstairs in the restaurant. The menu is quite small - about six or eight different options. Starter options included smoked salmon on bubble'n'squeak, soup (a very tasty tomato and basil), quail something-or-other, and a mozzarella and tomato salad.

The main courses we tried were; salmon fishcakes with salad and cucumber pickles, pan-fried guineafowl with mash and red wine sauce (that day's special), and duck in port sauce with potato dauphinoise. There was a 'speciality sausage' option as well - with a choice of sausage served with mash and onion gravy. Also steak and chips (but with sauce and fancier name), and another fish dish. The veggie dish was feta cheese and ratatouille in pastry, and there didn't seem to be any vegan options (other than maybe the soup and side veg dishes) although I didn't ask).

My food was tasty (I had soup and then salmon fishcakes). I really liked the cucumber pickles, but I'n not used enough to fish to be able to comment much on the fishcakes, other than tasty. The others liked theirs but all not exactly forthcoming with descriptions or comments.

The desert menu had a chocolate cake, rhubarb crumbles with custard, lots of ice-cream and sorbets, cheese selection, pecan pie, and other things on it. I was a tad full so I just had coffee.

Oh - the soft nutty bread is really tasty.

prices

Mid-range, I suppose. The bill came to about �30 per head with service on. Starters were �4 - �7, mains �10 - �16, deserts about �5

drinks

Fantastic wine list! A huge and varied selection, and not overpriced. There were lots of intersting things that I wanted to try. The wine list noted that they also sell wine by the case. I'm tempted....

service and ambience

Service was good - in a barely there way, which I liked, and we managed to sit for three hours over dinner without feeling at all rushed. We did get almost charged twice for desert and coffee - but they fixed this as soon as we pointed it out.

One thing I didn't like; the paperish cloths over the linen tablecloths, and paper napkins instead of real ones. I like linen in proper restaurants.