I had a poorish meal first time I went to Ducksoup but I’d heard it was really good so went back on my own this week and this time enjoyed my lunch.

Eating out is often as much about the company and their mood as the food and whilst great food can calm the most restless diner sometimes the whole experience of comfort/food and cost can just miss a trick. This is where Ducksoup had let us down. There is a level of comfort below which it’s just not worth paying and our tiny, draughty table crowded into a window/door space was just no fun at all. The rather haphazard appearance of the regulation small plates also left much to be desired. I eat out often and do appreciate the joy of trying so many of the menus dishes but I think kitchens must try and offer some sense in the way small plates are served or they must revert to the origins of such food, the tapas bar, and welcome you only ordering one or two dishes at a time.

Being asked to order your complete meal of small dishes in one go often means in practice that the foods meant to be eaten piping hot all arrive together and mild tasting ones come after the more highly flavoured. To eat each dish at it’s best you must hurriedly try each dish moving on to the next without a pause. There is little satisfaction in such dining and it is impossible to eat in this way if you’re trying for a conversation when catching up with friends.

So my rerun visit was a much happier occasion. I’d seen on Twitter that Morcilla was being offered and, walking past the door, I saw a nearly empty bar so I sat on one of the wooden stools at the counter and ate the dish pictured above. Morcilla with a fried duck egg and some mixed mushrooms. It is part of Ducksoup’s new strategy to offer one dish plus a glass of wine at lunch. Accompanied by some good bread it worked for me.

I’m glad I went back, the staff are friendly and whilst I still think the restaurant is uncomfortable this is the sort of place and the type of food I long to find.

Ducksoup 41 Dean St London W1D 4PY 020 7287 4499