23/8/2010 5 photos

I have mixed feelings about this place. A friend and I stopped here one night to grab dinner since it looked like a nice restaurant. There were too many choices for food and I didn't want to walk around all night.

I really liked the ambiance and the fact that they have live jazz; it adds taste to the place. From the outside I didn't think much of the space, but I was quite surprised. There's the bar area and a restaurant seating area on the ground floor, then there's the upper floors with more seating! The window seats have a nice view of the Thames.

The items on the menu were a bit too pricey in my opinion for what I got. I ordered the garlic and herb chicken with chips and salad (choice of 2 items); it was 13 pounds! I felt it was a bit overpriced for the quality of food I got. I thought it was just your average roasted chicken, chips, and salad...nothing special. And two, the place rumbles every time the train goes by. It makes for an odd experience.

I feel like this is one of those place you would visit every once in a while for a different eating experience with the view of the Thames (depending on where you're seated) and the live jazz playing as you eat.

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3/8/2010

Celebrating a friend's (avid steak lover) b-day, we had settled on The Archduke as a London friend raved about their veggie burgers....win / win for all of us

Wonderfully situated inside a supporting arch of the Waterloo Station tracks & right on the water. Get great views of the Thames & the London Eye.

Jazz music coming from the piano downstairs....adding ambiance to the exposed brick, crossbeams, industrial feel of the place - props!

Only downside was that every time the Underground would go through the station, the walls & floors would rattle - while some may find this cool, it's very reminiscent of Earthquake behavior for us San Francisco souls - so spent the majority of the night on earthquake-action alert

Pimms was the best part of the night & being a proper girly girl, we had to indulge in the stereotypically-London, fruity drink

Veggie Burger was huge but other than that, pretty unmemorable. Not dry or too moist, not a bad flavor but not outstanding....just average all around. It was a homemade patty & there were a ton of fries

All other friends had steak of 1 variety of another....Fillet, T-Bone & Ribeye & all plates were licked clean - high props for the steaks

Dessert consisted of Brownies for the boys - the girls had more Pimms

So for ambiance & coolness factor, this place is a fantastic choice to enjoy some wine & piano jazz. Food is average & prices are about what you'd expect being so close to the water & tourist destinations..... so a happy A-OK for you!

Listed in: Veggie in England, Burgers - Veggies eat em too!

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11/8/2009

The place felt very mediocre, but the size, layout and posters knocked it up to a 3 rather than a 2, for me.

As mentioned before, they'e a little odd on the restaurant side of things. When we asked for a table to eat, we were told there would be a half an hour wait, so we decided we'd come back in a bit. We walked around to find somewhere to sit, and another member of staff approaches. We said we had wanted some food but were told we'd have to wait, and she informed us we could actually sit basically anywhere and get served. No half an hour wait, for walking 10 seconds to another part. Oookaay!

Whilst a bit on the pricey side, and thus putting me off it for a random lunch visit in future, it was nice enough for what I had. The sundae was fab, the drinks were fine, and so if you're looking for somewhere to go and happen to spy it, but aren't on a tight budget, it's worth the visit.

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15/4/2010

I like the setting and atmosphere in The Archduke. It's spacious without being too vacuous ad they usually have a good live jazz act on in the evening. Food is a little pricey but it is near the Southbank so that's to be expected. Also a perk of the location is you get a splendid view of the scenic surroundings through the huge glass windows. A nice place for a date (if the fella's paying, which a gent should) or a relaxed evening with a glass of wine and some friends.

Listed in: United Kingdom

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2/8/2009

Oh my God this place is huge! So many little nooks for sitting and eating, it winds right around up to the restaurant area on top.

But you can eat anywhere, just the menu changes, I think. It can be confusing and they seem to be a little precious about the main restaurant area. You can wait a half hour to sit there or sit in the next alcove over. You just don't get the nice ambience and candlelight, or quick service either. One might wonder why not just have that atmosphere on both areas and get more people in there?

But I love a place where you can order chips and an ice-cream sundae for your dinner and no-one bats an eyelid. And where you can listen to a live jazz pianist. Very cool.

This is a really nice wine bar, but as a restaurant it fails a bit. The food menu is expensive and has very little choice for vegetarians.

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