The Fat Duck

Went to The Fat Duck for a special occasion having eaten in many Bib Gourmand and Michelin starred restaurants in France and England. We were expecting great things from a 3 starred restaurant and were sadly a little disappointed. It certainly is an experience and the theatre of the service was fantastic. However, once the gimmicks were removed, the quality of the food didn't actually live up to the hype (The Mad Hatter's tea party was such an example) and some of the restaurants we have eaten in in the Languedoc in France. In fact, despite having a good appetite and being willing to give anything a go, we actively disliked a couple of items on the menu (The Sounds of the Sea was novel, but not enjoyable and the gelatinous salmon was not a pleasant experience). Also, although we enjoyed the Anjou pigeon, it and the Sounds of the Sea were over-seasoned and overpoweringly salty.

Another gripe was that, although the waiters were amazingly charming and very eager to please (and we would say worth the £50 service charge), our table appeared to have been staggered to align with another party so that there was an overly long wait between courses. This meant that two parties who arrived after us ended up leaving before us and we were left to pine over the arrival of the next course. Again, we… More

When you enter in a restaurant supposed to be best of uk, if not one of the best in the world you had great expectations that very quickly fad away at the fat duck.
My husband book a long time ago without choosing the date but taking what is available, so we are a bit surprised to be seated just in front of the entrance door and facing a wall, I can not say anything about decor because there is no decor except a big aeration grill that my husband is facing, the ceiling is very low no flower arrangment but a advert for the diverse books of mr Blumenthal, one is even named “ Perfection” that is a bit presomtuous. This is things that you except in an Pizzeria but not in a 3* (did all the one in Paris, some in Italy, Us and Ramsay…)
For the choice of the menu we decide to go for the tasting menu because this is the only one choice we have !!!
The only thing I do hope is to discover it was a joke, we start with the nitro poached lime grove : amusing, then arrive a very nice gaspacho of red cabbage with a mustard ice cream (already had in Robuchon). We wait for too long between each plate and not to forget there are the size of a micro tapas (finally this was a nice thing) We then have to eat a little strip, like the one you let melt in your tongue to have a nice breath but with a horrible… More

Under-stated the surroundings may be, but they belie the food event that awaits. The Fat Duck, in its plain cottage style setting (in contrast with the imposing Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saison – cross ref), produces clever culinary wonderment such as vibrant green porridge with snails, an unlikely but blissful marriage of oyster and passion fruit and has dared to mix cauliflower with chocolate. To further tease and please your senses all meats yield tenderly to the lightest touch – a celestial pork main partnered with sensational macaroni gratin. Fish doesn’t fail to delight either. Wade through the wine list to find that major investment is required in order to imbibe – discerned result is usual. Finish with breakfast – dumbfoundingly good egg with bacon ice cream. Even when things unusually go wrong i.e. a delay in service was remedied (entirely without any prompting from us) by serving what was tantamount to a complete taster menu and proved an utterly glorious way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon.

However, faultless eating even HB’s team cannot guarantee, and on one occasion I recall that the balance of flavours and textures of one or two courses was not as good as it could have been (the moral is don’t order the same dish twice). No wonder 99% of the time it wows, afterall this is… More

This was the first time that I have eaten at The Fat Duck and having previously dined at the UK's other 3-star Michelin restaurants, I wanted to be able to compare and contrast. Reading numerous website reviews, it appeared that opinion was more or less divided into two: love or hate. With an increased public profile over the past few years, The Fat Duck has developed a reputation and renown that appeared to focus mainly around the tasting menu. However, because we were eating late and my fiancée did not want to half-heartedly tackle such a gastronomic challenge, we opted instead for the a-la-carte menu.

With The Fat Duck (and also Restaurant GR), people are often critical of the booking system, but I view it is a device that is operated to both enhance and protect the restaurant's reputation. I believe that being critical achieves nothing and is simply a means for people to vent their frustration at not being able to secure a booking; to me, it is a right that has been earned. Yes, it requires perseverance and compromise to get what you want and in this case I was fortunate to able to take a cancellation that suited me. I found the reservations team to be polite and courteous at all times and very helpful.

The decor of a restaurant is often a contentious area of discussion but… More