Discussion
For what its worth, just nip around the corner to The Waterside Inn...
If you like bizarre combination of tastes and textures,whilst spraying an atomiser of fish guts into a seashell whilst eating from a plate made out of an old trawler net
then The Fat Duck is the place.
IMO, if you want the best overall dining/service/quality of food, then The Waterside has it hands down
K
If you like bizarre combination of tastes and textures,whilst spraying an atomiser of fish guts into a seashell whilst eating from a plate made out of an old trawler net
then The Fat Duck is the place.IMO, if you want the best overall dining/service/quality of food, then The Waterside has it hands down
K
Definitely worth doing but it's painfully expensive!
It's just as much an experience as it is a supreme gourmet meal. You could say that it was 60% food and 40% show. (Or 100% food and an extra 40% for show
.)
The Tasting Menu is a Big Event but because the service is very slick, you don't necessarily get time to take it all in.
What I would seriously suggest you do is take some time to read up about it before you go and try to understand what Nr B is trying to achieve. It will help you enjoy and appreciate the meal to a far greater extent.
Also, if you have the wine to go with the Tasting Menu don't drink it all as there is lots ( too much ) of it!!
Would I go again? Probably not for that meal but I would go for the coffee!! Best cup of coffee I have ever had
Arrrhhh 
.
....Something interesting I found out after I had been was that they have twenty two! chefs working in the kitchens preparing the food for about forty or so places in the restaurant!
Do it.
NB It is usually fully booked two months in advance.
It's just as much an experience as it is a supreme gourmet meal. You could say that it was 60% food and 40% show. (Or 100% food and an extra 40% for show
.)The Tasting Menu is a Big Event but because the service is very slick, you don't necessarily get time to take it all in.
What I would seriously suggest you do is take some time to read up about it before you go and try to understand what Nr B is trying to achieve. It will help you enjoy and appreciate the meal to a far greater extent.
Also, if you have the wine to go with the Tasting Menu don't drink it all as there is lots ( too much ) of it!!
Would I go again? Probably not for that meal but I would go for the coffee!! Best cup of coffee I have ever had
Arrrhhh .....Something interesting I found out after I had been was that they have twenty two! chefs working in the kitchens preparing the food for about forty or so places in the restaurant!
Do it.
NB It is usually fully booked two months in advance.
Edited by enioldjoe on Tuesday 1st July 22:28
My wife & I went there last December as an Xmas pressie to ourselves. We had the tasting menu and wine to go with it. Total bill was c £450. Which I do think is a lot of money for dinner!
But - the both of us love our food, and boy was it worth it. Over four hours of culinary theatre, humour, brilliant service and great attention to detail. Above all, we experienced intricate, mostly stunningly delicious food. And we had a different wine with every course (with top ups!). The place was packed with a very mixed crowd but everyone seemed to be having a great time.
My favourite course? The snail porridge (it is so much better than it sounds), then the Sound of the Sea (edible beach scene with headphones), then the pigeon. There were some rather obscure tastes in there (oak/moss/quail jelly/salmon/licorice) that didn't quite do it for me, and a lot of sweet stuff towars the end, which I would never ususally eat at a restaurant.
Would I do it again? Hmm... maybe. I definitely would do it differently next time. I might order off the more traditional A La Carte menu, as a lot of the fun of the tasting menu was the surprise of the unknown. I would definitely not have the wine tasting menu as me & my wife got completely hammered with our 9+ glasses so towards the end everything started to blur somewhat.
I also think that Heston Blumenthal is a bit of a berk, and sometimes overcomplicates and overanalyses his dishes for the sake of cleverness, which doesn't work every time. Egg & Bacon ice-cream for example was very clever, and was fun having the waiter produce it iin front of us, but really, so what?
Comparing the Fat Duck to the Waterside round the corner, is like chalk & cheese. I love the Waterside too, but for different reasons, it's more trad French food, but very good none the less, the atmosphere is more old school, the location is great by the river, and the service is brilliant, understated, and they are just so nice there!
But - the both of us love our food, and boy was it worth it. Over four hours of culinary theatre, humour, brilliant service and great attention to detail. Above all, we experienced intricate, mostly stunningly delicious food. And we had a different wine with every course (with top ups!). The place was packed with a very mixed crowd but everyone seemed to be having a great time.
My favourite course? The snail porridge (it is so much better than it sounds), then the Sound of the Sea (edible beach scene with headphones), then the pigeon. There were some rather obscure tastes in there (oak/moss/quail jelly/salmon/licorice) that didn't quite do it for me, and a lot of sweet stuff towars the end, which I would never ususally eat at a restaurant.
Would I do it again? Hmm... maybe. I definitely would do it differently next time. I might order off the more traditional A La Carte menu, as a lot of the fun of the tasting menu was the surprise of the unknown. I would definitely not have the wine tasting menu as me & my wife got completely hammered with our 9+ glasses so towards the end everything started to blur somewhat.
I also think that Heston Blumenthal is a bit of a berk, and sometimes overcomplicates and overanalyses his dishes for the sake of cleverness, which doesn't work every time. Egg & Bacon ice-cream for example was very clever, and was fun having the waiter produce it iin front of us, but really, so what?
Comparing the Fat Duck to the Waterside round the corner, is like chalk & cheese. I love the Waterside too, but for different reasons, it's more trad French food, but very good none the less, the atmosphere is more old school, the location is great by the river, and the service is brilliant, understated, and they are just so nice there!
We were thinking of booking it for four of us in a couple of months.
My question to people who have had the tasting menu is: I am a fussy eater, dont like fishy foods (I can manage fish fingers and ketchup - but I dont think that kind of equates), and dont like anything with nuts in it - liqurice would also be a no no. Would the tasting menu be a waste?
We ate at Ramseys a year or so ago with the tasting menu, and I found that there was not much that I didnt like, just one of the pre-starter ones that was some kind of jelly. The table next to us struggled with that too.
I would love to go and have the whole experience (definately the wine too), but dont want to be disapointed with not liking a lot of it.
My question to people who have had the tasting menu is: I am a fussy eater, dont like fishy foods (I can manage fish fingers and ketchup - but I dont think that kind of equates), and dont like anything with nuts in it - liqurice would also be a no no. Would the tasting menu be a waste?
We ate at Ramseys a year or so ago with the tasting menu, and I found that there was not much that I didnt like, just one of the pre-starter ones that was some kind of jelly. The table next to us struggled with that too.
I would love to go and have the whole experience (definately the wine too), but dont want to be disapointed with not liking a lot of it.
If you have doubts then don't waste your money as you will probably not be in the right frame of mind for this place.
If you have an open mind, are really willing to try new experiences and are seriously into food, then you must go there at least once and do it while you can.
I really regret not going to some ground-breaking restaurants when I had the chance and now they are just history.
Don't have that regret!
If you have an open mind, are really willing to try new experiences and are seriously into food, then you must go there at least once and do it while you can.
I really regret not going to some ground-breaking restaurants when I had the chance and now they are just history.
Don't have that regret!
The tasting menu has one course with fair bit of unidentifiable fishy things, there was an oyster in another somewhere, one course has salmon and there are some obscurely flavoured jelly type substances which you may or may not find distasteful. And of course there is the famous snail porridge - which was my favourite. They are all described in some detail in the menu so you usually know what your have in front of you, also the waiters will be more than happy to help out letting you know what you'll be swallowing.
The raw black pudding that came with the pigeon was delicious, even though I realised that by its consistency I was eating uncooked blood! yum!
All of this may sound dodgy, but like anything in life, you should chalenge yourself and you might find you enjoy the whole experience.
As the poster above says about going to this sort of place, as I live quite near, I would always kick myself in the future if people asked me if I'd ever visited the Fat Duck and I could only say no. As it happens, although I might not go back, I am really glad I went.
The raw black pudding that came with the pigeon was delicious, even though I realised that by its consistency I was eating uncooked blood! yum!
All of this may sound dodgy, but like anything in life, you should chalenge yourself and you might find you enjoy the whole experience.
As the poster above says about going to this sort of place, as I live quite near, I would always kick myself in the future if people asked me if I'd ever visited the Fat Duck and I could only say no. As it happens, although I might not go back, I am really glad I went.
I enjoyed it when I went with friends.
It was quite amusing when the camp waiter came out with a pot of venison and said in a very camp voice
"Time for Tea!"
Wasn't all that expensive when we went for lunch, although it was nearly 2 years ago, and we only had a bottle of one of the cheap(!) bottles of plonk...
It was quite amusing when the camp waiter came out with a pot of venison and said in a very camp voice
"Time for Tea!"
Wasn't all that expensive when we went for lunch, although it was nearly 2 years ago, and we only had a bottle of one of the cheap(!) bottles of plonk...
The tasting menu is over £100 per person.
If you like a decentish drink then plan on £500 for two.
It isnt cheap but it is good value. It is by far and away one of the most memorable things I have ever done and rates much higher as an experience than the Waterside Inn around the corner. I can remember every course I ate at the Fat Duck whilst with other Michelin starred it has all become a bit of a blur. I also heard that even at that price they make almost no money on the food due to the high costs of ingredients and prep. The money all comes from the books and TV stuff
We spend almost 5 hour eating and was completely mentally overwhelmed by the end. You don't get the accolade of best restaurant in the world without reason!
If you like a decentish drink then plan on £500 for two.
It isnt cheap but it is good value. It is by far and away one of the most memorable things I have ever done and rates much higher as an experience than the Waterside Inn around the corner. I can remember every course I ate at the Fat Duck whilst with other Michelin starred it has all become a bit of a blur. I also heard that even at that price they make almost no money on the food due to the high costs of ingredients and prep. The money all comes from the books and TV stuff
We spend almost 5 hour eating and was completely mentally overwhelmed by the end. You don't get the accolade of best restaurant in the world without reason!
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