Discussion
In a word – amazing.
Quite easily the best meal I have eaten in terms of a technical tour de force. It really was brilliant.
The long winded version is below:
First up, the room was simple, elegant and unpretentious. Low beamed ceilings and whitewashed walls with some simple abstract art. Moss green carpet. Perhaps 15 tables in total, so again quite small. About 10 wait staff, all of whom were extremely knowledgeable about the food and the wine. So, exemplary service and elegant is how I’d describe it. At the end, you’re presented with a small copy of the menu and wine tasting to take away.
There’s no a la carte, just the tasting menu. £150 a head. The wine list is biblical (literally). There are matched wines available (3 choices, £90, £180 or £325 a head, the last including some Bordeaux 1st growth). There were 5 of us, three of whom had the £90 option. Plus we had a bottle of Tattinger to start (about £60 I think?) I had a glass of red and a glass of white (as I was driving) but tasted all the wines. One of the other girls did the same. So, onto the food…
LIME GROVE - Nitro Poached Green Tea and Lime Mousse
Essentially, beaten egg whites, infused with vodka and fresh lime. Poached in liquid nitrogen, sprinkled with green tea powder and eaten whole. They also spray some lime scent into the air as you eat it which sounds gimmicky but works wonderfully and is a lovely piece of theatrics. Brilliant little amuse bouche.
RED CABBAGE GAZPACHO, Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream
The grain mustard ice cream is again lovely and simple. Not particularly sweet and not too mustardy, and comes on a bed of what I thought was blanched finely diced onion. Then had a small amount of the red cabbage gazpacho poured around it. Very colourful, light and delicious.
JELLY OF QUAIL, CRAYFISH CREAM , Chicken Liver Parfait, Oak Moss and Truffle Toast
Again, some more theatre. You’re given a sliver of paper to place on your tongue which dissolves and leaves you with a slight hint of earthiness. This is presented on a bed of moss which has steam coming out of it (more liquid nitrogen) but which again gives off a lovely earthy aroma. The course is some pea puree, some quail stock which has been jellied, the chicken liver parfait, topped with the crayfish cream, all in a little pot. On the side is the truffle toast with some tiny radish on top. Lovely, if slightly overly complex for my mind and palate. One too many flavours going on I thought.
SNAIL PORRIDGE , Jabugo Ham, Shaved Fennel
Probably the course I was anticipating least and one of the ones I enjoyed the most. The porridge is very fine oats, cooked presumably in stock with fresh herbs. Think of it as a warm, slightly oaty pesto. The snails rest on top and were delicious, topped with the shaved fennel which had been pickled so was ever so slightly sharp and acted as a great foil to the rest of the dish. I didn’t see any ham? It really was delicious though.
ROAST FOIE GRAS , Rhubarb, Braised Konbu and Crab Biscuit
Lovely. Fine sliver of Konbu on the bottom, square of seared foie gras. Incredibly tasty.
MOCK TURTLE SOUP (c.1850), "Mad Hatter Tea"
This was simply sensational. Some turnip jelly, some form of beef etc but the highlight was the Mad Hatter Tea, which is home made pork stock which has been pressed into a disc then covered in the edible gold leaf so it looks like a pocket watch. This is then dipped into a teacup of hot water and which forms the broth for the soup. (the theatrics comes from alice in wonderland, when the rabbit takes the mad hatters pocket watch which has ceased to work and dips it in his tea to see if it will start again). Again, wonderful tasting food (most of which defies me) but the theatrics is utterly brilliant.
"SOUND OF THE SEA"
First up, I didn’t actually like this all that much, simply because I’m not an enormous seafood fan however I didn’t dislike it either. That being said, I’ve never eaten anything which so completely encapsulates the sights, sounds and smell of the ocean. The edible sand and sea foam are truly remarkable, as is the selection of fish (all raw) served with it. Yes, you have the ipod to listen to as you eat which plays ocean and seagull noises, but irrespective of whether I enjoyed the taste that much, it truly was an astounding dish.
SALMON POACHED IN LIQUORICE , Artichokes, Vanilla Mayonnaise, Golden Trout Roe and Manni Olive Oil
Beautifully cooked salmon wrapped in a black liquorice gel (which isn’t overpowering) together with the ingredients above. Again, beautifully presented and extremely tasty.
POWDERED ANJOU PIGEON (c.1720) , Blood Pudding and Confit of Umbles
The pigeon breast is medium rare and the blood pudding is more of a puree rather than the black pudding you usually see. The confit of Umbles is actually pigeon hearts, confit with onions and served on the side. Really delicious.
TAFFETY TART (c.1660), Caramelized Apple, Fennel, Rose and Candied Lemon
Again, utterly brilliant. Presentation here is superb and I couldn’t even identify half the ingredients.
THE "BFG", Kirsch Ice Cream and the smell of the Black Forest
Black forest gateau. But not as you know it. The same as his TV show and book. Again, sensational.
WHISK(E)Y WINE GUMS
These were delicious. Essentially, 5 different whiskeys, each boiled up then tuned into a wine gum, so the alcohol boils off and you’re left with the taste of the individual whiskeys which are all subtly different in flavor. Glenlivet, Oban, Highland Park, Laphroig and Jack Daniels.
"LIKE A KID IN A SWEET SHOP"
This was a lovely close to the meal. 4 little individual sweets. The highlight was undoubtedly the queen of hearts, which was a 2 wafers of white chocolate with jam in between and with an incredibly detailed queen of hearts playing card embossed on each side. Just superb.
The cheese board was lovely and predominantly English cheeses which was a nice change to the usual French selection.
The final bill was just under £1500 for 5 of us which, given the afternoon, I thought was jolly decent and certainly better value the Gordon Ramsay, which was still lovely but somehow felt mired in tradition. Fat Duck is a perfect marriage of cuisine and theatre to which I’d happily return.
Quite easily the best meal I have eaten in terms of a technical tour de force. It really was brilliant.
The long winded version is below:
First up, the room was simple, elegant and unpretentious. Low beamed ceilings and whitewashed walls with some simple abstract art. Moss green carpet. Perhaps 15 tables in total, so again quite small. About 10 wait staff, all of whom were extremely knowledgeable about the food and the wine. So, exemplary service and elegant is how I’d describe it. At the end, you’re presented with a small copy of the menu and wine tasting to take away.
There’s no a la carte, just the tasting menu. £150 a head. The wine list is biblical (literally). There are matched wines available (3 choices, £90, £180 or £325 a head, the last including some Bordeaux 1st growth). There were 5 of us, three of whom had the £90 option. Plus we had a bottle of Tattinger to start (about £60 I think?) I had a glass of red and a glass of white (as I was driving) but tasted all the wines. One of the other girls did the same. So, onto the food…
LIME GROVE - Nitro Poached Green Tea and Lime Mousse
Essentially, beaten egg whites, infused with vodka and fresh lime. Poached in liquid nitrogen, sprinkled with green tea powder and eaten whole. They also spray some lime scent into the air as you eat it which sounds gimmicky but works wonderfully and is a lovely piece of theatrics. Brilliant little amuse bouche.
RED CABBAGE GAZPACHO, Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream
The grain mustard ice cream is again lovely and simple. Not particularly sweet and not too mustardy, and comes on a bed of what I thought was blanched finely diced onion. Then had a small amount of the red cabbage gazpacho poured around it. Very colourful, light and delicious.
JELLY OF QUAIL, CRAYFISH CREAM , Chicken Liver Parfait, Oak Moss and Truffle Toast
Again, some more theatre. You’re given a sliver of paper to place on your tongue which dissolves and leaves you with a slight hint of earthiness. This is presented on a bed of moss which has steam coming out of it (more liquid nitrogen) but which again gives off a lovely earthy aroma. The course is some pea puree, some quail stock which has been jellied, the chicken liver parfait, topped with the crayfish cream, all in a little pot. On the side is the truffle toast with some tiny radish on top. Lovely, if slightly overly complex for my mind and palate. One too many flavours going on I thought.
SNAIL PORRIDGE , Jabugo Ham, Shaved Fennel
Probably the course I was anticipating least and one of the ones I enjoyed the most. The porridge is very fine oats, cooked presumably in stock with fresh herbs. Think of it as a warm, slightly oaty pesto. The snails rest on top and were delicious, topped with the shaved fennel which had been pickled so was ever so slightly sharp and acted as a great foil to the rest of the dish. I didn’t see any ham? It really was delicious though.
ROAST FOIE GRAS , Rhubarb, Braised Konbu and Crab Biscuit
Lovely. Fine sliver of Konbu on the bottom, square of seared foie gras. Incredibly tasty.
MOCK TURTLE SOUP (c.1850), "Mad Hatter Tea"
This was simply sensational. Some turnip jelly, some form of beef etc but the highlight was the Mad Hatter Tea, which is home made pork stock which has been pressed into a disc then covered in the edible gold leaf so it looks like a pocket watch. This is then dipped into a teacup of hot water and which forms the broth for the soup. (the theatrics comes from alice in wonderland, when the rabbit takes the mad hatters pocket watch which has ceased to work and dips it in his tea to see if it will start again). Again, wonderful tasting food (most of which defies me) but the theatrics is utterly brilliant.
"SOUND OF THE SEA"
First up, I didn’t actually like this all that much, simply because I’m not an enormous seafood fan however I didn’t dislike it either. That being said, I’ve never eaten anything which so completely encapsulates the sights, sounds and smell of the ocean. The edible sand and sea foam are truly remarkable, as is the selection of fish (all raw) served with it. Yes, you have the ipod to listen to as you eat which plays ocean and seagull noises, but irrespective of whether I enjoyed the taste that much, it truly was an astounding dish.
SALMON POACHED IN LIQUORICE , Artichokes, Vanilla Mayonnaise, Golden Trout Roe and Manni Olive Oil
Beautifully cooked salmon wrapped in a black liquorice gel (which isn’t overpowering) together with the ingredients above. Again, beautifully presented and extremely tasty.
POWDERED ANJOU PIGEON (c.1720) , Blood Pudding and Confit of Umbles
The pigeon breast is medium rare and the blood pudding is more of a puree rather than the black pudding you usually see. The confit of Umbles is actually pigeon hearts, confit with onions and served on the side. Really delicious.
TAFFETY TART (c.1660), Caramelized Apple, Fennel, Rose and Candied Lemon
Again, utterly brilliant. Presentation here is superb and I couldn’t even identify half the ingredients.
THE "BFG", Kirsch Ice Cream and the smell of the Black Forest
Black forest gateau. But not as you know it. The same as his TV show and book. Again, sensational.
WHISK(E)Y WINE GUMS
These were delicious. Essentially, 5 different whiskeys, each boiled up then tuned into a wine gum, so the alcohol boils off and you’re left with the taste of the individual whiskeys which are all subtly different in flavor. Glenlivet, Oban, Highland Park, Laphroig and Jack Daniels.
"LIKE A KID IN A SWEET SHOP"
This was a lovely close to the meal. 4 little individual sweets. The highlight was undoubtedly the queen of hearts, which was a 2 wafers of white chocolate with jam in between and with an incredibly detailed queen of hearts playing card embossed on each side. Just superb.
The cheese board was lovely and predominantly English cheeses which was a nice change to the usual French selection.
The final bill was just under £1500 for 5 of us which, given the afternoon, I thought was jolly decent and certainly better value the Gordon Ramsay, which was still lovely but somehow felt mired in tradition. Fat Duck is a perfect marriage of cuisine and theatre to which I’d happily return.
Great read - and very jealous 
I've been promising my girlfriend I'd take her to The Fat Duck for a little while now, and it always seems (oddly) quite good value, if that makes sense? Yes, it's £250-£300 per head, but to eat at (one of) the best restaurants in the world - great value.
Great stuff
I've been promising my girlfriend I'd take her to The Fat Duck for a little while now, and it always seems (oddly) quite good value, if that makes sense? Yes, it's £250-£300 per head, but to eat at (one of) the best restaurants in the world - great value.
Great stuff
To be honest, this was more than just about the food, which is undoubtedly some of the best I've eaten. I didn't like all the flavour combinations as I said, however as a culinary experience, I've never equalled it.
That beig said, I had an equally enjoyable experience on the preceding Friday night. I took a date to BarraFina in Soho and both she and I had a magical evening, again for largely the same reasons. Not quite as much pomp and ceremony but some real food magic nonetheless and a genuine love of food which pervaded the evening. For a lot less money I might add.
That beig said, I had an equally enjoyable experience on the preceding Friday night. I took a date to BarraFina in Soho and both she and I had a magical evening, again for largely the same reasons. Not quite as much pomp and ceremony but some real food magic nonetheless and a genuine love of food which pervaded the evening. For a lot less money I might add.
more here http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... Duck
Damn these Fat Duck threads!
I am now almost certainly going to be a good £500 lighter in a couple of months time...
The trouble is, I also fancy copying [k]arl and booking into the Waterside Inn for an overnight stay and lunch the next day.
That will probably add another £700 to the credit card statement and that starts to sound expensive!
I am now almost certainly going to be a good £500 lighter in a couple of months time...
The trouble is, I also fancy copying [k]arl and booking into the Waterside Inn for an overnight stay and lunch the next day.
That will probably add another £700 to the credit card statement and that starts to sound expensive!
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