http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/bray/restaurant/1o52r8x/the-fat-duck <b>The Fat Duck</b><br />Bray, High Street, SL6 2AQ, United Kingdom en http://trustedplaces.com/uploads/placepics/trustedplaces.comaPlacePic['name']}.140.jpg http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/bray/restaurant/1o52r8x/the-fat-duck http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/bray/restaurant/1o52r8x/the-fat-duck/1d1pk7
Review by ProfMagellan

Rating: 4.00
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Heston Blumenthal is the Damian Hirst of cooking.
So different from anything else that I have ever experienced that it is hard to know where to begin.
As one writer recently commented, Mr Blumenthal "is not just a cook. He is an illusionist, a scientist, a comedian."
There was certainly lots of theatre, copper pans, smoke
and weird glassware out of Harry potter.
It opened in 1995. After ten years, in 2005, apparently the Fat Duck won the "best restaurant in the world award" (not sure from whom) and it now enjoys three Michelin stars. So they must be doing something right.
So what of the food?
Two excellent amuse bouches: how brilliant that they asked if we had any allergies instead of plonking the amuses-bouches down without asking this sensible question: mustard ice-cream on a bed of cucumber with red cabbage gazpacho sauce, lentils in a passion fruit sauce.
Opting for the a la carte rather than the tasting menu,
I began with the cauliflower and chocolate.
Pork with trufflle macaroni as my main.
Apple Braeburn for pud.
Washed down with a Loire from the extensive wine list - a white wine which was full of character.
My host and luncheon companion, a most distinguished American journalist and writer, had sole followed by the scrambled egg and bacon ice cream.
A good selection of cheeses though nothing alas from Switzerland.
The decor was modern and muted, with a low ceiling and tables quite close together. Service was ok but no commanding presence to make us feel welcome; certainly not up to the standard of the Square or the Gavroche.
Verdict: full marks for originality, very tasty, very different. Portions miniscule in the modern tradition.
Perhaps everyone with an interest in food should go to the Fat Duck at least once to experience this - but I am a traditionalist and on balance prefer to eat at places which are a little bit more conservative. Good fun though and Mr Blumenthal has clearly worked very hard to achieve his huge success.
]]> Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:17:23 +0000 /review/uk/bray/restaurant/1o52r8x/the-fat-duck/1d1pk762735903 ProfMagellan 51.507206098486 -0.7031583365295 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/bray/restaurant/1o52r8x/the-fat-duck/1v5k68
Review by dee234

Rating: 5.00
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We decided to treat our selves to a meal at the Fat as it was our anniversary. Lets just say taht the prices ensure its not something you could do often unless you loaded!

We had the taster menu with accompanying wine. Well all I have to say that it was fabulous! The wine was great and the food even better.

The service was great too, the only downside was that I felt like I was being watched al the time and I was very concious of using the wrong utensils!

My partner even came home with a sherbet fountain with a tube of vanilla as he wanted to keep it as a souvenier!

All in all fab!

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Review by charlievenice

Rating: 3.00
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The Fat Duck is an extremely and self-consciously different restaurant - enjoyable more as a tourist experience than culinary. The focus is very distinctly shifted away from the customer's enjoyment of food to a constant attempt at confusion.

I found the experience interesting, but disconcerting - while I can appreciate the skill and thought that went into the many dishes, I can't really say that I felt satisfied afterwards.

Perhaps I'm too closed-minded with my food to truly appreciate it, but £125 seems steep for a meal that didn't make me want to ever eat the dishes again. Enjoyment may well be a question of attitude and expectations, but it's a rather too expensive game of hit-and-miss for my liking.]]> Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:29:51 +0000 /review/uk/bray/restaurant/1o52r8x/the-fat-duck/1g2ir8313702482 charlievenice 51.507206098486 -0.7031583365295 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/bray/restaurant/1o52r8x/the-fat-duck/1b74m8
Review by sjspage

Rating: 5.00
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Well you'd expect it to be good for £100 a throw (add another £90 for the wine tasting experience) and it is. I paid myself (no company frolic here). The taste of the food is fantastic - 15 odd courses and you feel fantastic at the end of the meal. They play a few tasting tricks on you and name some dishes provacatively but save up and this is a meals you'll be thinking about for a very long time.]]> Fri, 24 Aug 2007 17:20:01 +0000 /review/uk/bray/restaurant/1o52r8x/the-fat-duck/1b74m81421777452 sjspage 51.507206098486 -0.7031583365295 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/bray/restaurant/1o52r8x/the-fat-duck/1z12s8
Review by sue

Rating: 5.00
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A visit from my lovely sister Alison was all the incentive we needed to arrange lunch at The Fat Duck, currently rated as the 2nd best restaurant in the world. It is located in a small village called Bray, about 40 minutes by train from Central London - a bit of a hike, but worth it to experience the "molecular gastronomy" created by this unassuming looking restaurant with 3 Michelin stars.

This is a hard restaurant to get a table at, it took me a couple of days to get through on the reservation phone line. Reservations are taken up to two months in advance, but good luck trying to get a table on a weekend! I booked about 6 weeks in advance for a Friday lunch. The restaurant is quite unimposing from the outside, we walked past it once or twice whilst looking for it. The inside is simple, with well lit modern art. Nothing too flashy.

Not just a lunch, more like a half day event, our meal took close to 5 hours to complete! We had the Tasting Menu, which consisted of course after course of amazingly created and presented food. We were all very full by the end of the 18 or so courses!! Alex had the matched wines (selected by the sommelier) while Alison and I stuck to just a couple of glasses of wine with our meal.

Everything was branded with 'The Fat Duck', from the little cereal box that the Parsnip chip 'cereal' came in, to the 'Fat Duck Films' container containing the small piece of truffle infused rice paper.

I must admit that some of the food wasn't to my taste. But it wasn't really about the food, it was about being immersed in the surreal experience that is a meal at The Fat Duck. It is more like an extravaganza than a meal.

The waiting staff move about the restaurant as if they have been choreographed. Some courses are prepared at the table, such as the Nitro-Scrambled Egg and Bacon Ice Cream. Others trick your senses, like the Orange Jelly & Beetroot Jelly squares whose flavours are reversed.

Alex and Alison's favourite course was the Snail Porridge with Joselito ham, shaved fennel. It is one of the signature dishes of the restaurant, and lived up to its reputation. My favourite was something a little bit more simple...or so it sounded. The Hot and Cold Tea looked plain enough, just a small glass of weak tea - but bizarrely, one side of the tea was hot and one side was cold, a very strange sensation when you drank it!

The Fat Duck Tasting Menu:
- Nitro-Green Tea and Vodka Lime Mousse
- Orange Jelly & Beetroot Jelly
- Oyster, Passion Fruit Jelly, Lavender
- Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream, Red Cabbage Gaspacho
- Black truffle toast; Truffle film; Truffle and Oak Moss aroma with Jelly of Quail, Langoustine Cream, Parfait of Foie Gras
- Snail Porridge, Joselito ham, shaved fennel
- Roast Foie Gras, almond fluid gel, cherry and chamomile
- Sardine on Toast Sorbet, ballotine of mackerel 'invertebrate', marinated daikon, sea salad
- Salmon Poached with liquorice, artichokes, pink grapefruit, 'Manni' olive oil
- Poached Breast of Anjou Pigeon Pancetta, Pastilla of its leg, pistachio, cocoa, and quatre epices
- Hot and Cold Tea
- Mrs Marshall's Margaret Cornet
- Pine Sherbet Fountain
- Mango and Douglas Fir Puree, bavarois of lychee and mango, blackcurrant sorbet and green peppercorn jelly
- Carrot and Orange Tuile, Beetroot Jellies
- Parsnip chip 'cereal' with parsnip milk
- Nitro-Scrambled Egg and Bacon Ice Cream, Pain perdu and tea jelly
- Whisky Wine Gum, Violet Tartlet, Pine chocolate & Mint chocolate]]> Sun, 10 Jun 2007 17:21:52 +0000 /review/uk/bray/restaurant/1o52r8x/the-fat-duck/1z12s8502647844 sue 51.507206098486 -0.7031583365295