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- Hours:
Tue-Sun 12:00 - 14:00
Tue-Sat 19:00 - 21:30
- Attire:
- Formal (Jacket Required)
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
££££
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Children:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
8 reviews for The Fat Duck
All Reviews
The Fat Duck
10/7/2010
Ok Barb and I have been to several "top" restaurants over the last several years but don't think we have ever had the pleasure of having a dining experience that engaged our senses as much as this one, the tastes, smells, and even yes sounds were amazing and it felt almost as much as a Broadway show as it did a dinner.
I won't go over the menu as I think it has been done several times and if you have interest in pictures and such you can see our blog. I will say though if you are in the area and want a truly unique dining experience that you will find nowhere else you must eat.. No experience the Fat Duck.
The Fat Duck
27/4/2010
Absolutely, without question, the BEST dining experience I have ever had in my entire life. I came here for dinner 3 years ago and I STILL remember the tastes, the textures, the smells... I still dream about that bacon and egg ice cream with liquid nitrogen... and the smell of that oak moss forest with foie gras... AND the whiskey gummies placed on that cute little map of what region in the world the whiskey was brewed... AND the sound of the sea with the nano ipod ahhh that was so adorable! Yee Gan O. covered the menu pretty extensively so I won't repeat even though I still have that menu after all these years (I am refraining from framing it... not because I don't want to be seen as a freak but just because looking at the menu everyday would depress me knowing it's so far away!)
I was training in London for a summer before beginning work in NYC and ALL I wanted to do was to try Fat Duck before I left. And I am so so so happy I did it. I found another foodie friend to accompany me to this famous restaurant - we took the train out from Paddington to Maidenhead and hopped in a cab for a short ride to the restaurant. We were directed to an unassuming, quaint cottage and I probably would have never thought it was The Fat Duck except for the Lamborghini parked out front... BALLLERR
Very simple decor, felt like I was waiting for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to pop out at anytime. Service was spectacular and KIND, no false pretenses here - just people who love food and love to help others enjoy it as well. I was 21 when I came here, although I looked like a teen, and experienced no age discrimination whatsoever (my biggest pet peeve when I'm dining). Fat Duck being my first Michelin experience ever has totally spoiled every other dining establishment for me though sadly, I have never been to a place that had the same high level of unbiased service...
The food was a ridiculously amazing gastronomic chemistry experiment - how can we manipulate your taste buds in the most awesome way possible? The combination of flavors are unlike anything you have ever tried before... it's absolute ambrosia you are tasting. The bacon and scrambled egg ice cream created with liquid nitrogen right in front of you, oh my... it has the texture and temperature of ice cream but the taste is completely as if you are eating bacon and eggs. It's insane! Leave all preconceptions at the door, this will blow you away.
I didn't try to wine pairing, I just had a single glass of wine but I was so full after our 3 hour meal, I'm glad I cut down on that. 150GBP per person, which was basically $300 at the time with a crappy USD exchange rate. WORTH EVERY PENNY AND EVERY SECOND THERE! It totally has ruined every other Michelin dining experience since... but no regrets!
Listed in: Best I've Ever Had... (Meals)
The Fat Duck
23/2/2010
Just when I thought my weekend dining experience couldn't get any better, my friends and I drove to Maidenhead just west of London past Heathrow airport. The establishment is a non-descript rustic stone building. The decor is simple with yellow and violet colors and exposed wooden beams.
That afternoon, we sat down to a molecular gastronomic experience that was transcendent. I don't know how to describe what I was eating since I am unsure myself despite having been painstakingly described to me in detail. Dishes like jelly of quail and cream of crayfish, salmon poached in liquorice, and powdered anjou pigeon in blood pudding and to finish it all off, nitro scrambled egg and bacon ice cream. All I could utter was some Dickensian version of, 'Please, sir.. I want some more.' or Jerry McGuire, 'You had me at bacon.'
This experience was akin to WD50 in New York or Minibar in DC. The wait staff were excellent and very attentive. They explained all the dishes in detail.
The wine pick was the 1994 ch Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. A heady vanilla bouquet with wonderful flavors of smokiness, cassis and well rounded tannins.
Listed in: Premiere d'Elegance
The Fat Duck
20/2/2010
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST RESTAURANTS IN THE WORLD... NO SERIOUSLY IT'S ACTUALLY RATED AS ONE OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD!!!!!
I used 32 napkins because I am a clutsy person and the napkins kept falling on the floor and the waiter would keep taking them away and bringing new ones.. so besides my cleaning bill, I think I was a good patron... one odd thing... the traditional English Breakfast with Parsnip cereal and Parsnip milk was odd to have as a middle course... but it was still delicious....
wine pairings are excellent and staff has knowledge beyond their years....
WORTH THE WAIT.. WORTH THE PRICE...
AN EXPERIENCE YOU'LL NEVER FORGET !!!!
The Fat Duck
31/5/2009
9 photos
This, people, is a proper 5.0 star review. For the vast majority of my 5 star reviews, in truth, they're 4.51 to 4.99 and being the generous fellow that I am, I round them up. However, this is the real thing - 5.0 stars and fully deserving of every whole one
Next thing is to warn you that this review will be full of spoilers!! More than any other restaurant, if you truly want to enjoy each and every little surprise of Heston Blumenthal's molecular gastronomy cooking menu as the wow moment it was intended to be, you need to stop reading at the end of this paragraph. Suffice to know that I've had the privilege to dine at most of the 3 and 2 Michelin star restaurants in England, New York and San Francisco (yes, the French Laundry and el Bulli are 2 major omissions) and this has been the best single meal of my life. You will be thrilled in so many ways and with so many senses that it will be an unforgettable experience
Still with me? OK, you've obviously either dined here before or have an insatiable curiosity! Everyone who dines in this light airy restaurant goes for the tasting menu - I've been twice and I haven't seen the a la carte menu served once. I took a good friend for her birthday this time and was curious to see what if anything had changed since I last dined here a few years ago
1 Palate cleanser of nitro-poached green tea and vodka and lime mousse. The meal opens with the spectacular table-side use of liquid nitrogen to freeze the mousse. Green tea powder was pouffed on and a spritz of lime aerosol completed the sense enhancement
2 Pommery grain mustard ice cream and red cabbage gazpacho. You could taste all the ingredients clearly despite the unfamiliar presentation
3 Pea puree, quail jelly, langoustine cream, parfait of foie gras layered in a bowl, oak moss and truffle toast on the side. The food was rich and decadent as you'd expect from the ingredients and the scent of oak moss was added by pouring warm water onto a large square of moss on a board on the table
4 Snail porridge - several succulent snails on a bed of oat porridge with fennel shavings on top. My friend wolfed it down despite initial reservations about the snails
5 Roast foie gras 'benzaldehyde' served with almond fluid gel, cherry sauce. Rich and yummy
6 "Sound of the sea" - an amazing medley of fresh fish, eel and anchovy roasted to look like sand, seaweed and vegetable foam, served with an iPod playing seaside sounds. It was served on top of another box containing sand, so it looked like we had a piece of beach on our plate. We agreed this was the best dish of the menu.
7 Salmon poached in liquorice, asparagus, vamilla mayonnaise & salmon pearls. Trust me - it tastes heavenly despite the unpromising sounding ingredients. It somehow all fits together in 1 mouthful
8 Ballotine of Anjou pigeon, black pudding sauce and spiced juices. Cooked sous-vide, this is moist and very gamey. There was pigoen on the menu before but cooked differently
9 Cup of tea which tastes hot on 1 side and cold on the other
10 Mini cornet with ice cream and a granita
11 Pine sherbet dipper
12 Bavarois of lychee & mango, blackcurrant sorbet, mango & Douglas fir puree. Delicate flavours all intermingling and complementing each other
13 Parsnip cereal - could eat this for breakfast everyday!
14 Egg & bacon ice cream scrambled table-side with liquid nitrogen, served with bacon sliver, tomato jam & pain perdu. Tea jelly on the side. More spectacular visually than before with table-side presentation but not enough salt now in taste mix
15 Petits fours - mandarin aerated chocolate, violet tartlet, apple pie caramel with edible wrapper
Each dish is explained at the table-side by the staff, helping to bring flavours to life. Service was impeccable. We really liked it because it was friendly and not stuffy like some fine dining establishments can be.
My friend had the wine pairing, which resulted in 7 wines and a sake being delivered to a increasingly happy customer! I enjoyed their organic Sicilian lemonade and the pear & apple juice.
Perhaps the thing that reflected the quality of this experience the best was that when we checked our watches at the end of the meal, 4 and half hours had passed and it was like the blink of an eye. Time flies when you're having fun and trust me, you will have a lot of fun at the Fat Duck!
Listed in: Special Occasion Dining
The Fat Duck
22/5/2009
I've never laughed out of pure ecstasy and wonderment whilst eating before. This restaurant rocks my world.
A combination of science and culinary expertise makes this place so appealing to me (as a biochemist). And not only is the presentation unique and aesthetically pleasing, the tastes are out of this world. Imagine a whole trough-full of flavor packed into one tiny jelly cube. That's what it's all about.
Everybody should save a bit of cash and try this place at least once. I'm planning on going back again for the a la carte dishes! WOO!
The Fat Duck
12/1/2009
One of the greatest dining experiences a person will ever have. Heston Blumethal has a respect for food that most chefs only dream of and a staff and capabilities to make dreams come true. The staff is incredibly warm and professional and make your 4+ hour meal extremely pleasurable. The tasting menu is second to none as well as a outstanding a la carte menu. Some memorable dishes were the green tea nitro amuse bouche and the bacon and egg ice cream. Reservations are only taken two months to the calender date and fill up quickly.
The Fat Duck
5/5/2009
The Fat Duck is was the most singular dining experience of my life.
Better than Per Se, Guy Savoy, l'atelier Joel Robuchon, Jean-Georges, Le Bernardin, (I live in New York, so my dining experiences are heavily NY-centric) and many others that I've eaten at in the last few years. By a lot. By the second amuse bouche (a pommery grain whole mustard ice cream with a red cabbage gazpacho), I was already thinking to myself, "Best. Meal. Ever." Nothing the rest of the night did anything to disabuse that thought.
And it wasn't merely the food, which was incredible. It was the exquisite attention to detail. For example, the first amuse bouche, a mousse "poached" in liquid nitrogen, was accompanied by an aerial spritz of lime, to excite saliva generation. Or the sorbets, absolutely perfect in their presentation (often, when a sorbet has been spooned to create their oblong shape, there's usually a "wave" created as the sorbet is pulled off the second spoon. See an example here: http://www.notquitenig.... No such "wave" on The Fat Duck's sorbets). Or the commitment of the staff to the "theatrical" aspects of the meal, such saying "good morning" during the breakfast themed desserts, and the pain staking work that must have gone into refilling the Fat Duck "eggs" that are cracked open when they make the scrambled egg ice cream tableside.
For me, the highlight was the "Sound of the Sea," a dish set upon a glass platform, visually (and audibly, being accompanied by an ipod-filled conch shell playing ocean sounds) mimicking the shore. Sand, fish, seafood, and surf all recreated beautifully, with tastes to match. It was art as food, with sublime tastes to match, and a perfect example of Blumenthal's artistry.
Minor quibbles: the restaurant was busy, and so naturally the service was not as fastidiously attentive as it could have been. Also, although I went with a party of 4, there are only a few spots that would make for a truly romantic setting, as the restaurant is fairly open and during our night there were several slightly raucous parties.
But these are truly minor, and should not detract from the unbelievable experience overall. I cannot recommend this restaurant enough; I joined Yelp (at the behest of several friends) just to leave this review.
