The Fat Duck

Like one of the previous reviewers, I was soooo looking forward to visiting the Restaurant and was so saddened by it all. I never saw the bill as it was picked up by our friends, but my God it is so VERY OVERPRICED. We sent some orders back, a bottle of wine was corked and the table we were on wobbled until it was corrected by one of our ladies tissues. All I can add is that IF the VERY RICH eat here constantly, they are so easily pleased. What a let down.....
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bam - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, September 14, 2010

I took my husband there last night to celebrate his 30th Brithday.

Both of us are big foodies and have eaten in many great restaurants with and without michelin stars, however neither of us had ever visited the Fat Duck.

After all the recent hype with Heston's Tv series I thought it would be a fun and incredibly tasty experience. It was NEITHER.

The food arrived in thimble sided portions and EVERY course was oversalted and none were actually hot! A couple (no more) of the dishes were delicious but most were truly disgusting, too fussy and over-thought with too many layers and flavours. I had wanted our night to be a culinary delight with amazing food and a wonderful night out.

Instead the Fat Duck was more of a Circus spectacle with a new waiter arriving with each course and reciting his lines as he presented the food.

Please please do not go to the Fat Duck it is not value for money at all - not even the service or overall experience made the £600 for two worth it! Actually I wish I had refused to pay.
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2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Friday, September 03, 2010

I'm not sure what my expectations where apart from expecting the meal to be incredibly expensive which it was. I don't think I was expecting to be blown away by the food quite as much as I was however.

This restaurant really is something else, a unique experience and a cut above the other michelin star restaurants that I have eaten in. The ambience was perfect, friendly and relaxed. The staff really were superb, the service was absolutely faultless, knowledgeable and friendly and not at all pretentious.

Each course was outstanding and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend going if you love food and want something different. My only slight criticism would be that the cheese serving was a little mean between 5 of us, (I had more cheese just to myself in La Gavroche), however it is still unbeatable. We shared a drinks package which was very generous, and included plenty of refills. We knew it was going to be expensive and we did spend more than we usually do however that was partly because it was a special occasion and we wanted the whole experience (Champagne on arrival, dessert wines, teas etc). All in all, I think it was excellent value especially in comparison to the other 2-3 star Michelin restaurants. I really enjoyed our time at the Fat Duck and to me it was worth the money.
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Annie - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, July 30, 2010

We spent a long sunday lunch (over 5 hours) at the Fat Duck last weekend. It was a special occasion, my sister's birthday and it was one of the best food experiences I have ever had. Incredible. We knew how much we were going to pay. What we didnt expect was the feeling of joy and playfulness which permeated our entire day, and the smiles remained on our faces long after we returned home. Great service, great athmosphere and great dishes. Each one of them is a discovery, a game and yes some are slightly less tasty than others (for example the pork belly does not match up to the Sound of the seas which is wonderful) but it's a journey which i cannot wait to repeat - when the menu changes next!
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Fried egg fred
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Monday, July 05, 2010

I have done the watching Heston on Tv and being drawn in to the fun, magical side of his food, and for that reason, my wife and i took a trip to Bray to see what it was all about..........

So £450.00 for the two of us... my birthday.. the big 40th.

Great service........ lovely lovely....

Great bread ....... never seemed to stop coming to the table.

Great wine...... should be for the price.

Great looking dishes, lovely presentation.....

All seemed perfect..... all but one thing... THE food is not good to eat.

Yes its wacky, yes Heston the wonder boy cooked it, yes everybody is lovely...But the fact is when your paying top dollar then it needs to be bloomin fantastic.

I have been reading lots of reviews and it seems that lots are still happy, despite their admitting to the food being well below par, they still had a lovely time.

If you want to talk to nice french sounding, really over the top pleasant people and pay £250/ head and be disatisfied with the food. i can help..... Call me instead.

Total and utter waste of money....... gutted i ever went there......
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rob - View all reviews by this user
4 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Monday, June 07, 2010

My wife and I went with another couple and it was one of the most amazing culinary experiences of our lives. The food is more of an experiment with your tastebuds and the service couldn't be better. Expect to pay around £250 a head if you want the wine with the tasting menu. Can't really put value into the equation, because there aren't many other restaurants like this in the world.
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nickthat - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, April 05, 2010

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 are used to eating in French restaurants and appreciate time to digest each course, but this was slightly ridiculous, especially between the amuse bouche and starter courses. This is the only French restaurant where I have been able to eat three large slices of bread and still be able to finish our meal (in fact, I am sad to say that we both went home a little bit hungry).

On the plus side, the village of Bray is lovely and the decor in the Fat Duck is beautiful whilst being unpretentious. The desserts are fantastic and deserved their Michelin starred status.

We are genuinely sorry to have to give The Fat Duck a disappointing review, but if a Michelin star is an accolade that is supposed to transcend international frontiers, then I am afraid if one takes away the Emperor's New Clothes syndrome (people seem happy to pay for the name) and the celebrity chef endorsement, then that sums up what we were - a little disappointed.

None of the reviews below seem to reflect this experience, so perhaps we had a slightly off night, but given that a standard tasting menu is served and given the accolades heaped on this restaurant, we wouldn't recommend it.
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Aoife
4 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Sunday, March 14, 2010

100-150 is misleading.......unless you want to drink water for 4 hours and not pay service charge (£70 in my case), you can double it and then add some we paid £620 for two. Even so, its an amazing experience and left a lasting impression
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9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, February 25, 2010

An experience that i wont ever forget, the service was better than i could have ever imagined and the staff were extremely friendly and professional. While the food that was presented on the plate was spectacular and at times i could not quite believe what i was seeing, i did not like most of the food, i was expecting to be tasting food that was was going to be so unbelievably good that i would never be able to eat normal food again, but i was wrong, however i didnt mind, for me it was about the experience and it was thought provoking, Despite not loving the food i loved the experience and the evening lasted for 4 hours so you dont feel like you have just thrown away alot of money.
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leanne mccann
10 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, December 07, 2009

Yesterday we ate lunch for the eighth time over the past seven years. We had the tasting menu, which is now the only choice. It is £130, going up to £150 in January 2010. Plus service and wine.

It was better than ever. There have been quite a few changes in the menu over the last year with a number of old favourites replaced by new dishes some of which are inspired by the recent TV series in which Heston experimented with ancient recipes. An absolute triumph, not a foot wrong with either the food or the delightful service from highly professional staff who remembered us from previous visits even though there is generally a year between them.

It is wonderfully unstuffy for a restauarnt of its calibre. There is no dress code and the emphasis is on ensuring that everyone has an enjoyable and memorable experience in their own way.

Yes, it is expensive. But worth it for the theatre, the food and the overall experience.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 23, 2009