The Fat Duck

I call this restaurant the “Mad Duck” It is bonkers! Fascinating, entertaining but totally mad.

I love food and wine and my wife and I eat out most days. I adore fine food in great settings but am also very happy with fish and chips or pub food.

I could see why this place is famous and I would not say that the bill was unreasonable. We had the tasting menu with matched wines (there are two levels, one £90 each and the other £165) and I had some cheese and a glass of port. With tea afterwards and service the bill was £765 for two which is quite a lot but you get a lot of different things to try (about 18 I think) and some quite nice wines (about 8 generously poured).

Most of the staff are friendly and informative, the bread man never stops grinning or proffering the (quite ordinary) bread and service is swift and efficient.

But the food is not actually that tasty. If you forget where you are - and the fact that you are wearing an ipod listening to waves and seagulls whilst eating razor clams and baby eels with sand made from tapioca and grape seeds – and focus on the flavours they are quite dull and not, in my opinion anyway, especially well matched.

I did enjoy the infamous bacon and egg ice cream and an extraordinary cherry which came with some foie gras but many things were not all that special at all. Things like the hot and iced tea are interesting because you wonder how they are made but the taste itself is ordinary.

You would maybe try the Mad Duck once for the experience but would not ever become a regular visitor. My favourite restaurant at this level is Gordon Ramsay’s Royal Hospital Road flagship which is similarly priced and where every mouthful is exquisite and the service is always incomparable.
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TML - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Saturday, November 08, 2008

This restaurant is in a league of its own. If you come along expecting to have a nice evening meal then you will be disappointed, as some of the reviews state. If you come along for the gastronomic experience then you're walking in the door with the right mind set.

Let's be honest, this restaurant isn't about the A La Carte menu, it's not a restaurant you come back to time and time again as a regular, it's about the tasting menu.

This certainly was a restaurant experience like no other, the food, combination of flavours and presentation was spectacular. The service was perfect, the wait between courses was just right. There is plenty of bread available to bulk it out for those who don't find the tasting menu filling enough. I certainly didn't leave feeling under fed however.

Like all the great experiences in life, this is something that everyone should try and do. I don't think a second trip could ever match up to the surprise and excitement of a first Fat Duck experience, so although I may never go back and had to re-mortgage my house to be able to afford the meal in the first place, I'm certainly glad I did.

If you're planning on going then I'd recommend not reading too much before hand, it might ruin some of the surprises. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Amazing.
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Will Calderwood
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Simply and absolutely spectacular. Not just visually, but (being completely honest) the food was heaven. Everything was pretty much perfect.

Staff attentiveness super - there when you needed them and just appeared from thin air the exact moment you needed someone. A napkin falls on the floor and in the blink of any eye, another is presented on a silver tray and the one on the floor whisked away in the blink of an eye.

The courses all came at exactly the right intervals and never did we have to wait too long or too little.

The tasting menu is just out of this world and hands down the most memorable culinary experience I've ever had. I can't even begin to think about choosing a favourite dish - and there was none I did not like. And even though I've never touched snails before, I simply had to try the "snail porridge" and it was surprisingly delicious and not what I was expecting.

Though the portions may have been small, there was plenty in all and by the end certainly could eat no more. We just had one bottle (of lovely and very affordable) wine to accompany our meal, between the two of us.

I cannot wait to go again! Of course you need to be on the phone first thing in the morning on the 2 month mark before you want to go.

Worth every penny.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, October 27, 2008

Eating at The Duck is an experience in terms of the style of food and presentation which is imaginative and different to most expensive restaurants. However, I am afraid my praise ends there for a number of reasons. I would describe the restaurant as uncomfortable - the low ceilings, warm temperature and crowded tables in addition to the numerous waiters makes a wholly inpersonal dining experience, the tables are very close together and the atmosphere is extremely stuffy. The staff are excellent in terms of describing the dishes and serving however they definitely not friendly - abrupt and slightly aloof would be better descriptions. The drinks are frankly overpriced, I am a collector or fine whisky and found the whisky prices to be a joke (one dram for the cost of a third of a bottle). But most importantly the food just wasn't nice. It can be as fancy as it wants, but it just didn't taste good. I would be very interested to see how well this restaurant would do in a blind tasting test without the fancy cereal packets and liquid nitrogen affecting peoples judgement of the food quality.
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Mr Intrepid
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, July 29, 2008

I cannot believe some of the negative reviews about the Fat Duck! My husband and I went for our 5th year anniversary and it was the best dining experience we've ever had! We had the tasting menu (of course) with the wine tasting menu. Very pricey, but then you are prepared for that before you go. My husband ate and drank everything but I got a bit bogged down with the drink (I think the Sake did it for me) and couldn't quite finish the bacon and egg ice cream at the end but a nice pot of jasmine tea helped my stomach. My absolute favourite was the roasted foie gras with the cherry sauce. I had never had foie gras before and it was...heavenly. The staff were all so nice (the bread waiter especially!) and it all turned out to be a most enjoyable evening.
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Bungo
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Magnificent. The best experience I have ever had at lunchtime and a must for the serious foodie. Portion sizes on the tasting menu were perfect and we left feeling full but not uncomfortable. The presentation and artistry were impeccable and on a different level to all the michelin starred restaurants I have been to before. I can't wait to go back.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, June 16, 2008

This was the most disappointing restaurant experience I have ever had & I started the evening really looking forward to it having read endless good reviews.

The food was very average (what there was of it). My fiance and I ordered from the a la carte menu which cost £95 per head...exactly what we expected for this restaurant and we figured we'd get what we paid for. We figured wrong.

To begin with, the bread waiter - a very pleasant chap - offered us bread continually, and would have continued if we hadn't stopped him. We didn't want to spoil our highly anticipated meal by filling up on bread. Boy, did we call that wrong! If I had known how tiny the portions were I'd have asked him to keep it coming. The salted butter was very nice though.

My starter was scallop(s!) and either one scallop was sliced into 4 or the chef needs to find a new fishmonger. Measly, thin scallops with a few grains of caviar on top. The scallops were dry and tasteless. My fiance ordered the langoustine lasagne which did actually look quite nice and which he said was good. For main I had the Sole which again was dry, barely there and disappointing. However the triple fried chips were lovely without any grease on them at all. Fiance had the venison - verdict: nice but nothing to write home about. Our desserts weren't particularly inventive (unless grated parmesan on your strawberries floats your boat) or special either. In between courses we were given some samples to taste - the mustard ice cream with red cabbage dressing was certainly interesting and actually quite nice but the oysters with pineapple coulis and sugar? Not for me.

Overall, this restaurant appears to have read far too much of its own publicity and believed it. Our meal cost £300 which, as I mentioned, I would be perfectly happy to pay if I thought it was worth it. It just wasn't and in my opinion the whole evening was overpriced and below par. The restaurant was devoid of atmosphere - although we were seated right next to the door, had to endure endless gusts of wind and may as well have eaten outside on the pavement so perhaps not really being 'in' the restaurant colours my opinion!

When the only things I can praise in a restaurant of this alleged standard are the butter and the chips(!)...well, I think that speaks for itself.

I would NOT recommend this restaurant to anyone else but I would say that the food at the Hinds Head over the road looked and smelled terrific. With hindsight, we should have stayed there to eat, had far more fun and saved ourselves £250.
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Jane
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, June 09, 2008

having eaten in some of the best restaurants around the world .i would not put this in the top 50 yet alone no 2 , The food was ok nothing special !

Service was good and friendly .there was no atmosphere in there, in fact it was dull.

I dont mind paying the price if you feel you have had a good meal ,but I can honestly say think twice before you go ,there are plenty of fine dining restaurants around that will give you a far better experience try Marcus Wareing as an example

I wonder when I read the reviews if people are embarrased to say it was not good because they will feel stupid at having been taken in by the press and hipe etc .

SAY WHAT YOU REALLY FEEL IT MIGHT STOP OTHERS MAKING THE SAME MISTAKE .
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JULIE
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Thursday, May 22, 2008

good one...splendid
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ANDY CHU
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Saturday, May 03, 2008

Stunning. We went last Tuesday lunchtime and it was everything I had hoped for and more. Attentive and fun staff. Although the diners at the next table were a humourless lot (Dutch), the rest of the punters were having fun. Not at all stuffy and people took photographs without being made to feel like lemons! The food was sensational to look at, extraordinary to eat, and we felt we were very welcome. A request to see the kitchen was granted with a huge smile. Altogether a wonderful experience. Sometimes when you have high expectations, the actuality can be a let down - not at the Fat Duck. Magic.
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tudorcourt - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, April 24, 2008