I love that they made a card game! That’s adorable and would have my nerdy heart very happy. It’s always nice when a fine dining restaurant gives you something to occupy yourself in between courses, like going on a field trip at Blue Hill Stone Barns, reading cards at Atomix, etc. but that’s a whole new level
buttapopcorn on
I visited a number of restaurants during my recent trip to London. First up was the Fat Duck. Initially, I was planning to go to Clove Club. When a table opened up at the Fat Duck, it was no brainer for me. This has been on my bucket list for quite some time, and I was excited to finally be able to visit this legendary restaurant. The menu was the “Sensorium” experience.
1. Nitroaperetif: A classic at the Fat Duck. Table side serving of liquid nitrogen cocktail.
2. Aerated Beetroot: Beetroot, horseradish cream.
3. Yellow Punch: Yellow pepper juice and butternut squash. Fennel and Ginger Ice-cream. True to its name, this dish packs a punch.
4. Sake: Sake, crab royale, cuttlefish and salami cream. A risotto cooked in sake and parmesan with bites of crab and squid. One of our favorites of the night.
5. Wine tasting break: we were then invited upstair to the wine cellar for some sensory experience. I don’t want to ruin too much of the surprise here.
6. Sound of the Sea: Another classic that never left the menu. Halibut and Hamachi Sashimi, grilled octopus, seaweeds and greens. We were told to put on the headphone to really listen to the sound of the sea. Definitely a bit extra but it is the Fat Duck after all. The dish was definitely delicious.
7. Bread and Butter: can’t complain about delicious bread
8. Walk in the Woods: the next course came in two sequences. The first was the “forest floor” beet and blackberry, truffle, oakmoss. Second sequence was the venison broth, which we were told to pick out the tree “sap” and put in the tea pot to make the broth.
9. Grass Fed Beef: Meadow grass, Hay Silage and Grains, Aged Beef.
10. Cheese and Grapes: we were told many times that not everything is what it seems, and this was a perfect example. The Cheese was actually ice-cream with crumbled biscuit. This was absolutely delicious.
11. Sake (2): The sake dish came back. The waiter dropped the dish without saying much. At first, we thought it was a mistake. However, we were reassured that this was indeed our next course. What looked like risotto was actually white chocolate cream and sake lease. The sake sequence was my favorite of the night.
12. Alphonso Mango: Lychee, beetroot, green pepper. Frankly, this went over my head a bit. I was expecting a very mango forward dish. Not sure the green pepper worked.
Service was great, as you would expect from a three-star place. Our “story teller” engaged with us throughout the evening, asking questions and telling the history behind each dish. Everything was more or less delicious, with some more so than others. Was everything a bit much with the theatric? Yes. Did I mind? No, not at all. It was what I expected and more from an experience at the Fat Duck. It’s one of those places anyone should try at least once.
iAnonymous281 on
Awesome! If you’ve been to other well known spots, where would you rank this?
br0b1wan on
This place looks fun as hell
thisistestingme on
Thank you for sharing and for the great descriptions. What are some of your favorite fine dining meals (I know you said this one wasn’t in your top 10)?
Zero36 on
I get pretty bored during tastings because of all the sitting around but this looks like an active experience. Would love to try one day
UncagedGC on
This is one my bucket list of places to dine sounds exquisite.
Nulleparttousjours on
This is my number 1 of all time! The food is spectacular and I guess it’s not for everyone but, rather than theatrics, I would call it a meal that incorporates every sense into the experience which to me personally is absolute heaven.
Big_You_7959 on
Was also there a few weeks ago and certainly in my top 5 experiences – as that what it was, an experience. Really loved the Walk in the Woods, Cheese and Grapes and of course the beef – what i found really interesting was the beef is generally from retired dairy herds (and from Ireland! 👍) –
Backgammon_Saint on
While the food looks amazing, the room looks awfully stark.
I’m sure there’s something blah blah not to distract from food, but still…
overladenlederhosen on
It was a good while ago and a very different menu but I had the pleasure of dining at the Fat Duck, it was wonderful. It is easy to forget in a world where we now have subreddits to chastise some dodgy restaurant for serving breakfast on a shovel that when Heston kicked off a while new way of looking at food what he was doing was virtually unheard of. It was passionate and playful, empirical but deeply skilled. The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed and unlike a certain other restaurant in Bray he doesn’t tear the arse out of the wine markup. Seeing that it it is all new makes me want to go again. All I will say is that if you ever wish to try and emulate, do not leave a thermos flask of dry ice in direct sunlight if you value your fingers and indeed, window frames.
Benfood123 on
Random question. Going for dinner in a few weeks. I know they claim there’s no dress code, but what’s typical for gents. Typical jeans and a blazer? Or do they really not care.
12 Comments
I love that they made a card game! That’s adorable and would have my nerdy heart very happy. It’s always nice when a fine dining restaurant gives you something to occupy yourself in between courses, like going on a field trip at Blue Hill Stone Barns, reading cards at Atomix, etc. but that’s a whole new level
I visited a number of restaurants during my recent trip to London. First up was the Fat Duck. Initially, I was planning to go to Clove Club. When a table opened up at the Fat Duck, it was no brainer for me. This has been on my bucket list for quite some time, and I was excited to finally be able to visit this legendary restaurant. The menu was the “Sensorium” experience.
1. Nitroaperetif: A classic at the Fat Duck. Table side serving of liquid nitrogen cocktail.
2. Aerated Beetroot: Beetroot, horseradish cream.
3. Yellow Punch: Yellow pepper juice and butternut squash. Fennel and Ginger Ice-cream. True to its name, this dish packs a punch.
4. Sake: Sake, crab royale, cuttlefish and salami cream. A risotto cooked in sake and parmesan with bites of crab and squid. One of our favorites of the night.
5. Wine tasting break: we were then invited upstair to the wine cellar for some sensory experience. I don’t want to ruin too much of the surprise here.
6. Sound of the Sea: Another classic that never left the menu. Halibut and Hamachi Sashimi, grilled octopus, seaweeds and greens. We were told to put on the headphone to really listen to the sound of the sea. Definitely a bit extra but it is the Fat Duck after all. The dish was definitely delicious.
7. Bread and Butter: can’t complain about delicious bread
8. Walk in the Woods: the next course came in two sequences. The first was the “forest floor” beet and blackberry, truffle, oakmoss. Second sequence was the venison broth, which we were told to pick out the tree “sap” and put in the tea pot to make the broth.
9. Grass Fed Beef: Meadow grass, Hay Silage and Grains, Aged Beef.
10. Cheese and Grapes: we were told many times that not everything is what it seems, and this was a perfect example. The Cheese was actually ice-cream with crumbled biscuit. This was absolutely delicious.
11. Sake (2): The sake dish came back. The waiter dropped the dish without saying much. At first, we thought it was a mistake. However, we were reassured that this was indeed our next course. What looked like risotto was actually white chocolate cream and sake lease. The sake sequence was my favorite of the night.
12. Alphonso Mango: Lychee, beetroot, green pepper. Frankly, this went over my head a bit. I was expecting a very mango forward dish. Not sure the green pepper worked.
Service was great, as you would expect from a three-star place. Our “story teller” engaged with us throughout the evening, asking questions and telling the history behind each dish. Everything was more or less delicious, with some more so than others. Was everything a bit much with the theatric? Yes. Did I mind? No, not at all. It was what I expected and more from an experience at the Fat Duck. It’s one of those places anyone should try at least once.
Awesome! If you’ve been to other well known spots, where would you rank this?
This place looks fun as hell
Thank you for sharing and for the great descriptions. What are some of your favorite fine dining meals (I know you said this one wasn’t in your top 10)?
I get pretty bored during tastings because of all the sitting around but this looks like an active experience. Would love to try one day
This is one my bucket list of places to dine sounds exquisite.
This is my number 1 of all time! The food is spectacular and I guess it’s not for everyone but, rather than theatrics, I would call it a meal that incorporates every sense into the experience which to me personally is absolute heaven.
Was also there a few weeks ago and certainly in my top 5 experiences – as that what it was, an experience. Really loved the Walk in the Woods, Cheese and Grapes and of course the beef – what i found really interesting was the beef is generally from retired dairy herds (and from Ireland! 👍) –
While the food looks amazing, the room looks awfully stark.
I’m sure there’s something blah blah not to distract from food, but still…
It was a good while ago and a very different menu but I had the pleasure of dining at the Fat Duck, it was wonderful. It is easy to forget in a world where we now have subreddits to chastise some dodgy restaurant for serving breakfast on a shovel that when Heston kicked off a while new way of looking at food what he was doing was virtually unheard of. It was passionate and playful, empirical but deeply skilled. The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed and unlike a certain other restaurant in Bray he doesn’t tear the arse out of the wine markup. Seeing that it it is all new makes me want to go again. All I will say is that if you ever wish to try and emulate, do not leave a thermos flask of dry ice in direct sunlight if you value your fingers and indeed, window frames.
Random question. Going for dinner in a few weeks. I know they claim there’s no dress code, but what’s typical for gents. Typical jeans and a blazer? Or do they really not care.