The Fat Duck *

Phenomenal food, fantastic service. Whimsical and playful while backing it up with food that's great through amazing. I personally hate theatrical food/drinks as 99% of the time they are making up for poor taste, but this was special.

We did the mindful experience (less food- same courses) as we felt we might be too full after a late lunch somewhere not worth mentioning and wanting to get some of Heston's triple fried fries at the Hinds Head next door.

Additionally a discovery and playful pairing. The discovery(200 pounds) was underwhelming, would go for the curiosity (~400pounds) or just a few drinks/glasses of wine next time. The wines weren't bad but they weren't exactly good either. Some paired well, some did ok, it just didn't enhance the experience. The playful pairing was very well done, the red blend with the meats was fantastic and complimented the beef so well. Despite the discovery pairing being mediocre the somm was wonderful and very educational throughout.

Food~
A single raisin:
A really good raisin, they said they resoaked it partially and it was probably the best raisin I've ever had.
You are escorted to the wine cellar, Heston's voice plays and instructs you to experience the raisin with touch, sound, sight, and finally taste. You're on the "mindful" journey so your supposed to savor and really experience each bite is the message. The experience part of it was definitely something. In the moment I thought it was extremely over the top and made me extremely worried about the rest of the dinner. I think most people are just trying to save money by going with the mindful.

1. Liquid nitrogen fruit cream puff (grapefruit or orange)
   The cream gets frozen and it's very hard and then instantly melts in your mouth. It's very fun.
   A fantastic table side presentation to the whimsical and theatrical things to follow.

~beet and horseradish macaroon~
Wow. The airy crispness of the beet is perfect and then the horseradish comes in and awakens your palet. Our waitress said it's her favorite thing and I can see why. It was the perfect texture and the horseradish didn't evoke too much spicyness but really kicked awake your whole face.

~celery sorbet and smoked cheese~
An herby green broth of 'green herbs and green apples" works really well with the celery flavored sorbet and cheese. The cheese was so smoky and cut through the herbs extremely well. Would be perfect on a hot day.

~hot and cold tea~
Amazing. If you drink it quickly as instructed you get cold and hot together in your mouth. The sensation made the table next to us audibly gasp. Very fun.

~breakfast cereal~
A classic that's I've heard so much about. We didn't get to choose our own boxes but not sure if that was do to an allergy or because we did the smaller portions. Either way it was still great. The milk is three layers of different jells/custards and combined taste like a traditional eggs and bacon breakfast.
The boxes are full of quips and whimsy and have small puzzles to do.

~crab ice cream~
A fun and very weird combination that works surprisingly well. Passion fruit flavors in the red sauce, a cold crab mousse in a crispy cone. I wouldn't eat this out of a tub. But for one bite it was very good.

~by the sea~
My favorite non traditional dish of the night. There are little pieces of fish and razor clams in the sand, the sand is a salty crispy umami flavorful mess and it works so well while being extremely weird. You put on headphones and listen to sounds of the beach while you eat and it's fantastic.

~walk in the woods~
Mushroom/beety paste made into crispy leaves and served with more mushrooms
Fun textures and tastes, the morel mushroom was my favorite. Its another fun dish where nothing is as it seems. You get to eat worms but unlike nomas snails they aren't real and actually moving on your plate.

~duck liver supliment ~
Might be one of my favorite dishes ever. Fucking phenomenal. Topped with chives and shaved almonds served with cherry and almond sauces and an amaretto cherry itself. Perfectly cooked, a great blend of flavors and textures. Was so good we ordered it again. We were already told we would get to see the kitchen before we ordered this but they brought us in to see it plated and have it explained by the chefs which was very unique. I might be biased as I love foie gras and amaretto cherries but it would be on my death row tasting menu.

~ main – beef~
A beef that was cooked wonderfully with some turnips. The little square of meat above was fantastic and so flavorful(maybe short rib?). Sauce was fabulous – rich and velvety.

Fried seafood- crab/squid? in a tartar sauce. Perfectly crispy and delicious.

~main – fish of the day~
A turbot with a creamy and herb (parsley) sauce that was fantastic. Little sour fruity gel on top that went really well with the sauces. Turbot isn't my favorite fish of all time but it was done well. The mussels were fantastic on the side.

The baby fish pie was the best fish pie I will probably ever get to eat. I wish I could have had an entire plate of this.

~cheese and grapes~
As is the way here, neither were actually cheese or grapes. Cheese was a cheesecakesque ice cream with truffles and a shortbread like crust. The grapes were all different jells of different fruits. Waitress dropped it off with a sly it's just cheese and grapes and let us explore on our own.

~ tea~
Was an wild combination of foams that tasted of tea. Was very nice transition into dessert. Reminds me of tortilla in a cup from Jose Andres.

~off to the land of nod~
My least favorite course of the night, it wasn't bad by any means, I've just had better desserts. The meringue on the pillow was very good, the dish with cream and whatnot was ok. You put on blindfolds and the team silently comes and sets up the whole table. Very surprising to see it floating and spinning. The experience is fantastic. If your thinking about bringing people, the first table of the night got to experience this with no spoilers which could definitely be more fun.

~ sweet shop~
A very cool theatrical way to end the meal, and a clever way of giving guests a gift while still having another course on the menu. It was very fun and the lil chocolates are all delightful. They roll over a house and crank it open to showcase a mechanical contraption that gives you your final desserts.

~ black forest gateua hot chocolate ~
We ordered a hot chocolate and it was heavenly. So rich and airy it was absolutely the best hot chocolate we've ever had. If you're ever here please order it.

~Hinds Head triple fried fries~
Ubiquitous now, but trying the original triple cooked fries was amazing. So crispy and yet soft and airy. If they served this at the fat duck I wouldn't have complained at all. The scotch egg and sausage were good too, nothing mind blowing like the fries but good. If we had more time would go back to a dinner or lunch there.

Most dinners seemed to take 4 hours for the meal. Ours took 5, but we did the supliment twice. Another table that did a kitchen tour was also there for 5. The start was heavily delayed as all the 6pm opening reservations needed to be staggered. Our first real course of the fruit frozen foam was served at 6:50.

Overall wonderful. Amazing food without relying only on gimmicks to make the experience memorable. The theatrics and playful nature of the waiters make it such a fun night. Not as communal as a bar but closer tables definitely interacted with one another as well.

Logistics make it annoying to get to, but it's well worth the trip. Would I enjoy the theatrics every month-no. But once a year or so would be perfect. I would wholeheartedly suggest this over Core or RGR if you haven't been to it before. I'll write those up when I'm back stateside with a keyboard.

I would say it's the best 3 star I've been to for bringing friends not as passionate about fine dining as the showiness of the meal makes it fun regardless of if they have the appreciation for higher end foods.

If you are interested but having reservations on logistics as we were this is what I would suggest.
From London take an Uber to Windsor castle in the afternoon, make sure to check times and hours for the season. Uber was 50 pounds, taxi estimated 120-160.
Take another Uber to the fat duck (15 min)
Go to the hinds head pub that heston owns and is next door. Google says they are closed, they are not- they still do drinks and snacks – just are closed for full dinner service until 6. Order the triple fried fries and a drink if so inclined.
Eat dinner then Uber back. They offered to call taxis for us but an Uber was only 70, and cheaper than the estimated taxi back to London. There is also an apartment next door that is available for short term rentals and the table next to us did that so they could just walk nextdoor after dinner.

I didn't bring a laptop on this trip and typing a novel on my phone has been exhausting so feel free to ask for more detail and I can expand on things.