Phenomenal at times, with some flaws. Dare I say a...

Phenomenal at times, with some flaws. Dare I say a little overrated?

I really wanted to give this review five stars, but I just can't.

Eating at The Fat Duck was unlike anything I've ever experienced. While there are seven official courses on the tasting menu, in reality it's more like seventeen, as most courses are broken down into numerous smaller plates. There is simply too much to review everything in its entirety, but I can comment on the things that resonated.

Heston uses a lot of deconstruction techniques which play on the senses. Leave any preconceptions about what looks sweet and what looks savoury at the door. We listened to sounds of the sea through an iPod mini encased in a conch, while eating something that tasted like being at the sea side. We watched white chocolate crab dissolve, to reveal caviar resembling its brain. We ate savoury ice lollies and macaroons, jellied bacon and whiskey gums. There is nowhere else with a menu like it.



The service was flawless. The ratio of service staff to customers is huge and attention is never more than a glance away. Dishes were served with military-like precision.

The wine pairings on our 'Adventurer' selection were fabulous, as was our sommelier. The wine was possibly my personal highlight.

With all the above said, there were some notable aspects of the experience that really let it down for me.



I was also underwhelmed by a couple of the courses. Granted, it's impossible to hit continuous home runs when there are so many different things, but a couple of them missed the mark. The aperitif, for example - cooked before us in liquid nitrogen - was style over substance. Brilliant, up until the point of putting it in your mouth. Maybe I chose the wrong option, but it would have been nice to be offered an alternative when I said I wasn't a fan of mine.