The Fat Duck "Gastronomic Restaurant" Reviews

It's great transforming your memories to childhood with Heston Blumenthal

Attended with my wife on a Tuesday evening and it was everything we had hoped for and more.

I don t want to outline each dish as this will spoil the experience for others but is it expensive, yes but how many opportunities will you have to get a 3 Michelin star experience that is tailored towards your story, not many at all.

We were very impressed by the food having attended other similarly starred restaurants and the wine list was excellent. What wins is the service, they really do take care of you and whilst you may be in the restaurant for 5 hours for us it felt like a dream and we left happy and ready for a real sleep.

Absolutely love this place can't recommend it enough

Such an amazing meal. The service, wine, food and theatre were all 10/10. Worthy of all of its stars!!!

Superb. Absolutely superb. Ingenious really in all aspects. Simply cannot wait to visit again however the waiting list is indescribable but then again for the entire experience, one must book immediately and simply wait for this beautiful gourmet experience. My tastebuds and senses are still enthralled. Firm favorite with the wife and myself from this point onwards. Pricey however to say the least but one must experience this outfit at least once

The customer service is always rapid, good mood, nice employees. I will return here again when I arrive in town.

Not so much a meal but a total workout for your palate.
I really was not sure what to expect but it's fair to say I was totally won over by the experience. The service was perfect, friendly but not intrusive. How can you have one sip of a drink that is hot and cold in your mouth at the same time? Heston produces a kind of magic which almost always works.
The introductory courses were fun but when it came to the main course
(The only time you could compare it with a standard michelin star diner)
you were treated to the very best cuisine.
I will never forget it & I'm glad I went but I don't think I will need to go back

An amazing experience with great food, wine and excellent service. It's been 10 years since our last visit and it was fantastic to return. Will definitely be back

Exceeded expectations. Fantastic (whacky) food, good selection of beers, great atmosphere and friendly staff. What isn't there to love.

Not for the faint hearted's wallet of course, but definitely worth the wait and travel.

very professional food from the team.... though the name is uncommon...

Absolutely sublime. Set in a typical quintessential English village. Just gorgeous

One of the best dining experiences ever... Great food... amazing staff... Thoroughly recommended

Absolutely loved it, spectacular food and impecible service. It was such an amazing experience that I doubt I will come close to having again for a very long time.

The personal touches in the meal really add an extra level to the whole experience. Thisbis further elavated by the tales told and unique surfaces the food is served on.

I dropped 1 star because I don't agree with the price, the meal is sold as an experience which it wholey delivers on but I would not expect a 12.5% tip to be added on to a supercar driving experience, so why add it here? Based on the cost of the meal and a couple of drinks, a tip on meal for 2 would cover a days wages for one of the staff.



It's expensive but its far more than a meal so almost worth it!

I was extremely disappointed with this place. For the amount of money it costs, you would at least expect the food to taste nice. Two of the dishes made me feel sick, they were disgusting. I under stand that part of the experience is More

Weeks after cancelling my booking due to CV19 (totally understand) I have still not been refunded. Excuse after excuse, system updates don t take weeks. Other companies have been able to refund immediately. Appalled at such a lack of customer service from such a well regarded place

Best restaurant ever ate. Best taste menu ever ever. 4 hours of courses with wine tasting. I felt I had a long relaxing holiday at the end :)

Went hear for my wife s 30th two years ago where I proposed, while interesting it was slightly underwhelming (perhaps it was overly built up in my mind). Would say the Waterside inn across the road would be the better of the two choices (for both food and locale).

Worth every penny for a once in a lifetime theatrical dining experience

Fantastic experiance food was amazing staff were superb my only criticism it is on the pricey side but in saying that you have to appreciate the amount of workman ship and effort to create this type of food it is a 1 off

First 4x courses are imaginative and fun.
Atmosphere; enthusiasm of our story teller Marcin made the experience.
17 courses taking nearly 6hrs; half of the number courses and time would have been better.
Pace of service; the manager was very defensive when we asked for a quicker pace of service citing the size of the kitchen and it being a busy Saturday night. Given the price of the meal, both should have been catered for.
Taste of the sea and taste of the forest courses overly fussy and unappetising.
Experience intended to capture the essence of a Cornwall holiday, it failed to do so by trying to be too clever.

Unforgettable. Truly an amazing experience. Food was intriguing and engaging. Staff was superb. Eva our storyteller was a gem.

A once in a lifetime experience that I will remember for the rest of my life!

Delivers exactly as expected with the theatrics and storytelling, with delicious and unique cuisine that pushes the boundaries with such original and intense flavours!

The food is something extra to say the least. The staff makes the experience 101% if the food wouldn't do it for you!

What an amazing experience but...
For a restaurant that s 3 michelin stars, you expect everything to be perfect. The story telling of our several waiters unfortunately wasn t up to the other waiters we could hear in the room. We listened to the waiter/storyteller on other tables enthusiastically given an in-depth storyline to each dish, whereas our waiters fell short in comparison. All the staff were pleasant, but ours just lacked that extra showmanship other Storyteller s gave.

As you can hear in the video, the guy at the end with the sweat shop was a fantastic storyteller, shame we didn t have him the whole night.

However, an amazing experience and an overload of flavours over the huge course of the 4 hour meal.

The breakfast cereal that was a fried breakfast was absolutely disgusting to the point the jelly like texture of cold scrambled egg was quite unsettling on the stomach.

Apart from that course everything was great and I highly recommend!

A lifetime experience with booking required months before arrival. The restaurant cares about your dining experience so much they actually send out a questionnaire so they know you first. Everything came out the kitchen is a surprise with a big wow. This makes the booking ahead and more than one hour driving from London worthwhile!

A rather unique dining experience. This was a meal of 2 halves. Lunch was based around a journey by the young Heston. Personally I found the fun aspect of this a bit forced, as the various staff members attempted to drum up excitement at the tables on exactly the same way. The first courses are very much about playing with your senses. This was more fun than the attempts by the staff to drum up enthusiasm and really surprised me at times. The problem I found was the processing of some ingredients to deliver these unusual sensory experiences left them tasting, not unpleasant, but not super delicious. The second half of the meal was a more typical Michelin dining experience which included some exceptionally delicious courses. I preferred this to the earlier courses. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the visit and the fact I m still talking about it 6 weeks later shows how it has impressed upon me, but do be aware of what you are getting yourself into!

The fat duck is a meal experience unlike nearly any other. While the price per head warrants it, the experience is thoughtful and beautifully executed from the phone call before the meal through to the thoughtful personalisation during the many many courses. The food is also exceptional. Well presented and very friendly. Which is unusual for a restaurant with any Michelin stars - let alone three.

This place never fails to impress, amazing culinary experience with hestons latest theme

I have my own sort of classification of Michelin-Starred restaurants. Michelin recommended ones tend to have "safe" familiar tasty food. One-starred restaurants are similar, but have some interesting twists. Two are interesting food for the sake of it, and three-starred restaurants are an experience.
I am not the most adventurous food lover and therefore tend to dislike two-star restaurants. I noticed some people who have reviewed here were disappointed because they did not know what to expect of this class entirely, an honest mistake-- I hated my first two-star experience because I just couldn't anticipate it. In all honesty, if I wanted to go to a place with the tastiest food to me I would get fast food chicken fingers (I love almost nothing more).
But, I didn't go to The Fat Duck to eat food I'm familiar with or even like. It is a complete sensory experience where food is not just made as a means to get you full and satisfied (though we were stuffed at the end). I ate a foam that tasted like sea water. It was not to my liking but it was necessary- it evoked vivid memories of mine at the beach. It goes without saying that these are extremely talented chefs and masters of basics. The first bread my sister and I received was the best bread both of us have ever had. Most good chefs, though, could get bread right with the head chef's recipe. However, the core of The Fat Duck is the pure talent the chefs (and storytellers) have of turning an otherwise unassuming room full of adults into one full of smiles, laughter, joy and childlike wonder.
There were multiple personal touches throughout the meal which made it a true marvel. My storyteller, Ellan, was an absolute star. My sister and I will never forget the joyful experience she took us through from course to course.
To fully enjoy The Fat Duck, you have to go with an open mind and a sense of curiosity. It is one of those experiences where you get out what you put in. If you go in wanting them to entertain you based on cost you might not fully enjoy or understand the experience.
To all prospective diners-- don't look any spoilers up! Half the fun was not knowing what whimsical thing would happen next. It was a one-of-a-kind experience we will remember forever. Thank you to The Fat Duck team- and to the amazing Ellan!

An amazing adventure. From the moment of booking, during the days before the actual evening up and through the entire culinary journey. In the beautiful small village, the welcome starts outside already and with the finest attention and exquisite high service of the personnel, Heston's amazing love for best quality food and attention to every detail comes to life. Thank you Heston, Ashley and entire team for making this possible !

A disappointing experience overall. The plus points were the local area was nice and the staff were friendly, polite and talkative.

I've never had a tasting menu where I wasn't looking forward to the next dish. The only reason I stayed and didn't walk out was because I was dining with my girlfriend, who was looking forward to the meal and had high hopes. Personally, I felt nausea kick in during the third course, which persisted and worsened over the evening. Later on, my girlfriend also fell a bit ill. From what you read in the news and other patrons, getting sick is part of the Fat Duck experience (Google fat duck shellfish contamination or fat duck norovirus food poisoning ).

The dishes do look nice, but the chefs forgot to make them taste good. Each dish represented the chef s apparent desire to create something obscure just for the sake of being different rather than genuinely appeal to the senses of a restaurant patron. The dishes over-attempt to play with your sense of texture / touch, and make minor attempts at playing with your sense of sound, sight and taste. A lot of the attempts to play with the senses were tacky and gimmicky, much like a kindergarten's science show (e.g. like for the Sound of the Sea dish, having patrons put on headphones to listen to the sounds of a beach, or for the Aperitif using liquid nitrogen to make a mini-meringue, or for the "Whiskey Gums" sticking gummy sweets, i.e. over-priced Haribo, on a map behind a glass picture frame).



Giving a one star rating for the Fat Duck is generous, in stellar terms it s more of a big black hole. If you read five star reviews anywhere else, notice how quite a high number discuss and praise Mr. Blumenthal s TV persona in the reviews and justify their visits as pilgrimages more than anything else. It s sad to hear people saving up money and waiting years to visit this place! Don t fall for celebrity hype and don t fall prey to receiving poor value from a restaurant that has long ago rested its laurels on its old luster. Save your time and save your money. Pass on the Fat Duck in Bray, Melbourne or wherever it flocks off to next.

Great experience, high quality, amazing attention to detail and loved the personal touch/ personalisation. Word of warning though. It was a 5 hour meal which may be too long for some. Also wouldn't be suitable for those who aren't game to go along with the theme of the meal. Tasty food but definitely a special once off occasion type of experience.

I had the vegan menu. Very good overall, but the main did not hit the climax for me and the dessert was ordinary. But, the seafood starter was wow; the sourdough was exceptional too.

Fantastic time, fantastic and surprising food. The day was made really special by the waiting staff.

Simply the most amazing food experience. One of us had the normal degustation menu and one of us the vegetarian, and dish for dish they were beautifully comparable and matched. The food here takes you on a sensory food journey with accessories and interactive elements that confuse and heighten the senses and make each course fun and a joyful experience. From music, to tactile elements, to visually striking and confusing elements, to lighting - everything is considered and plays into the meal - and highlights Heston Blumenthal's cullinary genius. We chose the matching wine menu with each course, which felt a little much to keep up with, but the wines were exquisite. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience and won't be forgotten or surpassed easily.

Incredible experience! Perfect attention to detail! Thank you!

The food was excellent but on the whole the value just isn't there.

For the most part it felt as though we were sat in a room filled with tables and staff serving, which of course we were, but the service seemed a little clumsy and cluttered at times, lacking intimacy and a personal experience you'd expect. This certainly took something away from the experience.


We did have a lovely time, but at this price I just expected something a little more... special.
There were some nice touches through the evening and the floating cushion was pretty cool and funny watching everybody 'interact' with it (I'll not say anymore) although one was faulty as it just wobbled which took some of the magic away, but the sweet shop was a bit gimmicky (it also didn't quite work on the night).

Take cash for the taxi as they don't take cards, which is pretty poor.

Wonderful food, excellent wine and drinks (the non alcoholic are equally as good and definitely worth trying), but there are better options elsewhere.

What can be said that hasn't been said before. Yes, it is ridiculously expensive (for ordinary mortals) and yes it can be pretentious but it is a uniquely wonderful experience; dinner theatre at its best. While the food is very good, it is the combination of presentation, imagination and wonder that distinguishes it from other 3* restaurants. This is not the sort of place you would go to more than every 3-4 years, even if you could afford it, as the sheet novelty is a major part of its attraction.

Wonderful journey with the storyteller, and an excellent dining experience

Best of the best restaurants I've ever tasted so far.
Super memorable eating experience. Highly recommended.

***

The best restaurant I've tried.
A very lasting dining experience.
Highly recommended.

If it was possible to give more than 5 stars, this would get beyond 5 stars.

This meal was more than amazing food. It was a sensory experience that included smells, sounds, tastes, and textures that you wouldn't imagine otherwise. A few of the plates told a story like the Jelly of Quail, Crayfish Cream and Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

My favorite plates were Jelly of Quail, Crayfish Cream, Hot and Ice Tea (it is literally hot and cold tea), Macerated Strawberries, and Botrytis Cinerea.

The service was amazing too. We had a really sweet guy from Poland serving us and also a guy from Hungry, who prepared the Nitro Aperitif. They were particularly nice and friendly and answered all our questions about the dishes and how they were made. No one was pretentious at all and I felt really comfortable about the whole experience.

We even got a chance to look into their kitchen, which was surprisingly small considering the amazing and beautiful dishes that come out of it.

Attire: Surprisingly, no dress code. The experience is not very formal at all and the staff was very welcoming and accommodating in all ways. If you want to take all the pictures, you totally can and they don't frown upon it at all.

Reservations: You have to be ready with credit card in hand to book your reservation online via OpenTable. They open reservations at 10am UK time and they go fast. I was able to make my reservation after my 3rd 2am night/early morning. Also, you have to book the day that they start taking reservations for that day. They start taking reservations 6 weeks in advance so plan in advance if you are traveling to London.



In sum, go and pay the money for it. It's all worth it and it's amazing.

It's not like anywhere you have been before... worth the trip

It's always been my dream to visit The Fat Duck after seeing all of Heston's TV programmes. I don't want to give too much away as the 17 courses and 5 hours of immense pleasurable dining experience is unmatched. It's not cheap or easy to book but as one of the world's best restaurants you wouldn't expect it to be!

Save up if you have to, but go here. I don't want to ruin your surprise putting pictures up!

An absolutely amazing eexperience.Everyone should go at least once

This spot offers amazing service and tasty menu. One of my favourite places ever. The drinks and food arrived quickly and the prices were reasonable. Highly recommended.

Most incredible dining experience imaginable - or unimaginable. My 4th Three Star of the year and above and beyond the best. Worth every penny!

Not very often that I give the full 5 stars but this place easily deserves each and every one. We spent 5 hours over lunch and were capably assisted by our storyteller, sommelier and an almost infintite number of other servers.
Service was impeccable and we were treated to a tour of the kitchen and wine cellar between courses. Whatever you have heard or seen about this place, the reality will take your breath away. So much flavour in each and every bite. Well worth a detour!

Britain's Wackiest Restaurant. With a reputation of precision and invention and being fastest restaurant in the United Kingdom to earn three Michelin stars. The restaurant has an Alice in Wonderland theme making it a must for Lewis Carroll fans.

Expensive but an amazing experience. Highly recommended.

An intimate, wonderful and unique dining experience! The food was fantastic. Everything was perfectly prepared and you could tell there was a lot of thought put into the presentation. I had a sea side dish that had an acommopanying auditory experience, that transported me back 20 years to the last time I was at Brighton beach. Overall the dinner was a once in a life time experience, that I am truly grateful I was able to enjoy

More than a meal, the Fat Duck is a totally unique experience.

An amazing experience...the very best of food theatre!

One of the best experiences of food, story telling and service. I have certain allergies and they were able to accommodate to their set menus. The food was really well prepared and thought out, playing to not your taste but also to your sight and senses.

It was voted number one in the UK and listed in Michelin list. I visited and enjoy the art of eating and the foods were so delicious being prepared with the finest ingredients which put so much care on presentation of the foods as well as the taste that simply divine.

Words can't really describe it. As much theatre as food, there's nothing else like it. It ain't cheap, but if you can stand the price it's a must do. You won't find anywhere else that puts as much effort into conjuring nostalgia and memories through food.

Absolutely divine. The truffle butter...OMG...I simply could not speak nor open my eyes, so intense was the feeling. I just drifted. It was like floating on air.

very good experience and good journeys.
You can enjoy several exciting food and unique.
not so many choice of alcohol but as a whole acceptable.

really great experience and well attentive staff with great food. an all round wonderful day

It's an experience not a meal however a treat for anyone not afraid to experience new tastes and flavours.

Very very exquisite and luxurious dinner designed, TFD (The Fat Duck) carries us through a mysterical journey that infuse all senses and food to an heighten state , definitely worth the 3 Michelin Stars! My favourites are the seaside, pillow candy and penny for a candy dishes..

It is the most enjoyable dinner in life, a new experience of each dish presentation. Serving various dishes, including serving dishes, descriptions, sorting stories of food from the first dish to the last dish. Spend a lot of time, but very fun.

This was my second visit go the Fat Duck having previously visited in 2014. This time we were there to try the Fable Tree Christmas inspired menu.

The menu took us just under 5 hours however we did also get a tour of the kitchen and take a while to finish our wine (we were the last ones to leave!).

We had an exceptional evening of magic and excitement. Our waiters Guiseppe and Jonathan were fabulous.

It is very expensive however it is more than a meal at a restaurant, it is an experience.

So many details. Such personalisation. So much care. The story telling and the theatre in each chapter of the menu is so engaging and surprising and amazing.

Loved loved loved it, every second, every scent, every taste.

One must be prepared for a 4 hour meal that will be mostly around molecular gastronomy. While interesting concept, it was a long slog from London, I was still somewhat hungry at the end and just wanted a proper meal after 15 courses (got More

Worth the trip. Unforgettable meal. Great finesse dishes. Subtle and inspired cuisine. Be guided Very nice home. Discutable wine selection. Zero decoration. Tables too close to each other. Disconcerting lighting. One of the restaurants to visit before dying ...

A dining experience like no other. The food, setting, service - everything works and is on another level. It is expensive but worth every penny.

Out of this world. Only visited once, my son-in-law paid what must have been a huge bill. Very very grateful for being taken there. We had a holiday journey (imaginary) through course after course, all accompanied by huge glasses of alcohol. Still very drunk next morning. Loved it.

Not a French restaurant but a culinary experience like no other. Two month waiting list if you're lucky enough to get a table so I seriously doubt "Samuel" popped in on a whim several times as he claims to do below. No matter, set aside four hours and weep at the sheer taste and inventiveness on offer. Going for an evening sitting means not finishing after midnight.

Enjoyed a meal there a few months ago. First class and a real treat. Great service.

Amazing food, service and intersensory experience. Meal is personalized and you feel well taken care of. Would happily reccomend to anyone. What an experience!

The experience was the best I had in all Michelin restaurants. The imaginations of food combinations justifies the cost of tasting menu. Good experience.