The Fat Duck Reviews Summary

Category: Fine dining restaurant

Address: High St, Bray, Maidenhead SL6 2AQ, United Kingdom

Phone: +441628580333

Rating: 4.7
based on 313 reviews.

Ambience

Pros:

  • "The ambience is amazing in the restaurant and great to watch the reactions on other tables after you have experienced certain dishes."
  • "The small cottage is beautifully set out with glass panels between the tables to increase privacy of conversation and make it a bit more intimate."
  • "The atmosphere strikes a perfect balance of elegance and comfort."
  • "Wonderful dining experience. Relaxed atmosphere."
  • "The ambiance is quite cosy but the tables are nicely spaced apart."
  • "Absolutely outstanding! What a journey!"
  • "The place feels very gloomy and depressing as they closed the curtains during daytime."

Cons:

  • "To be in a dark room for three hours with no ambiance."
  • "Bad ambience. Vad chairs, Room and lighting."
  • "The whole experience felt a bit like a factory or conveyor belt."

Service

Pros:

  • "Staff were attentive and unpretentious and the ambience is relaxed and brings your focus to the food."
  • "The service impeccable."
  • "Service was impeccable and we were treated to a tour of the kitchen and wine cellar between courses."
  • "The waiting staff were simply amazing - attentive, knowledgeable, and incredibly professional."
  • "The staff could not be more helpful and attentive."
  • "Service is outstanding. The staff is super attentive and knowledgable. They’re really the best in class."
  • "The staff working there really elevate it."

Cons:

  • "While the meal was no doubt an extraordinary meal which is theatrical and unique, one would expect a 3 star restaurant to have flawless service...however the service have lots of room for improvement."
  • "The service seemed a little clumsy and cluttered at times, lacking intimacy and a personal experience you'd expect."
  • "The service was at times a bit out of sync, a drink would turn up with the dish coming ten minutes later."
  • "We simply couldn't understand anything our waiter said. He had a very thick French accent, and was pleasant, but we entirely missed the description of every dish."
  • "During such exceptional times, the restaurant was unreasonable not to accommodate any refunds (or voucher to be used at a later date) and insisted that we had to keep our pre-paid table of 4 even if only 1-3 person were able to go for the meal."

Food Quality

Pros:

  • "Dining at The Fat Duck was an extraordinary and memorable experience that fulfilled a long-held dream."
  • "The different flavours which constitute each dish didn’t work with one another."
  • "Creativity in cooking was to the max."
  • "The flavours and textures of the dishes were incredible, and each one was expertly crafted and presented beautifully."
  • "The food was excellent and very thought provoking."
  • "So many complex flavours and perfectly balanced dishes. Honestly the best meal we'd ever had!"
  • "The food was really well prepared and thought out, playing to not your taste but also to your sight and senses."

Cons:

  • "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."
  • "But equally there were some, including the much touted main dish, that fell flat."
  • "The crab/passion fruit ice cream, and the meal meant to simulate being in a forest tasted awful. Simply awful."
  • "While the experience was quite whimsical, we were both a bit disappointed by the food quality / taste."
  • "There were also a few courses that I totally did not like."
  • "The crab ice cream dish, a dish called botanical something with another savoury sorbet type thing and the pigeon served basically raw, were highly unpleasant."

Value for Money

Pros:

  • "Prices are on the higher compared to other 3 Michelin star restaurants in London, but worth every penny."
  • "Not a cheap meal on anyone’s budget, but the food and service is so good you understand why this place has been awarded Best Restaurant in the World multiple times."
  • "Is it cheap? No. Is it worth the money? 100%."
  • "Some might find the cost over the limit of what they are willing to spend - but it is worth every penny!"
  • "Of course its pricy but absolutely worth it."
  • "It is very expensive however it is more than a meal at a restaurant, it is an experience."
  • "Worth every penny!"

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