Fat Duck Bray

After many year of being on my “place to go” yesterday I had the pleasure of celebrating my birthday with an amazing culinary experience in Hestonland. Loved all aspects of the experience. The staff was very knowledgable and friendly (thanks James and Antonio for the laugh and info you have provided us). Food was a proper journey. Loved “sound of the see” and “a walk in the woods” . Honestly some Of the dishes really brought me back into my childhood memories! Big thank you!! Last note I want to mention that the wine testing and visit of the cellar is something to try!

Creative, fun, and definitely memorable experience. In terms of unique and tasty dishes, the Fat Duck delivers for the most part. The only thing we really didn’t love and was quite a bummer is that we don’t like strong seafood flavors. So they noted that, but for one of the main courses they served us a dish that wasn’t seafood, but “was supposed to taste exactly like it” in an imitation sort of way. Well, they nailed it, but we naturally couldn’t stand it. I think they caught this and didn’t directly admit it, but we definitely got some extra attention later on. We were grateful for the nice service, but a 3 star should not have a slip-up like that. That being said, we’re all human and what’s important is making up for it, which they did.

Heston Blumenthal has been my favorite chef and I used to read his cookbooks and watch videos of this place, so this was my most anticipated dining experience so far. The town itself is very quaint and beautiful, and walking around felt like a fever dream. Highly recommend. The restaurant was very accommodating to vegetarian diners and I did not feel that I missed out on anything. In fact, my friend who got the meat version felt his meat dish was not amazing. Other misses were the bread and butter ( not super delicious or special, very rustic) , the 'off to the land and nod' course, which kind of just tasted like milk many different ways - very beautiful but ultimately not interesting. Everything else I think was very successful. The 'besides the sea' course was the best course I've ever had. The sand cereal, the sea beans and mushroom, the salty algae sea foam. While listening to the beach sounds on headphones. It transported me to a memory I had on the beach. No other dish has been so evocative. Other standouts were the hot and iced tea, which was a super unique experience and weirder than it sounds, while also being delicious! And the beetroot wafer with horseradish spread (one of the amuse bouches) which was very beautiful and perfectly executed. The 'cheese and grapes' dish was also super surprising and delicious! Overall could not recommend more. While it started out very strong and later on. some dishes were misses flavor wise, the whole experience was so playful and innovative that i was mindblown. We were in the restaurant for 4 hours total! This experience was unforgettable! Only an hour and a half from London, travel time. Very expensive but worth the money. The nearby pub, also owned by Heston, The Hinds Head, is also very fun and does great 'thrice cooked chips' - my favorite chips/fries I had in England during my trip!

A truly spectacular experience. The food was out of this world. It was such an incredible experience overall, worth the price for foodies. The skills and craftmanship in the food and preparation are world class. The service was outstanding, attentive but not constantly at you like some other establishments. The staff are all very well presented and trained. If you're considering going, do it! You won't be disappointed.