Wow. Been dying to try this place for about 20 years and boy it not only meet expectations buy way surpassed them. The Pellegrino list and sometimes Michelin are a joke. This place is as relevant as it has ever been. Every dish was impressive, the service pristine and not robotic. What a staff, what a meal. It will live in my brain until the day I die. Heston is a one in maybe ten million plus type of talent. Every single thing is intentional. Two restaurants have made me cry. Benu in SF and now this one. My new favorite restaurant. This place destroys EMP at it's prime when they won best restaurant in the world. Do yourself a favor and go dine here. If this was in London it'd be the most obvious choice, but I think most miss it because they are ignorant or unwilling to make the short trip.

I can't even describe it. Just wow. Food was weird, delicious and beautiful. If you go, the full 11 course meal is a journey that is well worth it. The staff are story tellers with food.

I've always been intrigued by molecular gastronomy and I have been wanting to try more fine dining, so I knew when I visited the UK I needed to try The Fat Duck. From the moment you enter the small airlock before going into the restaurant, you feel swept away to a whimsical place, like a trip into Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. We came for their Sensorium tasting menu which seeks to enthrall all 5 senses, and it surely does. Dining here can change your entire perception of food. My favorite dish is their Sound of the Sea which they claim will transport you to the seaside which I didn't really believe at first, but after trying it I realized it was true. When you close your eyes and wear the headphones and start eating the dish, your brain really feels like you're at the beach, seeing the sunlight hit your eyelid, feeling the foam of the ocean on your lip. Overall, they are masters of their craft here and really know how to create an immersive experience. I could go on-and-on about each course of their menu, but I don't want to spoil too many surprises. I definitely would come back one day once they have a new menu. I really enjoyed the non-alcoholic drink pairing which had a wide variety of unique drinks, so I would probably do that again as well.

I'm speechless. I don't possess the gifted genius to even comprehend the level of creativity, artistry, food-chemistry, and skill, let alone the sheer grit and guts to even fantasize what becomes behind the nondescript walls of that remodeled old tavern. All I can do is appreciate the once in a lifetime experience. And thanks to the impeccable storyteller waitstaff for caring for our bicycles during our fantasy experience.

How does one even begin to describe an experience at The Fat Duck? Is it even possible? That sh*t cray. We've been to Alinea, and while we were definitely entertained there (see review), we felt that some of the food quality was sacrificed for spectacle. At The Fat Duck, you get both. We had the Sensorium experience--"a journey through the mind"--with certain components that were so over-the-top that they induced eye-rolling, but we have to say that for the most part, we were dazzled. We don't want to parade through every course, but will shout out some of our favorites and least favorites. The Nitroaperitif was an ideal start to the gastro-shenanigans, and while the aerated beetroot was tiny, it was delicious. The lobster and shiitake was pure joy; the sound of the sea was fun with the headphones, but the foam was really unappetizing, as were some of the other textures on the "seafloor." Best bread ever!!!! The "walk in the woods" was insane with the smoke, and the leaves were remarkable, but there was a bit too much jelly for one of us. The barley "haytack" on the beef course was probably one of our favorite bites of the night, and we loved the uniqueness of having three different cuts on one plate, but the largest one was way too tough. We went up to the cellar for the wine and lights show before the cheese course, and that was perfect timing. The only other thing that we didn't like was the mousse in the alphonso mango course--it just tasted/felt odd in the mouth. The whole kid in a candy shop thing was gimmicky but fun. We had some nice cocktails (lavender collins and a mezcal one) to start and the somm suggested a lovely dessert wine as well. Service was solid--sometimes the different global accents were hard to understand, and folks spoke too quickly, but that was no big deal. Everyone was really polite. We had asked for our courses to come out more quickly since we had a long drive back to London with a babysitter waiting, and they were great about that for the most part. We were lucky because we "caught up" to the people who were already seated before us and then we kept being surprised because our dishes were coming out first amongst the tables next to us. Obviously there's a lot we're leaving out, but we have to say that we have been to MANY of these types of restaurants, and rarely do we feel that they have been worth the price of entry (which is not for the faint of heart--our final bill creeped into the four figures!), but we can say that The Fat Duck was worth it. We had a great time, it was memorable, and we left on a high note. Not perfect, but close, so five stars.

I did a lay over in the UK at heathrow so we decided to taxi out to Bray for dinner at the Fat Duck. As on of the bucket lists places, I was excited for this opportunity. We booked well in advance on the day of opening reservations on tock which were gone in minutes. The restaurant is pretty small and cozy. The food was all on point. We experienced the sensorium meal. Everything tasted great but was slightly gimmicky (that was to be expected given the history of the fat duck). It worked. The fat duck is a fun experience. There weren't any extravagant ingredients but every dish worked well. Definitely worth the trip

We traveled to the Fat Duck from London by train to Maidenhead and then taxi to Bray, a small town where most folks come in because of the restaurant. We got there early and headed to the Hinds Head next door (also owned by Heston and really great). But onto the Fat Duck.. we been to several Michelin restaurants and this was by far the most unique and immersive. We came in May 2022 and they were on anthology menu #4. We sat down and were given a booklet to read through which gave information and stories about each course, plus we were given a magnifying glass to use with the book because their slogan is "question everything." It's difficult to explain each course because they are so complex and put together with such skill and finesse; it really is like art. Their big thing is to focus on all 5 senses so the lighting above each table can be adjusted to the dish being served and we had some courses focused on sound and smell while we ate, which was really cool and so different. So many dishes brought up emotions from our childhood and it was neat to talk about how some courses tasted different to my husband vs. me. Overall we had 11 courses with 4 being smaller bites. Some I thought tasted better than others, but they really were creative presenting foods that don't normally go together, together in new and exciting ways. We were there for about 3 hours, 45 min (we got hot chocolate at the end, asked lots of questions, got a tour of the kitchen, etc). Also the servers and waitstaff were excellent - definitely provided great service like so many Michelin restaurants do, but even more than that they spoke about food and these courses with such passion. We've never had staff exude that much passion for food before, it was really neat to see and made us appreciate it all that much more. My only complaint was we sat by the hallway that leads to the kitchen, which means we watched everyone's plates come out. We wanted to be surprised for each course but it made it hard when the dishes were right in our line of sight. Also during the seashell course, we were given headphones to listen to beach waves while eating a seafood dish (which was so cool!) but the table next to us was so loud that it ruined the experience for me. I know it would be really difficult to do, but I wish every table was seated at the same time and each course was presented at the same time. It would give a much better experience to everyone and wouldn't spoil the surprise along the way. If that were to happen it would've been an experience way more than a dinner. Or, have people sit in pods so you can't tell what's going on at the tables next to you. That said, it's amazing and the talent executed by the kitchen and the staff is not to be missed. Do yourself a favor and go appreciate it for yourself!

Low ceiling and dim lights to set to an intimate journey. The journey was approximately 3-4 hours in length thats personalized and playful and keeps you excited on what's coming next. The journey comes to life with scents, sounds, and visuals along with various dishes representing each stop. My favorite stop was the holiday story dinner, three course including their signature snail porridge with iberico bellota ham and shaved fennel. And the dessert- various circular filled desserts, not knowing what to expect, some better than others but overall interesting flavors and very good. Looks like ice cream but isn't cold or ice cream. Mad Hatter tea party with a tea bag that melts as you prepare it and turns into mock turtle soup. Memorable experience and worth the trip out to Bray when in UK.

I went to the Fat Duck a couple of years ago with 5 other people, the table had been booked long in advance. The building is crooked and cool, with low ceilings. The food was as much art and sensory experience as it was tasty. Some of the dishes I still recall fondly, years later, and the GREEN kale-y snail porridge (which was unedible for erm one of us but the other 5 did eat) I still laugh about. The timing and pairings were wonderful, though we did find (keep in mind, my table mates were Scotsmen...) they were a little cheap with the wine. Less than a glass per dish for sure, which would be reasonable after the first few dishes, of course, since there were like 16 dishes, but it would have been nice to have something to nip at while waiting for the next dish during the first couple of courses. We were first offered champagne, which was awesome, and we said yes please, but keep in mind this is at an EXTRA charge. Some of the dishes were mind-bogglingly beautiful, others super original, and of course some were a bit like "but why" (you made me listen to ocean sounds for 20 minutes because...Im supposed to get a sense of the ocean, I guess? Okay). Clearly some of the dishes were more experience than taste, which is cool but weird. Also sometimes we were like "are we supposed to eat this..?" because there was a lot of weird stuff and sometimes non-food looked like food and vice versa (we had a plate holder that looked like a beach or something, which we stared at for five minutes before the waiter brought us a single mushroom and an octopus eye or whatever, you feel me). So yes, the food was amazing, and the amount of work and styling possibly reflects the pricing, but unfortunately the memory that stuck with me was the snooty waiter's reaction (and btw oh my god that French cheesegirl was condescending to everyone) when I had the gall to ask for salt and pepper JUST FOR THE BREAD, I wasn't even going to "edit" their dishes, for fox sake, I just enjoy salt-n-peppering the delish butter on my starter bread :( She looked at me like I was a slimy, kale-covered snail and finally said "... I'll see if we maybe have some in the kitchen..." gurl I know yall have salt and pepper in this establishment! Get ready for an amazing, artful, extremely long-winded meal, and turn your nose up and to prepare for the wait staff to think you are all lowly scrubs. :)

My review for fat duck is long overdue. Going on The Fat Duck's "journey" is more like an evening's theatre than a meal. There is a large cast, and each plays their part perfectly. From the doorman that greets you to the guide on your journey and all the specialist food preparers and servers that come to your table over the 4 or 5 hours you are seated. The low key building exterior gives way to an equally low key interior. However the quality throughout is undeniable. Interesting and enjoyable evening with world class food and possibly the best service in the world. Do take time to complete the questionnaire that they send you before arrival. They do customise your experience based on what you tell them. It is a meal like no other. Something to remember for years to come. Worthy of a michelin star.