The Fat Duck in London

My boyfriend had been salivating over the thought of dinner at The Fat Duck for years, so, on our most recent trip, we made a one-night stop in Bray, England (near Windsor), to eat at the highly acclaimed restaurant.

We did our research and knew The Fat Duck reached the No.1 place on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list (and was awarded No.2 five times) and was one of the most renowned three-star Michelin restaurants in the world. We made our reservations four months in advance and showed up with empty stomachs and high expectations.

The experience begins before you even reach the restaurant. Liam, our dedicated “storyteller” (a.k.a. waiter), got us on the phone ahead of time where he asked about our favorite childhood memories, culinary likes and dislikes, and recent experiences. I’ve never had a restaurant go to such measures to build rapport in advance.

Once at the restaurant we began a 16-course tasting menu of modern British cuisine meant to evoke memories of childhood holidays. It was a theatrical, multisensory journey equal parts playful and thoughtful. Snippets of our pre-dining phone call were woven into the dishes themselves; for example, we recently returned from Burning Man and found the logo emblazoned on one of the wooden toys that accompanied a meal.

The dining experience was just plain fun. There were interactive tableside displays, levitating plates, an old-fashioned miniturare candy store inside a dollhouse, and one seafood dish even came with earbuds attached to a conch shell to listen to a recording of the ocean while you ate. Don’t let that fool you into thinking they were making up for the quality of food: Every dish was a gastronomic masterpiece.

The Fat Duck is unquestionably worth the journey. Foodies: Set your calendar reminders for the next time reservations go live.

Link

Insert contact information