[Closed] Heston's Fat Duck - is it worth a trip?

I have it..

I have the answer...

No, No I really do...

Listen up you lot..

Waitrose, Waitrose are doing a range of Heston's stuff at the moment.

You'd get a lot, I mean an awful lot or Pine Covered Mince Pies for £200.00

Off you go..

And don't thank me.

No, don't.

"I'd be interested to know if anyone goes regularly. A good test of whether a restaurant really is worth it is if you go back. If the food really is that good, you go again."

The food is very good but given that it is a set menu which changes infrequently and it's quite a long duration meal it's not the sort of place you go back to week after week. We only go back to one expensive restaurant because there's enough other good places to choose from given my limited dining out to so I try new ones

friends parents go every couple of months.

I would go in a shot. In fact it's my 40th in 18mish, so I might start dropping hints now.

£160 was cheaper than I expected tbh.

Would love to have eaten at El Bulli, having seen it on the telly - but not sure I'm quite sold on the Fat Duck.

Anyway, wife would rather go to Michel's place.

🙂

Of the series, I've found Tom Kerridge of the Hand and Flowers the most appealing of the Top Chefs. He comes across as a down to earth chap who makes good food to Michelin standard without all the pretension.

Next time I'm near Marlow I'm going

You won't be disappointed.

And the £200-per-head cost is part of that marketing plan to keep it aspirational.

I'm sure I read somewhere that due to the ridiculously complex preparation methods, he doesn't turn a profit at the fat duck, or at least isn't making much out of it. But it means he can get all the other work off the back of it (tv and promotional stuff), so he does well in the end. Dunno if it's true, but it is plausible if you look at the stuff they do.

I haven't been to the Fat Duck but I have been to some decent restaurants including Dinner by Heston at the Mandarin Oriental and the meal was mind blowingly good - every course was better than everything else I have tried, as was every part of the experience.

So yes I would say if food is your thing the Fat Duck would be quite an experience.

I'm sure I read somewhere that due to the ridiculously complex preparation methods , he doesn't turn a profit at the fat duck, or at least isn't making much out of it.

The whole masterchef-heston-michelin-stars-celebrity-restaurant-telly thing is just one massive self promoting reach-around (Tom Kerridge excepted, for good reason*).
And anyone who can pay £500 for a meal for two there has to convince themselves it was great. The brain won't let them do otherwise, well not twice anyway - unless they're particularly partial to cookery telly.
Never trust a skinny chef.

[i]And anyone who can pay £500 for a meal for two there has to convince themselves it was great.[/i]

Like people who claim they can feel the difference between a difference in stiffness/responsiveness/whatever between a £30 and £100 pair of handlebars, or that their £350 XTR cranks are definately stiffer than some £75 Deore ones, or that their £500 853 frame feels more 'alive' or 'zingy' than a £100 Inbred...

And anyone who can pay £500 for a meal for two there has to convince themselves it was great.

Anyone who can pay £500 for a meal for two there is only doing it so they can bellow very loudly at every possible opportunity that they've eaten at the Fat Duck, and bask in the reverence whilst all the plebs are dumbstruck at how awesome they must be.

😀

[i]I think the near 1-1 chef to customer ratio may be a strong factor in the price.[/i]
Employing a qualified chef to ensure lollypop sticks are lined up perfectly level does not make it "worth it".
[i]Like people who claim they can feel the difference between a difference in stiffness/responsiveness/whatever between a £30 and £100 pair of handlebars, or that their £350 XTR cranks are definately stiffer than some £75 Deore ones, or that their £500 853 frame feels more 'alive' or 'zingy' than a £100 Inbred...[/i]
I know what you're saying in a way, but that would be like saying that the ingredients don't matter in in a meal. An improved analogy is that it's more like the people who think this bike is worth Eight and a half grand.
[img] [/img]

[b]bikebouy[/b]
I have it..

I have the answer...

No, No I really do...

Listen up you lot..

Waitrose, Waitrose are doing a range of Heston's stuff at the moment.

You'd get a lot, I mean an awful lot or Pine Covered Mince Pies for £200.00

Off you go..

And don't thank me.

No, don't.

😆

My lad last night practically said the same thing (but he was serious!).

"Instead of spending £100s of pounds why don't we just buy the Heston stuff in waitrose?" he asked.

Why the negativity in some posts?

The FD represents the pinnacle of one profession. I would doubt that anyone would go there on a regular basis and that is not the point of the place. It is (apparently) to test you taste buds (and other sensory organs) and to have a very special eating experience. On the face of it the bill seems steep, but put into the context of paying for top professionals in other areas, is it that extreme? A top consultant charges £250 before you get your kit off, a lawyer similar when you pick up the phone and how much is a day with Jedi? Or is there something different about the food/dining that makes people feel uncomfortable about spending that sort of money?

I have never been to the FD, but when I compared the value there to how much I have spent in my LBS recently on bits and pieces with relatively low value add, I know where the real VFM lies!!!

If people want to [b]brand themselves[/b] as plebs and [b]give reverence[/b] to others simply because they chose to spend money on a meal out, then I think the problem lies more with the former than the latter.

Even at a couple of hundred pounds a head, a meal's not worth eating without at least a £500 bottle of wine... with each course 8)

If it's not steeped in lard and fried to death inside an old truck tire with a half-a-hundredweight helping of potato blight, it's not "reet proper" food, apparently...

I've eaten at the Fat Duck and numerous other 3*'s. Food is a big interest of mine, my wife trained at Leiths so her's also.

Simply, if you're into food, even in the slightest then view a meal the the Fat Duck as an experience, and for that c£500 for dinner is well worth it.

Obviously if you're not into food then you're going to think its a waste of money.

But of all the meals I've had then Fat Duck is right up there with Noma.

And anyone who can pay £500 for a meal for two there has to convince themselves it was great.

This is just really silly. Most people would think £500 is a lot for a bike.

And I've had plenty bad or at least non memorable meals for £500.

Anyone who can pay £500 for a meal for two there is only doing it so they can bellow very loudly at every possible opportunity that they've eaten at the Fat Duck, and bask in the reverence whilst all the plebs are dumbstruck at how awesome they must be.

LOL why is it so many people think others people reaction is the only reason to spend money.

I hate it when someone says I only own a decent bike to show off - in fact my most expensive bike is pure used for solo trips and is basically caked in mud and only really a very trained eye would know its a decent piece of kit, and I certainly don't tell people about it (except occasionally to you lot!)

Hand and Flowers is fantastic but make sure you book. Often does set price lunches which are great value and we hadn't booked last time I went but they let us sit at the bar which was nice bit don't think they usually do that.

Suspect it will be even busier following the Masterchef publicity.

A friend was a diner at one of the restaurants filmed on Masterchef some years ago, the restaurants are closed and they generally invite their best customers for a free meal for the MC filming.

If you want a bit of the Heston experience on the cheap go to the Little Chef at Popham.

If you want a bit of the Heston experience on the cheap go to the Little Chef at Popham.

Some people genuinely do have too much money.

[url= http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4696506/playboy-blows-121000-on-champagne-after-casino-win.html ]£120k bar bill.[/url]

or that their £500 853 frame feels more 'alive' or 'zingy' than a £100 Inbred

For me, i'd never pay to fund the man's horrendous prescription glasses habit.
Never trust a chef who intentionally chooses glasses that challenge his chromosones

I booked a table at the Hand & Flowers on the strength of what we saw on MC. Looking forward to it.

I really can't see why this is so devisive amongst a group that without a second thought, blow £10kkkk's on needless discretionary spend.

''people disagree over price of £200 snail ice cream shocker''

Did anyone try the whisky wine gums?

They intrigued me the most.

Great thread.

Only on middle-class-guilt-track-world would the hand wringers criticise a £160 meal but consider £1000+ mountain bikes to be the norm.

There are some proper bellends on this thread who always jump at the chance to demonstrate their leftist credentials yet will start a pointless angsty thread about some niche component they can't decide whether to buy or not!

Always great entertainment this forum.

Always great entertainment this forum.

Your posts excepted of course.