Topic: The Fat Duck & Fine Dining Thread

[The G in Gerrard]

I love hearing about this kind of stuff. Mad this is all happening while everyday people are reading about food shortages for basic food items.

Can't wait for Jay Rayner does a proper review for the Guardian.

Salt Bae’s new restaurant has £11 Red Bulls and £630 steaks on the menu - and the internet is stunned

Sharing a receipt from dinner at the restaurant on its opening night, a Twitter user by the name of Jamz shared the eye-watering bill which included a giant tomahawk steak worth £630 and Red Bulls at £11 a pop.



https://www.indy100.com/viral/salt-bae-nusr-et-knightsbridge-prices-b1928276

One of the Twitter responses.

Obscene prices. I've spent silly amounts before but £80 for coffee & £100 for a burger is bad enough.

[.adam]

Off to The Whitebrook in Monmouthshire next weekend. Meal booked for the Saturday night, couple of walks on the Saturday and Sunday. Maybe a visit out to Ross-on-Wye.

[red_Mark1980]

Has anyone been to the Fat Duck recently. Obviously the cost is somewhat different now Heston has three stars.

Whats the best way to get a reservation? Looks like you can scramble for a table for 4. But unfortunately nothing for two

[BarryCrocker]

Just got back from a recent trip back to Dublin and London. Couldn't get anywhere near a place at Aimsir in Dublin so decided to take a punt Variety Jones and it did not disappoint. Small 26 seater with a 6 course set menu for 75E. Fantastic food and an amazing team in the kitchen and out front.

Also managed to squeeze in the Social Eating House (Soho) & Kerridge's Bar & Grill (Corinthia London) which were both superb which was to be expected considering the price and reputation.

[.adam]

Off to The Whitebrook in Monmouthshire next weekend. Meal booked for the Saturday night, couple of walks on the Saturday and Sunday. Maybe a visit out to Ross-on-Wye.

Forgot to give an update to this. Was very disappointed with the experience.

First issue was being completely unable to get a taxi to the restaurant from the centre of Monmouth. Not their fault, it seems that at the time we visited there was a chronic shortage of taxis in the area. I ended up driving there with the intention of getting the restaurant to book us a taxi for the way home. I'd leave the car in the car park and we'd wander over the next day to collect it.

We arrive around 5 minutes late due to the issue with the taxis and are told that we missed our sitting time and will have to get a drink at the bar and wait for the next sitting to start at 8:30. Not the end of the world.

I explain the issue and ask the Front of House to book us a taxi for around 3 hours time. He says no problem.

About an hour in, and after a couple of glasses of wine, I ask how the taxi situation is looking. "I'm sorry Sir, I have other guests to attend to so I am not going to be able to call to book you a taxi". I was fucking livid to be honest. Told him he could have had the courtesy of letting me know as I would have tempered my alcohol consumption accordingly. Switched to water straight away.

Food was largely mediocre, no knockout dishes (I literally can't remember a single one) and wine had very few afforable options. It's one of my biggest annoyances with nice restaurants if their wine starts at £50 upwards. Feels like you're being fleeced.

End of the night I drive home after two small glasses of wine. I asked him to remove the 12.5% service charge off the bill and left no tip.

Off to Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall, just outside of Ripon, next week for our wedding anniversary. Looking forward to it. I've pre-booked taxis in both directions

[.adam]

Off to Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall, just outside of Ripon, next week for our wedding anniversary.

What a fantastic experience this was.

First of all, the location is utterly fabulous. We caught a taxi from Ripon (about £15 each way) and approached Grantley Hall, following the beautiful winding drive next to a little river right to the front of the building which is quite simply magnificent. Supercars lined up outside the front of the 18th century building which has been renovated to a superb standard with beautifully manicured grounds.



We arrived early to grab a drink first and went to their Pan-Asian bar/restaurant called EightyEight. For those who've visited Tattu in Manchester, it's a similar vibe; dark room with dashes of neon colour. The main bar was booked for a private function so we headed downstairs to an equally nice space where we had a couple of cocktails from their signature menu. Both were great and a good way to start.

We then wandered back over to the main Hall and took our seats in the restaurant. Little touches here stood out - small table offered to the wife for her to store her handbag, pillow support offered to her as the seats were deep and you could get lost in them, questions about allergies and any preferences to adapt the menu and so on.

The wine list was perhaps a little pricey - we got a bottle of Txakolina (about £50) and then a Vinho Verde (about £40), both of which had a hefty markup applied to what you can pick them up for from a local wine shop/supermarket but they were at the cheaper end of the menu and we knew we'd like them.

I won't go into the food in detail but it was a near 100% hit. Some of the dishes had main stars including langoustine, lamb, turbot, kohlrabi, caviar, celeriac and beetroot. The bread and butter course in itself was a masterpiece - gorgeous crunchy sourdough slices served with whipped butter, compund butter and (my favourite) whipped beef dripping and bone marrow.

The only miss for me was a kohlrabi dish which had an element of raw kohlrabi - a bit too crunchy and vegetal for my liking.

Here's a snapshot of the dishes:



We headed through to the Norton Bar for our petit fours and to finish the wine. Lovely place to relax at the end of a hefty meal:



All in all, I can't recommend this place highly enough. I know that spending a lot of money on a meal isn't for everyone and it is all very poncey but compared to some of the prices charged nowadays by Moor Hall, L'Enclume, Ynishir etc., I thought £130 a head was very reasonable.

If you're thinking of celebrating a special occasion with a special meal, this is the one I'd recommend at the moment all things considered.

[.adam]

Off ot Gothenburg next week and have booked a table at Carbon. Looks excellent - really looking forward to it.

[BarryCrocker]

Had the joy of experiencing L'Enclume with their residency at Sydney's Bathers Pavilion. What an epic experience from the quality of the food, the match wines (entry level package) to the mix of floor staff from both venues. Sam Ward (MD) was working the floor and looked after my party of 3. After talking to one of my mates he admitted to Googling him (as he's a chef) and talked about the places he worked in London and Belfast. At the end of the session (we we're the last to leave) Simon Rogan came over and chatted with us for about 30mins. Talked about who long they'd been talking to the venue (pre-Covid), working with local suppliers and discovering new native ingredients (WA marron). Also chatted about the house they've been living in and the plans for his wife and kids to come over next week. Would love to get over the original but the chances of getting to a 40-seater in Cumbria is remote for me.

My mates went to the Mirazur pop-up back in March and they said it was very average. Sam said they sold out the 4k+ seats in a less than 48hours and that there was 1,400 people on the table-for-two waitlist.

[duvva 💅]

Had the joy of experiencing L'Enclume with their residency at Sydney's Bathers Pavilion. What an epic experience from the quality of the food, the match wines (entry level package) to the mix of floor staff from both venues. Sam Ward (MD) was working the floor and looked after my party of 3. After talking to one of my mates he admitted to Googling him (as he's a chef) and talked about the places he worked in London and Belfast. At the end of the session (we we're the last to leave) Simon Rogan came over and chatted with us for about 30mins. Talked about who long they'd been talking to the venue (pre-Covid), working with local suppliers and discovering new native ingredients (WA marron). Also chatted about the house they've been living in and the plans for his wife and kids to come over next week. Would love to get over the original but the chances of getting to a 40-seater in Cumbria is remote for me.

My mates went to the Mirazur pop-up back in March and they said it was very average. Sam said they sold out the 4k+ seats in a less than 48hours and that there was 1,400 people on the table-for-two waitlist.

Walked past their restaurant several times when staying in Cartmel a few years ago. Was very tempted but couldn’t justify it at the time. You’ve just made me regret that

[.adam]

Off ot Gothenburg next week and have booked a table at Carbon. Looks excellent - really looking forward to it.

Update since last trip. A good restaurant but two main issues:

1. Very slow service - we were in there for something approaching four hours. Too long for me.

2. A wine list which is designed to squeeze your wallet. The only list you're provided with is their vintages, starting at about £120 a pop. "We have other stuff too if you want to tell us what you like", we were told. We had a chat about wanting a light, easy-drinking white and had a Gruner Vetliner for about £70. Very pricey for what it was and no other menu was forthcoming so we had no idea if there was a cheaper option we could've plumped for.

Had a couple of glasses of fizz at about a tenner a pop which wasn't too bad and the dishes were all good. I enjoyed their Swedish aged cheese which was like a pecorino.

Have also visited Wood in Manchester over the past month which has moved away from a tasting menu to a la carte. We didn't overly rate the tasting menu last time we went a couple of years ago but the a la carte was top notch - we had a bunch of starters and ate them tapas style.

Off to The George at Alstonefield tomorrow which looks like it'll be a great meal with some good walking afterwards.

[Jookie]

Update since last trip. A good restaurant but two main issues:

1. Very slow service - we were in there for something approaching four hours. Too long for me.

2. A wine list which is designed to squeeze your wallet. The only list you're provided with is their vintages, starting at about £120 a pop. "We have other stuff too if you want to tell us what you like", we were told. We had a chat about wanting a light, easy-drinking white and had a Gruner Vetliner for about £70. Very pricey for what it was and no other menu was forthcoming so we had no idea if there was a cheaper option we could've plumped for.

Had a couple of glasses of fizz at about a tenner a pop which wasn't too bad and the dishes were all good. I enjoyed their Swedish aged cheese which was like a pecorino.

I go to Gothenburg a few times a year with work so might check this place out.

Few good places I've been recently:

1921 - Bury St Edmunds

This place is amazing. Canapes (tikka frog legs and vodka cod were unreal) and cocktails to start. Then 3 courses of unbelievable food. Had Mersea crab with pickled wasabi mooli to start.Guinea fowl with chanterelles and salt and vinegar potatoes for main. Dessert was a chocolate and coconut number. Think it was about £70-80 a head.

Lark - Bury St Edmunds

This review by Jay Raynor sums it up better than I could. Small place with <20 covers serving small plates of British/French cuisine. Had wine and negronis with the meal. Was 4 of eating (had about 15-16 dishes and deserts) and it came to about £300 for meal and drinks so on the expensive side of things but really special and different.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/jul/16/lark-bury-st-edmunds-clever-relaxed-and-hugely-enjoyable-restaurant-review


Jo Jos -  Tankerton

Spanish Tapas style food set in a restaurant with views of the see. Sevice here is always amazing with food to match. Miles better than a standard tapas restaurant. Been one of my favourites for years, with some staples but a changing specials board. Outside The Sportsman, I say it's the best restaurant I've been to in Kent.

HawksMoor - London (Air Street)

Got the Porterhouse to share between 4 of us (about 250g each). With sides of beef dripping chips, mac and cheese and buttered greens. Also got bone marrow gravy. Cherry negronis to start were good. Had a bottle of wine between us. Was about £85 a head so not the cheapest.

Off to Mowgli on Saturday as they've just opened one up by mine.