So I took my Hubby to the Fat Duck in April to celebrate his 40th Birthday and I’ve finally got around to doing my Report, I think it may be longer than my wedding report!
So my hubby is a pretty lucky bloke, on the Friday I threw him a surprise party. He was truly shocked and touched that so many of his friends had made the effort to travel to be there! He was so grateful and mentioned he was going to have to start thinking about my 30th (next Oct) to top it. “just you wait until Tuesday, I thought!”
So Tuesday, his birthday came. He opened all his cards and pressies then I handed him a card I had managed to get signed by Danny Thompson, a bass play who is his idol! The look on his face when he read it was priceless and he actually shed a tear! I also gave him his personalised converse which he loved. Then I gave him his main pressie, I had printed off the menu for the Fat Duck Taster menu and framed it! He was really chuffed. He said he had suspected but he was still excited.
After breakfast we headed off and checked into Monkey Island. It is a lovely hotel on an Island on the Thames. It was being renovated and unfortunately we didn’t get one of the newly done rooms but it was still lovely! We had a walk around the grounds, meeting then running away from peacocks and had a very light lunch, we didn’t want to spoil our appetites! We were told it would take about 15 mins to walk into Bray so we decided to walk in and get a taxi back as we had plenty of time.
We popped into The Crown pub for a couple of drinks. A couple came in who had just had lunch at the FD and were discussing it, we tried so hard not to listen!
We then popped over to the Hinds Head (Heston’s Pub) which is right next door for a drink, this seemed to be where all the FD clientele were having their pre-dinner drinks!
From the moment we arrived, the service was AMAZING! So courteous and friendly! Each time I came back from the loo, out of nowhere someone would appear to pull my chair out and fan out my napkin! We were shown to our table by the maitre d and introduced to our waiter for the evening. The first thing they asked was which of us was the vegetarian (I mentioned this when booking) then they gave us each our menu (huge leather bound books)for the evening and explained that if there was something we were unsure of her would happily explain and if we wanted to substitute anything to please ask! They were really friendly and I didn’t feel at all stupid for asking questions!
We were given an envelope each which they explained had a copy of the menu for us to refer to throughout the evening and to take home with us!
Then we got the wine list, it was one of the biggest, tickets leather bound books I’ve ever seen!! The sommelier asked if we needed any help or recommendations, and described the 2 we were torn between. There were some wines in there that would have cost me 2 months wages for a bottle but they had a great selection at a variety of prices!
We were given a pallet cleanser that was like beetroot flavoured honeycomb with a creamy sandwich filling. They were small and popped in the mouth and really did the job!
There are obviously tables there that are a course or two ahead of you and its hard not to look around and ruin the surprise! The table next to us did get a substitution for the nitro scrambled eggs, which was great to watch!
So on to the food, our waiter explained everything as it was put down and was happy to answer any questions! I’ll just work my way through the menu with a little description of each and of any theatrics we had! There are a couple of photos too but H got embarrassed and didn’t want me taking too many! There are plenty of other visitor’s photos on Trip advisor 
There was a smell coming out and with the thing melting in my mouth, it was like being in a misty forest!! The truffle toast was delicious and the jelly was small and light but with a powerful punch of flavour!
- SNAIL PORRIDGE
- Iberico Bellota Ham, Shaved Fennel
(veggie-parsley porridge with shaved fennel)
Probably one of the FD’s most famous meals, it was strange eating what was obviously porridge oats but it was savoury! This Is H’s snail version, as you can see just a couple of small snails scattered on top!
- ROAST FOIE GRAS
- Rhubard, Braised Konbu and crab biscuit
(veggie- Roasted Aubergine, aubergine puree & braised Konbu)
I don’t remember this course as much, so obviously less theatrical!
- MAD HATTER'S TEA PARTY (c.1850)
- Mock Turtle Soup, Pocket Watch and Toast Sandwich
This was brilliant, this course was defiantly more about the theatre than the food, We had these amazing cake stands placed in front of us,
we were both then given a book mark with an extract from Alice in Wonderland on and given some time to read it. (we got to keep them too, H actually dropped his on the floor and they picked it up, took it away and gave him a new one!) Then they came over with a bowl with some small items of food in then a glass tea pot and cup and saucer. The waiter placed the gold pocket watch in the cup and poured the hot water over it and it all dissolved in to a broth with the flakes of gold. This was then poured over the item in the bowl!
- "SOUND OF THE SEA"
The only difference between mine and H’s were that his was fish based and mine was mushroom. I’m not the biggest mushroom fan but I thought id give Michelin stared mushrooms ago!
Placed in front of us we a large shell with a iPod shuffle in. We were asked to put the head phones in. The sound was of the seaside, crashing waves and seagulls!
Then this got placed in front of us.....
The food is served on glass which underneath has sand. Everything on the glass was edible, the sane, seaweed fish/shrooms! The foam from the crashing waves, which was a bit salty and along with the music started to remind me of getting caught under a current once!
H Enjoying his!
- SALMON POACHED IN A LIQUORICE GEL
- Asparagus, Vanilla Mayonnaise and Golden Trout Roe
(Beetroot Risotto, Sour cream sorbet)
My risotto was placed in front of me and the waited ‘flicked’ the sorbet on the top, the risotto was a very strong flavour and the cool bursts of sour cream helped to soften it.
- ANJOU PIGEON
- Blood pudding, Risotto of Spelt and Umbles
(veggie- Vegetarian Bone Marrow, marmite broth and sauce gribiche)
This was H’s favourite course, he absolutely loved the pigeon, and unfortunately it was my least favourite! It was stuffed heart of palm and the along with the unattractiveness and the fact I was starting to get full, I didn’t eat much of it! The marmite broth was yummy though!
- HOT AND ICED TEA
Delicious, fascinating and amazing! They placed these glasses in front of us and instructed us where to sip from. One half of my mouth filled with a cool refreshing liquid and the other half filled with a warm one!
- GALETTE OF RHUBARB
- Neroli Scented Yoghurt & Rhubarb Sorbet
YUMMY!!! I think this was my favourite!!! Absolutely light and delicious and a thin, crisp slice of rhubarb on top! Could have eaten a much bigger portion!
- THE "BFG"
- Kirsch Ice Cream and the smell of the Black Forest
By this time I was quite full and I’m not a fan of black forest gateaux, I wasn’t really looking forward to this, but it was lovely, so light as well!
- WHISK(E)Y WINE GUMS
As you can see, these were little jelly sweets stuck to a frame, each was flavoured with a different whisky and the picture in the frame was a map telling you where each whisky was from! They were yummy, H is a big whisky fan so he took his time and really enjoyed them!
- "LIKE A KID IN A SWEET SHOP"
This was one of my favourite courses. They presented us each with a retro striped paper bag, Inside was a chocolate with a honeycomb of chocolate inside of it and topped by apricot jam; a caramel on which the wrapper was also edible; tobacco-soaked shredded coconut in a little bag that looked like bacy; a white chocolate Queen of Hearts playing card with strawberry filling! H also had an envelope in his, it was a birthday card signed by Heston! It was such a nice touch! Luckily as they were in the paper bags, we could take them home with us. We were so full and I couldn’t have eaten another thing! We even decided to walk back to the hotel to try and walk some of it off!
It was certainly an experience both the food and the way it was served and the service! We were there almost 5 hours! We never felt rushed or as if they were waiting for us to finish up and go home. In fact half the restaurant was still full when we left at midnight!
The tasting menu for two, plus 2 bottles of wine and service (plus a never ending supply of delicious bread!) came to £535
(Monkey Island was £99 B&B)
For someone who appreciates food it is defiantly worth it for a special occasion! H has decided that he didn’t get to take everything in though so would like to go again some time! I’ve told him maybe for his 80th !!
If you have any questions or if you want me to ask H about any more details on his meat dishes, please do just ask!
