The Fat Duck

The Fat Duck is a restaurant run by chef Heston Blumenthal in Bray, Berkshire, England. In 2005 it was named as the best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine, and it came second in 2004, 2006 and 2007. Unlike most of the top ranked restaurants, which are located in exclusive districts of major cities, The Fat Duck is to be found in a modest cottage style house in a country village. Bray is also home to Michel Roux's Waterside Inn, which was ranked as the sixth best restaurant in the UK and the nineteenth best in the world.
In the 12 years since he opened The Fat Duck, Heston Blumenthal has succeeded in luring gastronomes from all over the world to his petite Bray restaurant. British gastronomy (ha!) is given a shake-up care of intriguing dishes like his Salmon Poached with Licorice and Sardine on Toast Sorbet.

The Fat Duck is a restaurant run by chef Heston Blumenthal in Bray, Berkshire, England. In 2005 it was named as the best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine, and it came second in 2004, 2006 and 2007. Unlike most of the top ranked restaurants, which are located in exclusive districts of major cities, The Fat Duck is to be found in a modest cottage style house in a country village. Bray is also home to Michel Roux's Waterside Inn, which was ranked as the sixth best restaurant in the UK and the nineteenth best in the world.
In the 12 years since he opened The Fat Duck, Heston Blumenthal has succeeded in luring gastronomes from all over the world to his petite Bray restaurant. British gastronomy (ha!) is given a shake-up care of intriguing dishes like his Salmon Poached with Licorice and Sardine on Toast Sorbet.
Blumenthal has a deep interest in the history of food, and the French culinary traditions in particular. The Fat Duck began as a bourgeois French restaurant, and many of dishes are variations on traditional French dishes, such as petit sale - a method of cooking poultry by steeping it in spicy salt water. As of March 2007 there are two menus

A la carte costs £80 per person and the tasting menu costs £115 per person, excluding wine and an optional 12.5% service charge. A selection of 8 wines to accompany the 16-course tasting menu can be had for £90 per person, with an alternative selection of more expensive wines available for £295. In addition, at the end of the meal there is a tea menu with a selection of herbal and fine Chinese teas in the £5 to £20 per person price range.

Behind the stove:
Heston Blumenthal and Head Chef Ashley Palmer-Watts

Always on the menu:
A variation on the famous Egg and Bacon Ice Cream - Nitro-scrambled Egg and Bacon Ice Cream, Pain Perdu, Tea Jelly (2006)

Random fact:
Much has been made of Blumenthal's hobby of kickboxing, but apparently in his youth, breakdancing was his thing

Wine list: £30 to £5,500
High Street, Bray, Berkshire, SL6 2AQ, England
+44 (0)1628 580333www.fatduck.co.uk