Category: UK

The Waterside Inn – old fashioned comfort

I found the food at  The Waterside Inn in Bray to be quite conventional, fairly typical french haute cuisine. I have to admit I expected a lot more from a 3 star Michelin – I suspect at least 1 star applied to the location.

It was also a bit of a struggle to find a reasonably priced bottle of Champagne – the wine list was a bit daunting. That said it was a lovely day out. The Waterside Inn is a very comfortable venue. We made our selves at home, spending hours out on the terrace after lunch drinking brandy that was older than we were, and indulging in a little too much PX.

Here is a short video about The Waterside Inn:-

 

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The Chop House – good old spot

The Bar in the Chop House in Butlers Wharf is a really civilised venue for breakfast, it is especially lovely on a sunny day when you can sit outside and watch the boats on the river, taking in the stunning views of Tower bridge.  The menu is excellent, I would especially recommend the Gloucester Old Spot sausages. It is best to reserve a table for breakfast as this is a very popular venue.

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Marks out of 10

Food 6.5

Service 5

Location 7

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Wapping Food – Wapping Project at the Hydraulic Power Station

Great place to go on a bright sunny day, when the sun is streaming in the windows, and lighting up this very unusual venue which incorporates an art gallery. When it’s really hot, they also occasionally serve food in the garden. The food is simple and fresh, they also have a small selection of good wines.

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The restaurant has 1 AA Rosette, which it certainly merits.

Marks out of 10

Food 6

Service 6

Ambience 6

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The Fat Duck – OTT

The Fat Duck in Bray is the complete opposite of its near neighbour the Waterside Inn, The Waterside goes for old fashioned comfort (old money clientele), the Fat Duck does “flash” (new money clientele).

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The room is minimalist in style and the food is excellent with very over the top presentation.

We visited before the recent alleged food poisoning problems, and experienced all the trade mark gimmicks – Dry Ice, Dragons Breath, IPods and the obligatory Snails Porridge. We also went for a matching flight of wines. There are two price options here, expensive and extortionate.  We restrained ourselves and kept the wine bill under £100 per person.

It was an experience, but I have to admit I missed the warmth of the Waterside Inn as once the meal is finished, there is no way you would want to hang around or indeed be encouraged to hang around in the rather cold room.  Then again I guess that is why Heston Blumenthal’s Hinds Head is only a few yards away.

The Fat Duck is currently number 2 on the S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list.

 

 

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Hibiscus – too much hype!

For a while Hibiscus seemed to be the most talked about place.  Everyone just raved about it. We even had it recommended while in L’Astrance in Paris.

The conclusion from our visit on a Saturday evening when they only do tasting menus (a rather mercenary approach in my view), was that it was over hyped, overpriced rather boring food.

When the best dish in a £175 a head meal (food with matching wines) is the cheese course, then there is something wrong.

This restaurant is currently number 56 on the S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list. It has 2 Michelin stars and 4 AA Rosettes, so it should have been superb or a least very good, as at this level there really should be no off days.

Very disappointing

Marks out of 10

Food 4

Service 4

Ambience 7

 

 

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Dockmasters House – pre cinema treat

Dockmasters House looks very out of place now in the Docklands, surrounded by warehouse style buildings and opposite a multiplex cinema. It is such a stunning building, both inside and out. The modern Indian food is top notch,  they do a pre theatre menu that is ideal if you want to splash out on something a bit special before hitting West India Quay Cineworld, which  is now my cinema of choice for several reasons:-

1 – it’s a modern cinema complex with a good sound system

2 – it’s cheaper than central London

3 – central London cinemas do not have Dockmasters House next door.

Marks out of 10 for Dockmasters House

Food 6.5

Service 6.5

Ambience 7

 

 

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