The Waterside Inn: Situated in the village of Bray, Berkshire and over looking the River Thames, it is only a a stones throw away from The Fat Duck. The Waterside Inn is one is one of only three restaurants in the UK to hold 3 Michelin Stars. Opened by Michel Roux Snr in around 1974, the restaurant is now run by his son Alain Roux.
Review: This was my second visit to The Waterside Inn, the last being in April of 2007. Our table was booked for 8pm and we arrived shortly before. We were greeted by the doorman whilst still in our car. He very kindly offered to park my car and my guests and I entered the restaurant. We were met by a very nice French lady and told that unfortunately there was no room in the lounge area and would we be happy to go straight to our table adding that it was a table with lovely views over the river. The atmosphere was very warm and welcoming and our table was a delight, over looking the River Thames as promised. We ordered some pink champagne as it was a special occasion (my parents wedding anniversary) and looked through the menu. We opted for Le Menu Exceptionnel, a five course tasting menu along with a bottle of red which for the life of my I can't remember what is was!
Before the main event, we were served a pre-starter which include a nice little cheese puff twirl, some pork belly with Chinese spices and a tuna based munchie with a quails egg. All very nice!!
Our starter was Bluefin tuna and scallops marinated in virgin olive oil and yuzu juice, garnished with a spicy guacamole and lamb’s lettuce. This was absolutely delicious and a great start to the meal with coriander in the dish it packed a punch but allowed you to taste the scallop and tuna too.
Next up was the fish course, a Fillet of turbot baked in a vine leaf, served with white grapes and a “verjus” emulsion. I have to say, this was a little bland and lacked seasoning in my opinion. Beautifully presented, I felt the need to use the salt on the table which is unheard of for me to do in a restaurant of this standard. A little disappointing.
After the first course we were given a refreshing tutti-frutti citrus sorbet as a pallet cleanser which was lovely and set me up nicely for the main course.
Roasted loin of venison in a pastry crust with wild mushrooms, garnished with florets of broccoli, Hermitage wine sauce with blackcurrant vinegar. What a treat this was, absolutely lovely and perfectly cooked. This again lacked a little seasoning, but with a touch of salt this dish was perfection and without question something that I would order again and again.
Finally, we opted for the large selection of French and English unpasteurised farm cheeses with some biscuits and crackers to go with it. As expected the selection of cheese was amazing, it really was top notch and is making me hungry just thinking about it. We had a couple of glasses of port to go with the cheese and some coffee and petit fours to follow. All topped off with a visit from Alain Roux who very kindly wished my parents a happy anniversary. Tremendous.
Conclusion: I never fail to be impressed with The Waterside Inn, the service is superb, very friendly and relaxed whilst being completely professional at all times. The food was excellent and of a very high standard and given how much we enjoyed the evening the chef can be forgiven for slightly under seasoning a couple of dishes.
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