The Waterside Inn

A week after the Pretty Lady and I visited the Fat Duck, we were back in Bray, this time to visit the other 3 Michelin-starred restaurant in town, the Waterside Inn. Yes, it was extravagant, but Yumchia had invited us to go along with KY. The company was great, the food was supposed to be spectacular, and we could (just about) afford it, so why not? After all, it's 3 Michelin stars, the chef is Michel Roux, and it's got a long and distinguished track record. We couldn't wait.

The Waterside Inn
Ferry Road
Bray SL6 2AT
Berkshire
01628 620 691

The Waterside Inn is so called because it's located on the side of a pretty lake. The restaurant itself opens out onto the lakeside, and we enjoyed our amuse bouches together with some pre-lunch drinks on the terrace. A family of 6 got onto a little motorised boat, apparently to sail out into the lake and have their champagne and amuse bouches while watching the swans and ducks.

As far as the amuse-bouches went, they were tasty, but I've got a pretty poor memory, so I only remember one - a small heap of steak tartare on a little biscuit. That was spiced with coriander and parsley, and very tasty indeed.

After opening a bottle of Chablis (a Van Volxelm) We decided to order the tasting menus or Menu Exceptionnel, as it was called on the card. Since there were 4 of us, it was pretty easy to order, and we agreed beforehand that we would switch dishes halfway. That way, all 4 of us would get to taste everything. It's great eating out with other foodies.

The first courses were flaked Cornish crab with langoustine tails, served on a bed of mango and mint salsa

and

terrine of foie gras and chicken breast coated in pistachio nuts, served with grapes marinated in ratafia.

I started with the terrine. It was very well-made, but simple (and the pistachio nuts were embedded in the terrine, not coating it). There was more foie gras than I expected, and it went well with the slightly caramelised grapes that were bursting with ratafia flavour. In contrast, I found the crab pretty run-of-the-mill. Though very tasty and well-executed, the mango / mint / crab combination is quite common and I've had it before. The crab was fresh and flaked just right, but I think if the chef had used Alphonse mangoes the dish would have been perfect.

We then moved on to the fish course. The choices were pan fried scallop "a'la minute" with an einkorn risotto flavoured with sorrel and truffle

and

pan-fried lobster medallion with a white port sauce and ginger flavoured vegetable julienne.

I had the lobster first. As with all the dishes so far, it was well-executed and perfectly cooked. Unfortunately it lacked a twist, something unusual that would elevate it beyond good to great. In my opinion, the portion size was also a little small, with just 3 pieces of lobster. The white port sauce was delicious, but I feel the ginger and vegetable julienne didn't add anything to the dish. The scallops however, were a different story. They were slightly browned on the outside, yet tender inside - I was amazed, as this is very difficult to achieve. The risotto came in dabs on the plate, with slices of truffle that were so strongly flavoured that they cut through everything, offsetting the fish. Wonderful.

Then came the palate cleanser, which was rose petal sorbet. It was lovely, and reminded me of air bandung, the Malaysian drink of rose syrup and condensed milk. The Pretty Lady thought this was her favourite dish.

We moved on to the main course. The choices were roasted loin of lamb stuffed with aubergine confit and grilled pine kernels, gateau of moussaka and a light saffron flavoured jus

and

roasted Challandais duck with a lemon and thyme jus, potato and garlic mousseline.

The duck was absolutely fantastic. The waitresses brought the duck to the table, and carved off slices of breast, layering them on a plate. They then added a surprise, slices of grilled pickled lemon. We had asked for medium to well done, and on reflection this may have been a mistake. The duck would have been better rare. Nevertheless, it was delicious. The mousseline flavoured the sweet salty pickled lemon with a garlicky tang, and went well with the gamey duck. The lamb in contrast was delicious, but less good. The aubergine seemed to be slightly underflavoured, although the meat itself was roasted well. The saffron jus brought everything together however, just the right level of sweetness and spice.

Dessert was a choice of 3 dishes, a cheese plate, 3 individual desserts, and a warm raspberry souffle. The raspberry souffles were the best I've ever tasted, both in terms of texture and flavour, and were improved by the flavourful coulis they drizzled in the middle. The cheese plate was memorable for a tangy Reblochon and a strongly flavoured Morbier, but the choice of 3 individual desserts was disappointing. I can't even remember what they were, beyond some combination of strawberry ice cream on a biscuit.

After lunch, we retired back to the terrace to enjoy coffee and petit fours. I partook of the choices of whiskies, which come in a large trolley! I chose a Brora. However, the sommelier slipped 2 ice cubes into my dram without first checking with me, which was unfortunate. I had to fish the ice cubes out, luckily, the dram hadn't suffered from the extra water. We enjoyed the late afternoon sun and chatted for a couple of hours by the lake side, before taking a cab back to Maidstone station to catch the train back to London. The sommelier made up a little for his faux pas with the whisky by showing me and KY round the "cave", which held around 8,000 bottles in a very small space.

Overall, I found the food at the Waterside Inn well-executed, indeed, almost perfect. There was no sense of surprise though, no twists, which in my mind make this place a little undeserving of their 3 stars. Oh well. It was a very good meal nevertheless, just not great.

Scores:

30 June 2008: TFQ = 27, CS = 26, S = 19, AD = 8, VfM = 6. Total = 86 points.

What does this mean?