Summary Bray is a little village just outside London, and it seems like any other village in the British countryside; except for the fact that this small village has 8 michelin stars. Right across the world renowned Fat Duck stands a 15th-century pub of the same owner, thats right, Hinds Head by Heston Blumenthal. After being warmly welcomed by the staff, we sat down and ordered both the set lunch and some a la carte. The set menu is of good value, however as you will soon realise, I would recommend the a la carte dishes for this occasion. Triple cooked chips is a must if you have never tried one by Heston, I can guarantee it is on a completely different level to the triple cooked chips you get at your local pubs. Overall, I would say this is probably our best gastropub experience, and the pub food served here is second to none. |
Scotch Egg
A classic pub snack to start off the meal. The sausage meat is well cooked, and the yolk is nice and runny. Unlike the traditional recipe, Heston's scotch egg is made of quail's egg, making it smaller and containing less yolk. (£ 3.75)
7/10
A classic pub snack to start off the meal. The sausage meat is well cooked, and the yolk is nice and runny. Unlike the traditional recipe, Heston's scotch egg is made of quail's egg, making it smaller and containing less yolk. (£ 3.75)
7/10
Potted Shrimp (Set Lunch)
Classic potted shrimp with grilled bread, however in relative to the other dishes it is not quite up there.
5/10
Classic potted shrimp with grilled bread, however in relative to the other dishes it is not quite up there.
5/10
Wild Mushroom Macaroni with Slow Cooked Hens Egg
The macaroni is well seasoned, rich and creamy with a nice brown crust on the top. The slow cooked hens egg breaks and becomes the sauce, coating the macaroni and the mushroom, giving the dish an even richer flavour. (£ 17.95)
8/10
The macaroni is well seasoned, rich and creamy with a nice brown crust on the top. The slow cooked hens egg breaks and becomes the sauce, coating the macaroni and the mushroom, giving the dish an even richer flavour. (£ 17.95)
8/10
Rib Eye with Bone Marrow Sauce
Perfect medium rare, nothing more to say. The bone marrow sauce is rich and delicious. However the star of the meal has to Heston's triple cooked chips (£ 4.50), too good in fact we forgot to take a photo of it. Many restaurants claim to have triple cooked chips, however most of the time, we can tell its not triple cooked (as far as I know, only 2 chefs in the country seem to be serving the real thing). The chips have a thick and crispy exterior with a soft and fluffy centre, in my opinion, one of the nearest things to perfection in the culinary world. (£ 28.00)
9/10 & 10/10
Perfect medium rare, nothing more to say. The bone marrow sauce is rich and delicious. However the star of the meal has to Heston's triple cooked chips (£ 4.50), too good in fact we forgot to take a photo of it. Many restaurants claim to have triple cooked chips, however most of the time, we can tell its not triple cooked (as far as I know, only 2 chefs in the country seem to be serving the real thing). The chips have a thick and crispy exterior with a soft and fluffy centre, in my opinion, one of the nearest things to perfection in the culinary world. (£ 28.00)
9/10 & 10/10
Oxtail and Kidney Pudding
Unlike any oxtail and pudding I have ever had before, this one seems to contain more gravy than beef! The gravy is so rich and beefy, in fact too rich for us, therefore if you are thinking of ordering it, we recommend you order a side of salad to tone down the richness. I usually prefer oxtail puddings with a nice and crispy pastry crust, however considering the amount of gravy injected, that is not an option here. Put aside the richness, the oxtail is well cooked, so tender it melts in the mouth. (£ 18.95)
8/10
Unlike any oxtail and pudding I have ever had before, this one seems to contain more gravy than beef! The gravy is so rich and beefy, in fact too rich for us, therefore if you are thinking of ordering it, we recommend you order a side of salad to tone down the richness. I usually prefer oxtail puddings with a nice and crispy pastry crust, however considering the amount of gravy injected, that is not an option here. Put aside the richness, the oxtail is well cooked, so tender it melts in the mouth. (£ 18.95)
8/10
Sea Bream (Set Lunch)
The bream was nicely cooked, however the broth was a bit bland and so were the clams.
6/10
The bream was nicely cooked, however the broth was a bit bland and so were the clams.
6/10
Quaking Pudding
We asked the waitress to recommend us a dessert and she told us Chocolate wine slush or Quaking pudding, both of which are historical recipes reinvented by Heston. Since I have made and tasted the chocolate wine slush before, we went for the pudding. This wobbly pudding came with some pretty thin slices of green apples, and to my surprise the pudding itself was actually warm. The pudding was mildly sweet with a hint of spices and goes really well with the slightly sour apple. (£ 7.95)
7/10
We asked the waitress to recommend us a dessert and she told us Chocolate wine slush or Quaking pudding, both of which are historical recipes reinvented by Heston. Since I have made and tasted the chocolate wine slush before, we went for the pudding. This wobbly pudding came with some pretty thin slices of green apples, and to my surprise the pudding itself was actually warm. The pudding was mildly sweet with a hint of spices and goes really well with the slightly sour apple. (£ 7.95)
7/10
Chocolate Tart with Ice Cream (Set Lunch)
Tastes as good as it looks, rich and chocolaty with a nice and light ice cream.
7/10
Tastes as good as it looks, rich and chocolaty with a nice and light ice cream.
7/10