Docket Restaurant — Restaurant in England

Overpriced & disappointing experience ("emperor's new clothes")

Absurdly small portions on key courses - while I understand tasting menu portions are smaller, about half the courses were unreasonably tiny. The main course lamb was literally 2 bites maximum, which is ridiculous even by tasting menu standards.

Painfully slow service - 10-25 minutes between each course stretched dinner to 3.5 hours. Given most courses were just morsels of food, this made the pacing feel even more drawn out. We essentially paid £250 (for two people) for half a plate of food spread over an entire evening with a drink each.

Uncomfortable atmosphere - poor acoustics and table layout meant we could hear every conversation around us, and felt like we were intruding on others while being intruded upon ourselves. The space needs better breaking up for privacy. A loud party periodically drowned out any chance of proper conversation. So you flick between sterile-ish dentist's waiting room, and loud cackles that interrupt any attempt at thinking or intimate conversation.

Poor value for money - £200 for the menu plus £50 for one drink each (plus included tip) didn't feel right for what we received.

Hit-and-miss food quality - only 3 dishes out of 10 (technically 11 as there was an extra 'starter') were excellent, and superbly executed, but there wasn't enough of them in every sense to matter. Half the dishes were a bit "emperor's new clothes" average to nice enough. 2 out of the 3 desserts were poor to average. The other one was very good. The "homemade fruit pastels" were essentially lumps of jam, and the chocolate "Lego bricks" were uninspired despite the waitress's interesting anecodote about them.

Misleading dietary accommodation - I rang ahead to ask about non-fish options due to my partner's allergy. They were very friendly and assured me they had a vegetarian option that would work. In reality, they simply removed the fish from two courses with no replacement. Had I known this, I wouldn't have booked.

Staff note - the staff were very friendly, attentive, and nice throughout.

Overall experience - my partner and I couldn't wait to escape. With bigger (non-absurd) portions, and faster service, this might have been acceptable (a 3/5 star not great, but hey, situation). As it stands, it was an overpriced, pretentious disappointment where we felt scammed, to be perfectly blunt. Clearly they can cook some great things and have the talent - more thought needs to go into all of the...

As soon as you walk through the front door of Docket Restaurant you receive the friendliest welcome you could ever wish for. This is not just from the owners Fran & Stuart, but every member of their team, everyone makes you feel like you are part of the family. Certainly the best way to start an evening, which I can guarantee only gets better once the food starts to arrive. We were lucky enough to be able to get a reservation for their Great British Menu Evening, where Stuart served the dishes he presented when on the TV Programme. These dishes were definitely some of the best I have ever tasted, and having been to plenty of Michelin Starred Restaurants this is some complement. The evening was an amazing experience with Stuart sharing the inspiration behind the dishes and also some of the secrets behind the programme. This was not our 1st visit to Docket, but this experience just made me want to show my gratitude to all of the team. I cannot recommend a visit to Docket highly enough, the Tasting Menu that they serve is always 5* and there is always something slightly different to try. The servers are highly knowledgeable about the food and the wine, which certainly gives you an insight to the dishes. The food is always top quality & extremely flavoursome and up there with the best, and they do this at a fraction of the price of Restaurants of a similar quality. If you want the perfect evening with the nicest bunch of people you will ever wish to meet, get yourself a reservation at Docket, you will certainly not be disappointed, and will definitely leave with a smile on your face, which must be contagious as all the team there are always smiling and appear to love working there and just want to give you the best experience ever. Thanks to all the team, Fran & Stuart for providing us with some amazing food & amazing evenings, we’re so glad you went onto GBM, as without that we’d have never found you and been able to enjoy they perfect hospitality that...

On September 7th, we celebrated our anniversary with my boyfriend at Docket Restaurant. As we entered the restaurant, we were greeted with impeccable hospitality. The atmosphere was cozy and relaxing, with pleasant lighting and an elegant yet modern interior. The staff was very friendly and attentive.

As for the dishes, each one was a true work of art. Our tasting menu consisted of 10 dishes, each unique and incredibly delicious. I was especially impressed by the presentation of the roasted tomatoes in tomato essence—an unforgettable taste. The dish that my boyfriend enjoyed the most was the steamed halibut, dusted with nori powder, resting in a light crème fraîche sauce, accompanied by turnip, black barley, and puffed wild rice. The soft, flaky fish paired perfectly with the crunch of the wild rice, while the creamy sauce balanced the earthiness of the barley and turnip. Each element complemented the other, creating a wonderful mix of textures and flavors.

At this point, the restaurant had already exceeded our expectations; we were very satisfied with the food and the experience, but it turned out there was more to come...

The final dish was brought to us and presented by the chef himself, which pleasantly surprised and delighted us, and he also congratulated us on our anniversary.

And that wasn't all 🤤 because later we were served a special dessert with a lit candle, and the staff congratulated us on our anniversary once again. It was very touching—we made a wish and blew out the candle. This was a special and unforgettable experience for us. I'm very happy my boyfriend chose...