Restaurant of the Week: The Waterside Inn
In the early 1970s, the Roux brothers, who enjoyed a certain fame in London, decided to venture out of the City, buy an old pub in Bray and turn it into a fancy restaurant. Thus was born **The Waterside Inn.** The Temple of Michel Roux, a legend, history of the kitchen: Best Worker of France, Knight of the Legion of Honor, Officer of the Order of the British Empire...
To get to Bray on Thames there are, broadly speaking, three possible ways: steer the yacht down the thames –navigable in this section– to the jetty that the restaurant makes available to its customers; the driver to drive to Bray from our apartment in Chelsea and wait at the door with the pristine Bentley – an option with more followers than you might expect – or take the tube to Paddington and from there a First Great Western train to Maidenhead. Without a doubt, the preferred option for mortals, as a server. It is not without its charm to arrive at such an institution in a Pakistani taxi with Bollywood music blaring.
Some Asian touch, seasonal products and a refined technique
Once you cross the threshold, everyone is treated similarly: It does not matter if you are a Russian businessman, an aristocrat from a nearby mansion, an Indian birthday family or a clueless Spaniard. Everyone succumbs to the charm of a formal service that knows how to be, but also smile and break the ice when it proceeds.
A dance corps trained under the baton of Diego Masciaga, one of the great masters of the room –together with the late Jean-Claude Vrinat, from Taillevent, and Mathieu Foureau, from Les Ambassadeurs– that one has had the honor of dealing with. Nothing escapes his control. Manage several languages, joke, carve, order, serve if necessary. Hyperactive and friendly, charming and extremely polite.
in the stoves, fabrice uhryn practice a classic cuisine in concept but modern in execution. Some Asian touch, seasonal products and a refined technique for an audience that mostly comes looking for its classics: the roast duck with thyme, the untouchable foie gras terrine with figs, the lobster with Port sauce or the raspberry soufflé.
Dishes that invite you to enjoy
A extraordinary cheese cart, a cellar to squander the card and a dizzying assortment of distillates They invite you to relax and forget the vile metal for a while.
As if this were not enough, the aperitif and after-meal are offered on the jetty next to the river. A place to let time pass.
***** _This report was published in **number 132 of Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (October)**. Subscribe to the printed edition (11 printed issues and a digital version for €24.75, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website). The October issue of Condé Nast Traveler is available in its digital version to enjoy on your preferred device. _
The aperitif and after-meal are offered on the jetty next to the river