Fat Duck Melbourne opening date announced

Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck will open its doors in Melbourne on 3 February next year, with reservations opening for less than a month in October.

Photo credit: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

It was reported in March of this year that the restaurant would temporarily close its Oxfordshire doors while it relocated to Australia for six months.

The venue will open in Crown Tower Resorts in Melbourne’s Southbank for six months before it morphs into a fully-fledged version of the chef’s other venture – Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental.

The doors in Bray will close, as usual, in December and reopen on 3 February in sunny Australia to share the delights of snail porridge and the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party with the country.

The system for reservations will be open from 8 to 26 October of this year, to anyone, anywhere in the world – providing they’re willing to travel all the way to Australia.

Reservations will, however, be subject to a ballot. Applicants can register their interest on the website here, successful applicants will be notified on 10 November.

The restaurant will open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday from its opening in February until the doors finally shut on 15 August.

The cost of the menu will come to around AU$525 per person without drinks and guests should allow four hours to properly enjoy their “multi-sensory gastronomic journey of history, nostalgia, emotion and memory.”

“Australia’s response to the news that The Fat Duck would make

Melbourne its home for six months has been absolutely overwhelming. I am utterly

humbled by the reception,” Blumenthal has said.