They say that in London you’re never more than six feet from a rat. Around the world, you’re probably never more than sixty feet from a Faulty Towers Dining Experience
It’s been enjoyed in over 43 countries to date, and has toured to over 1000 venues and a million guests, with approximately 400 shows per year on average across the UK.
Faulty Towers The Dining Experience is a legend in itself since it began in Australia in 1997. The original BBC show is of course rightly regarded as one of the finest TV comedies since records began. Even people who weren’t born at the time of its original TV run have heard of it, and many will have seen it on streamers. The episode with the rat being perhaps the most famous.
I personally remember what an event it was. Almost no one had a video recorder and of course there was no Internet. Just before 8pm on the transmission nights, UK pubs literally emptied as people hurried home to watch. My mother, with military precision, made sure we had eaten dinner, washed up and were seated, cups of tea at hand, ready to go.
So here we are, ready to go at The President Hotel near Russell Square. Obviously I can’t/won’t spoilt the show for you, but basically after the audience has gathered for the inclusive drinks, no 1970s warm gin and tonics thankfully, the three main characters enter to begin the evening with Manuel misunderstanding, Basil bullying him (and the audience) and Sybil trying to rectify the damage.
They look the part, apparently anyone looking to play Basil has to have the right height, and the clothes all work. Clearly the actors have a script loosely based on the TV shows, but at the same time they work with the audience’s reactions and ad lib appropriately.
Once seated there is a careful balance between mayhem and dinner, with the two slotting together well. It must be very difficult for the chef to keep timings tight, but he does..
Jonathan Bradley has joined the team as the new Head Chef and he has created a menu which is from a time when hotel cooking in UK holiday resorts was, to say the least, mildly unadventurous. This is fine, it would be very odd to have a menu of nouvelle cuisine and Basil would have a fit if it was even suggested.
There are some amusing nods, such as the Tomato soup with basil (of course) oil, which I rather liked. I haven’t had tomato soup in decades, and having to chase the bread roll that Basil angrily flung down only improved it.
More mayhem later and its mains time, Roast chicken with gravy, carrot purée, savoy cabbage, baby carrot and dauphinoise potato. It was a pretty crude plateful, a big hunk of chicken on the bone, but I rather enjoyed the simplicity and it was very good chicken. Dauphinoise potato recalled the aspirations of seaside hoteliers at the time, many guests would have found it tres sophisticated and who doesn’t like cabbage?
Some guests had indicated they were vegetarian or vegan and they were of course catered for very well, but they also came in for a fair bit of stick from ‘Basil’, as did anyone lowering the tone by wearing trainers or baseball hats. I’m with ‘Basil’ on that, they shouldn’t even be allowed in a restaurant, in my opinion.
The madness ratchets up as the evening progresses and diners, lubricated by wine and beer, get more increasingly into it. I was most amused by my guest having a conversation with ‘Sybil’ who plumped herself down at our table to complain about her husband’s behaviour and asking us why she ever married him.
There’s time to talk to other diners but all eyes stay on the cast, even when we’re eating they still do bits of ‘business’ around the room that remind some of us of certain episodes’ high points.
’By the time we get to dessert, lemon and berries cheesecake with chantilly cream and fruits of the forest compote, we are all very happy guests and sad to leave the hotel.
Which was never the experience at the real Fawlty Towers.
The immersive comedy phenomenon continues its record-breaking London run currently booking until December 2026
Faulty Towers The Dining Experience is a loving tribute to Fawlty Towers. Faulty Towers The Dining Experience uses scripts and a dining experience format devised by Imagination Workshop Pty Limited and is not endorsed in any way by John Cleese or Connie Booth.
For more information on the show visit www.faultytowersdining.com