Rickmansworth Restaurant Guide

JM Oriental is the proud recipient of a coveted Golden Chopsticks Award for ‘Best Fusion Restaurant’. Expect a fine dining experience with founder and executive chef, Andrew Hung. Andrew soon realised his path in life was to follow his father’s footsteps into...

Nowadays owned by Jesse Dunford Wood, this “beauty of a local restaurant” is a “gem worth travelling to Holland Park for” – “with a warm welcome, efficient staff and a regularly changing menu”. It’s notably “small and cosy”, which most reporters “love”.

Giancarlo & Katie Caldesi’s country venue – a counterpart to their Marylebone flagship – offers classic Italian cuisine in “a lovely atmosphere with fabulous service”. It’s “good-value”, too – at least certainly compared to the nearby Fat Duck and Waterside Inn…

Meimo's is one of Windsors finest restaurants Meimos Restaurant has an extensive menu with dishes that will suit all tastes and a friendly atmosphere. A real locals' favourite and definitely not a tourist-trap! With popular dishes such as Lamb or Chicken Tagine with exotic...

“Atul Kochhar’s Marlow outpost is in the charming Compleat Angler hotel by the side of the Thames” – a marriage of traditional British setting and Indian cuisine that’s proving enduringly popular. At night the room is less characterful, “whereas in daylight, there is the fabulous view of the River Thames’s Marlow Weir”. “Service is top notch and very welcoming” and the cuisine “is an inventive fine-dining take on Indian cuisine, beautifully presented” – “every element is spiced marvellously and cooked perfectly”. There are “interesting wine pairings too (I’d never previously heard of mango wine. I certainly wouldn’t have ordered it had it not been selected for us… it worked well!”)

This “absolute gem of a neighbourhood restaurant” sits on a side street off Chiswick’s bustling main drag, and – like its cousin Chez Bruce – has earned a London-wide reputation over the years thanks to its “fine modern British dining”, “well-drilled service with a smile” and “comprehensive list of fine wines”. There’s been some “changing of the guard in the kitchen” in the last 12 months with Greg Wellman, formerly of The Glasshouse, Kew, taking over at the stoves. But whereas some fans say “it hasn’t undermined what remains a very strong offering”, others are less certain and ratings are not what they were: “I’m still the ‘fan from E18’ who schleps across town to go here, and remain a supporter, but it seems to have lost some of that elusive lustre that previously made it so special”.

The Crazy Bear Beaconsfield introduces an exquisite Thai dining experience, where modernity meets tradition in a symphony of flavors. Our Thai cuisine is celebrated for its originality and provenance, embodying the essence of authentic Thai culinary art with a contemp...

“Out-performing many more feted restaurants” – Michael Mcdonald “runs a fantastic family- run restaurant that never fails to hit the spot” at this “quiet and discreet” fixture, which occupies part of a house that was once home to TS Eliot. The dining room itself is “small, but well laid out” and buoyed along by its “very good, friendly and professional service”. “The menu is limited, but every dish is enticing” and all-in-all it provides “a proper dining experience” that’s “consistently great value” (and one of the 100 most-commented-on outside London in our annual diners’ poll).

Restaurateur Markos Tsimikalis closed his Shoreditch restaurant, Hungry Donkey, to open this brightly decorated Greek venue in Holland Park in late 2022. Our initial feedback is very upbeat all-round and – in April 2023 – The Independent’s Kate Ng was likewise positive, including about the signature Cretan-style cheesecake made with sheep and goat’s milk (“certainly up there with the greats”).

“An interesting street-food menu is very well executed” at this “real treat” of a Hammersmith café, with a comfortable, atmospheric interior and “friendly service”. “It’s not as flash as Indian Zing across the road, but dishes are full of flavour and good value!”

A surprise find in an ancient sixteenth-century pub on the high street – Atul Kochhar’s “superb upmarket Indian” is a “delight”, where the set menus are “outstanding value” (“would happily have paid more”, says a fan) and service “very attentive from the outset”. The ambience is sometimes rated no better than “OK” – for some tastes it’s not as immensely characterful as one might think given the venue’s cameo in ‘Four Weddings’, as the backdrop to Hugh and Andie’s romance.

“Relaxed and busy”, Michael Lim’s Notting Hill venue is “always a treat”, with “great Singaporean and other Asian dishes”. It has notched up 26 years, first in All Saints Road and more recently in smart new premises on Ladbroke Road. A second branch opened in Seymour Place, Marylebone, in June 2023. Top Tip – “fantastic in the summer with the roof open”.

“Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant.....and tucked away in sleepy Amersham”; Laurie Gear’s “classy” venue is celebrating over 20 years in its sixteenth-century grade II listed site in Old Amersham (although it took Michelin until 2019 to cotton on and give it a star). It is one of the most commented-on venues in our annual diners’ poll on the fringes of the capital. “Stunning”, relatively traditional cuisine is “served by people who actually understand the job of hospitality”, in a Scandi-influenced interior.

Near the main entrance to Westfield, this Indian venue will celebrate its fifth year in 2024, but is easily lost amongst the glossy anonymity of the surrounding units. It’s the London outpost of a 45-year-old chain that’s 15-strong in India itself. Although it doesn’t inspire a huge volume of feedback, reports are consistently upbeat: “good value, freshly cooked dishes, lovely ambience”.

2023 Review: “Still going strong” – this comparatively un-foodie pub has thrived in this gourmet village by offering an attractive and traditional backdrop for easygoing British cuisine, realised with wit: fish finger sandwich, steak, top burgers and so on.

“A very worthy successor to the beloved Glasshouse (RIP)” – this new Kew favourite is co-owned by its predecessor’s former manager, Patra Panas. Service is particularly “well-drilled and friendly”; and regulars are “delighted to find that little has changed” after a “seamless” changeover, with “many of the furnishings still in place” in the agreeable (a few feel, “slightly uninspiring”) dining room. Diners dispute whether the “intelligent and carefully crafted” cuisine, from chef and co-owner Josh Hunter, is a step up or down from before, but practically all agree it’s “very competent”, and say “we shall definitely return and recommend it highly!”

Jesse Dunford Wood’s quirky former pub in Kensal Rise “never disappoints”. It’s open for “lovely meals all day long” (from 10am), delivering a versatile set of dishes from “an ever-changing seasonal menu” made “with fresh ingredients and imaginative preparation”. “Sunday lunch for both vegetarians and meat-lovers is a particular highlight”.

Experience excellent food and fine wine in the 4 silver star Crowne Plaza Marlow’s newly refurbished Glaze Restaurant in Marlow, AA Rosette awarded for its culinary excellence. Having recently undergone a huge refurbishment project, the Glaze Restaurant is no...

Nestled in the heart of picturesque Buckinghamshire, the Crazy Bear Beaconsfield stands as a beacon of extravagance and unique style, blending traditional British heritage with an audacious twist. Our restaurant prides itself on a diverse range of exquisite ...