Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Berkhamsted
Hardens guides have spent 32 years compiling reviews of the best Berkhamsted restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 46 restaurants in Berkhamsted and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Berkhamsted restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Berkhamsted Restaurants
1. Hawkyns by Atul Kochhar
Indian restaurant in Amersham
16 High Street - HP7
If you remember ‘Four weddings’, this very characterful, beamed sixteenth-century pub in the town centre was the filming location for the bit where Hugh and Andie first start getting it together. Its food in recent years has been overseen by star Indian chef, Atul Kochhar, and is a highly rated curry favourite in (nearly) all reports.
2. Artichoke
French restaurant in Amersham
9 Market Sq - HP7
Laurie Gear’s “exceptional restaurant nestling in Old Amersham” has been “a favourite for two decades” and – having opened in 2002 – was “belatedly awarded a Michelin star” in 2019. “The best restaurant for miles” in this part of the outer burbs, it is one of the most commented-on restaurants in our annual diners’ poll. One or two reports did include some ‘rough edges’ this year (“a return to form after a former disappointment…”; “a couple of dishes were odd, but never boring!”) but the main theme was of “divine” food, “exceptional value tasting menus” and “delightful matching wines”, all delivered by “attentive and knowledgeable staff”. “I almost hate to give a good review as more people will find this true gem!”
3. The Sir Charles Napier
British, Modern restaurant in Chinnor
Spriggs Alley - OX39
“Quality you wouldn’t expect deep in the countryside” means Julie Griffith’s “charming, but off-the-beaten-track country pub/restaurant in the Chilterns” (impossible to find before the advent of satnav) is “a real treat” that’s “worth a detour” and has a big, long-term fan club extending all the way into London (from which it’s a welcome weekend ‘run out’). It’s “such a lovely building” always with “a warm and welcoming atmosphere”, bolstered by “beautiful gardens from spring to autumn; and with cosy log fires in the winter”. There’s the odd background quibble of food that “sounds great on paper but falls short at the price” or a slight feeling of “complacency”. These are drowned out for the most part though by more typical reports of “consistently good and excellent food” and a feeling that “Julie runs the place superbly”. “Never fails to impress…” – “never a disappointment here in over 27 years and possibly 60 occasions!”
4. The Chequers Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Weston Turville
35 Church Lane - HP22
“A lovely destination pub in the country with a high-end restaurant serving super food that’s great value, making it a fantastic find!". Chef-owner Dritan and maître d' Ranka (husband and wife) took it over in 2010 and have turned it into something of a landmark locally.
5. Zaza
Italian restaurant in Berkhamsted
21-23 Lower Kings Road - HP4
2022 Review: Set in a “lovely building” with tables under a 200-year-old olive tree, this restaurant – one of eight in a local chain – is frequently packed with regulars, who come back for its “good honest Italian fare at a reasonable price”. There’s “something for everyone on the menu”.
6. The Gatsby
British, Modern restaurant in Berkhamsted
97 High St - HP4
2021 Review: “Well cooked and presented meals” – and “good value”, too – are served at this unusual venue in the foyer of the beautifully preserved 1930s Rex cinema. There’s also a cocktail bar with live pianist – and a particularly strong lunch and pre-film menu.
7. The Alford Arms
British, Modern restaurant in Frithsden
An “absolute favourite pub” – this “lovely spot” in a wooded valley just north of London is a “good local standby” that “is very popular at weekends, when booking is advisable”. “We would go back, less for the food perhaps, but certainly for the location and ambience”.
8. Crocker’s Table
British, Modern restaurant in Tring
74 High Street - HP23
“Fabulous food” (including “outstanding vegetarian options”) brings people together at chef Scott Barnard’s sociable chef’s table. “Think of sitting round a table with your friends cooking in front of you, chatting and explaining what they’re doing. When you’ve finished your 6 or 12 courses, you will have spoken to most of the guests at the same sitting as you (15 maximum)”. There’s a separate cellar bar and dining room. The spin-off restaurant-with-rooms in Henley closed down just as we went to press.
9. The Bricklayers Arms
British, Traditional restaurant in Flaunden
Hogpits Bottom - HP3
Emphatically “not your most ordinary pub” – this ivy-clad Georgian boozer in a “lovely countryside setting” has been well run by Sally & Alvin Michaels for twenty-odd years, and boasts a “good menu of delicious food”.
10. Tom Yum
Thai restaurant in Amersham
101 Sycamore Road - HP6
“Really good Thai cooking” inspires high ratings and positive feedback for this simple local fixture. “It’s a bit cramped when it’s full, but the take-home is good”.
11. Gilbey’s
British, Modern restaurant in Amersham
1 Market Sq - HP7
A fixture of Old Amersham for more than 30 years, this bistro from Michael Gilbey of the gin dynasty is a “fab example of old-school dining” – quite literally, given that the seventeenth-century premises were originally part of Dr Challoner’s Grammar School. Even long-time fans, though, have begun to grumble that “having been a favourite for years, it has become more ordinary – not bad but no longer worth a journey”. There’s a sister branch in Eton.
12. The Grocer at 15
British, Modern restaurant in Amersham
15 The Broadway - HP7
2022 Review: The Grocer at 91 pivoted to being a food shop during the pandemic and all the eating now happens at this intimate sibling café, whose 24 covers are expanded by three tables outside, and where the mostly vegan menu spans satisfying, well-priced salads, toasties and locally made cakes. Their Gerrards Cross branch is now under new management, operating as Huddle.
13. Centurion Club
French restaurant in Hemel Hempstead
Centurion Club, Hemel Hempstead Road - HP3
2019 Review: “A modern interior, with views of the golf course” sets the scene at this Galvin Brothers yearling, which on most – if not quite all – accounts provides “a good welcome”, “high quality” cooking and a “relaxing” atmosphere. It’s a popular haunt for business entertaining, for which “there’s a perfect setting alongside the 18th fairway and a delightful lounge that feeds into the restaurant, where you can talk shop pre-, post- or during lunch”.
14. Prime Steak & Grill
Steaks & grills restaurant in Chandler's Cross
Redhall Lane - WD3
“Lovely steaks and Sunday roasts” plus “lots of fresh vegetables and salads” tick the boxes at this local trio (branches in St Albans and Beaconsfield), specialising in British grass-fed beef, dry-aged on the bone. The banquette seating and kids’ activity sheets and menu make them good “family-friendly” eating options.
15. The Glasshouse, The Grove
British, Traditional restaurant in Chandler's Cross
2021 Review: “Just reopened and even better than before”, this ultra-lux country-house hotel has an unusual ‘high-concept’ buffet-style dining room inspired by Asian food halls, with chefs cooking at eight ‘live action food stations’ (robata grill, seafood, tandoor oven et al), from which guests choose as much as they want. It’s not fine dining, but it is good-value in its way and it’s something-for-everyone style suits entertaining or a family get-together.
16. The Prae Wood Arms
British, Traditional restaurant in St Albans
Garden House Lane - AL3
2019 Review: A “beautiful location” – this “large, rambling and well-spaced” Georgian private home was opened as a gastropub by the Chester-based Brunning & Price chain in 2016, and has quickly built a solid reputation for a “pleasant” menu “full of excellent choices”, “allied with good service”.
17. Luton Hoo, Luton Hoo Hotel
International restaurant in Luton
The Mansion House, Luton Hoo Estate - LU1
2021 Review: Afternoon tea is “a real treat” in the “wonderful and friendly surroundings” of this country house hotel and spa, whose claim to fame is that it appeared in ‘Four Weddings’. Reports of more substantial meals here are more up-and-down.
18. Dylans Kings Arms
British, Modern restaurant in St Albans
7 George Street - AL3
“Top grub, a cut above the local culinary landscape”, has earned a devoted following for this fifteenth-century pub in the St Albans cathedral quarter, named after a dog belonging to landlord Sean Hughes – who “continues to be the host with the most”. The menu changes monthly, but may include a smoked duck Caesar Scotch egg, or a spectacular prime rib of English dairy cow to share at £80.
19. Lussmanns
British, Modern restaurant in St Albans
Waxhouse Gate, High St - AL3
With its “tasty food” and “unusual setting” in a glass-roofed modern building next to the eleventh-century cathedral, this well-priced local bistro with an emphasis on sustainable cuisine makes “a good base for lunch or dinner”. It is part of Andrei Lussmann’s five-strong Hertfordshire-based group.
20. Tabure
Turkish restaurant in St Albans
6 Spencer Street - AL3
2021 Review: This “very good modern Turk” uses high-quality ingredients, including organic meats from Wales, to produce some interesting meals in this under-served town, and it “gets busy and can be very noisy”. There’s a spinoff branch in Berkhamsted.
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