Buckinghamshire Restaurant Guide

“Amazing food, top-notch service” – and “the value is OK for fine dining” – such are the attractions of Scott Barnard’s polished neighbourhood restaurant, which divides between a chef’s counter operation with tasting menu and open kitchen seating just 16 people overall; and larger dining room. The latter is considerably cheaper at £60 per person: at the chef’s table the experience is £105 per person during the week, rising to £130 per person at the weekend.

“Individual and with lots of character” – Frederic Desmette’s lovely little French/Belgian restaurant where “the chef greets, cooks and often serves the nicest food”. Its loyal fan club continue to enjoy it and rate it highly, saying “it‘s always a pleasure to visit!” Top Menu Tip – “best scallops ever, fabulous turbot and amazing salmon”.

Set in a “real rural location” just outside London in the Chilterns, this village pub is serious about food and offers a “good choice of very tasty dishes”. David & Becky Salisbury celebrated 25 years at the helm in January 2024.

“Very good Thai food” remains the order of the day at this “cramped” fixture of the local scene, whose extensive menu (wok dishes, curries, fresh papaya salads) represents excellent value for money. From Tuesday to Saturday there’s a lunchtime noodle bar, and they also do a swift trade as a takeaway.

This “lovely old pub” in the Chilterns, handy for the Harry Potter antics at Warner Bros Studio nearby, built up quite a reputation for its Anglo-French cooking over nearly two decades under husband-and-wife team Sally & Alvin Michaels. The 18th-century venue is now managed by Alvin’s former protégé Matt Jackson (and part of the growing RedCat pub company) but, on limited feedback this year, its “exceptional pub dining” still makes it a local magnet.

“A lovely place for morning coffee or afternoon tea” – and “the handmade chocolates are delightful” at this duo in Wendover and Thame from chocolatier and patissier Nigel Rumsey, who founded his business 34 years ago at the back of his home.

Run by husband-and-wife team Charlie (who worked at Heston Blumenthal‘s Hinds Head pub in Bray) & Arantxa, this upscale high street tapas spot is “still the buzziest place hereabouts”. There are some quibbles in reports (“the food has lost its edge a little”) but also praise for some “super” dishes, ranging from their signature acorn-fed 100% Iberian pork, to the rather ingenious ‘Patatas Invisibles’ (“invisible chips”), which have zero calories and are essentially a £4.50 charitable donation to Hospitality Action.

This “lovely” restaurant in Old Amersham is a “real cosy, friendly” spot where chef-owner Mark (a one-man band) delivers “great” small plates with punchy flavours that pick and mix from the Middle East, Asia and Europe; for the sweet-toothed, there are upscale Prosecco jam doughnuts, and for those who are never sated, on Saturdays they do a bottomless brunch.