Goring Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: “This superb gastropub” – an eighteenth-century inn “two minutes from the Thames and convenient for London day-trippers” – serves “interesting food with some high gastronomy”: “all produce is locally sourced, and bread made and butter churned in-house”. Husband-and-wife patrons Nick & Mary Galer (both ex-Fat Duck Group) “clearly care about what they do and look after their diners”. Ratings dropped a notch this year amid reports of “the odd off note” – possibly they “need a bit more practice after lockdown”.

2023 Review: “A brilliant location” – on a picture-perfect stretch of lush Thames riverbank – is the justification for maintaining the listing of this Thames Valley veteran, on the fringe of Goring. On a sunny day, there are few nicer places to be. Its “classic Italian menu”? Not much commented on (nor, to be fair, criticised) and not the main point.

“A fabulous setting right on the River Thames” – a stretch of water admired by writers from HG Wells to Kenneth Graham – makes this former boathouse ideal for “al-fresco dining” – or a “superior traditional Sunday lunch”. If most reporters reckon “the cooking is OK but nothing to write home about”, it’s “still a good place to sit and just look at the view”.

This Grade II-listed gastroboozer in an Oxfordshire village risked closure post-pandemic, but a group of investors – including tennis whizz Tim Henman – served up an ace to save it. Reborn in 2022 after a slight rebrand to reflect the continuing presence of French, Roux-trained chef Olivier Bouet (who runs it alongside wife Stephanie), the food ranges from pastas to decadent desserts and there’s also a “super wine list”. Add in personable staff and it’s game, set, match.

“A charming venue in a picture-postcard village location” – this “excellent” pub-with-rooms has a “lovely bright restaurant serving superb food” with influences from around the world, and a “good range of private dining options”. Charles I is said to have dined here during the English Civil War.