Hemel Hempstead, French Restaurant Guide

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.

This “French gem” in a “pleasant little pub tucked away in a corner of Ayot Green” serves “good food at sensible prices” in an atmosphere that’s “refined without being daunting”. Patron Laurent Brydniak has “run the place well” for 15 years, and does a good trade at lunchtime feeding walkers visiting the nearby Brocket Hall Estate.