Marlow Restaurant Guide

We thrive on bringing people together through food and drink. That’s why when the opportunity to take on The Crown at Bray in 2010 came around, Heston jumped at the chance.We have set out to create a local hub and community. A country pub that the locals are proud...

There’s an “idyllic experience” to be had at Giancarlo & Katie Caldesi's “outstanding Italian”, which was significantly spruced up two years back – especially out on the sunny patio come summer. Add in “impeccably charming service” and it makes a “delightful location for that ‘special meal’”.

After the departure of André Garrett as executive head chef from this landmark destination in October 2018 (for London’s Corinthia Hotel), former head chef Paul O’Neill was promoted to take his place. This “beautiful” property has received up-and-down feedback over the years, and variability was also evident in last year’s reports: numerous “wonderful” meals are described, but there are also experiences of “slow service” and food that’s “overly grand but underwhelmingly prepared… especially at these prices!” The most consistent hit is afternoon tea in the grand hall – “exceptional” (not least “the world’s best scones”).

“Still a fabulous gastropub… even if prices are a little on the high side” – Heston Blumenthal’s “very relaxing” hostelry takes a bit more flak nowadays for being expensive, but for the most part remains very highly rated by the survey. “Classic, very English pub dishes are interpreted with creative flair” and “washed down with imaginative cocktails (and mocktails)” as well as good ales and wines.

“Laurie Gear and his team never fail to delight in this French fine dining establishment”: a “small and intimate” haunt in a characterful part of Old Amersham, where “the best seats are downstairs by the kitchen where you can witness how hard and skilfully the chefs work”. For many years now, the opinion has been widespread that its “impeccable” cuisine and “warm and welcoming” service were being inexplicably ignored by the tyre men, but in October 2019 Michelin finally gave way and gave it its long overdue recognition with the award of a star.

Experience excellent food and fine wine in 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 now situated at the ...

Atul Kochhar is celebrating his sixth year in this “fabulous riverside location”. As experiences go, it’s “as refined as curry gets”, with “wonderful” modern dishes (if in slightly “small portions”) and “beautiful views over the River Thames” from its traditional, leaded windows. “Hotel restaurants are never supposed to be this good in the UK, especially in the home counties!”

“A gorgeous aspect overlooking the river… perfect for a sunny Sunday or bank holiday lunch” creates a picture-book English scene at this Thames-valley fixture, just over the bridge from lovely Sonning. Known for its “outstanding duck, which roasts in an open fire” this “old-fashioned and traditional restaurant” is, say fans, “always a delight” and backed up by a heavyweight wine list too. Caveats? – “while the food is above average, it’s not a show-stopper”, and the occasional cynic feels that “the setting is so idyllic it is understandable that they squeeze you for every penny”.

“You are always well looked after” at Michael Macdonald’s “tiny” venture – a timbered room in a house once owned by TS Eliot. Many who report on it are regulars: “best value in town…”; “not one but several excellent meals last year…”; “sublime consistent food without a doubt, as I have been about thirty times – just perfect with fish and the only place in the world I eat pudding!”

2018 Review: Limited and mixed feedback on Cliveden’s one-year-old ‘dressed down’ option in the Stable Block. For fans it’s “a hidden gem”, tipped for either a “family lunch” or “business meal just off the M4”, but for foes “overpriced with rubbish service”.

“Love it, love it, love it!” is the universal theme in all feedback on Ryan & Liam Simpson-Trotman’s gentrified pub, a short drive out of Henley, where, in summer, you can “eat the beautiful garden with views of the countryside”. Service is “professional” and the well-judged cooking – “innovative” without being unduly ‘cheffy’ – is “exceptional”. Michelin continue to miss a trick here.