Southend Restaurant Guide

“Lovely as ever and long may it continue” – Giancarlo & Katie Caldesi’s “welcoming” country venue (their flagship is in Marylebone) provides “wonderful Italian cooking”, including “silky-smooth homemade pasta” and “top-quality, tender calf’s liver in white wine”.

“Year after year the food is consistently excellent and the value incredibly high” at Michael & Steph Macdonald’s well-established fixture, which they founded over 18 years ago in a house once occupied by poet TS Eliot. “Whether it’s the excellent value set lunch or the full tasting menu” you opt for, all reports are full of praise (“I hadn’t been to the Vanilla Pod since before the Pandemic, so was delighted to discover that it was still in business and as good as ever”; “I have yet to have a course I didn’t enjoy”). “Others in the locale get more publicity, but in reality offer less for more”.

“Charming… heart-warming… brilliant” – “There’s no better place in England to enjoy quality cuisine in the atmosphere of a friendly neighbourhood gastropub” according to fans of Julie Griffiths’ renowned hostelry, which has operated “off the beaten track”, deep in the Chilterns countryside (not far from the M40), for the best part of four decades. “Worth the effort of the drive” for fans from far afield, it is “still turning out brilliant food” and “the surroundings are second to none” with both the “lovely, cosy pub interior” and charming garden, complete with sculptures. “Interesting wine” is also a key feature. “Prices can raise an eyebrow” though – no change there then over very many years.

Laurie & Jacqueline Gear’s “fabulous, classic restaurant in Old Amersham” has long been a hit in our annual diners’ poll and was in the top-40 most mentioned restaurants outside London this year. “Laurie’s personality shines in his delightful food” – “a remarkable range of menus (including brilliant vegetarian options)” with the entry-level offering being a three-course selection for £95 per person. Service is “really efficient and also very warm” and “wines are paired with intelligence and insight” (although “chatty sommelier” Valentin recently left the business).

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‘We are closed for a holiday period – looking forward to seeing you soon’ is – as of October 2025 – the message on the website (and answer-machine) of this famous Thames Valley institution, in a gorgeous Thames-side position at Sonning Eye and famous for its spit-roasted duck. Owned by the Emmanuel family since 1972, it went on the market in September 2023 but we can find no record of any sale, and it seems to have been closed for most of 2025. Will it reopen?

It fits the bill as a “good traditional pub” but the food (from Pine Nut and Feta Lasagna, to Berkshire Downs lamb pie, with zingara sauce) is high-end at this country inn, set amidst the Bucks countryside and run by Ranka Lani, who began her career at Soho’s Bar Italia.

2024 Review: “Excellent pub food in Chilterns countryside” is to be had at this cosy seventeenth-century country pub in the hamlet of Roke, near Wallingford. The straightforward menu specialises in grills, and if you still have room for cheese afterwards there’s a notably good selection.

“A very knowledgeable team with an interesting and varied selection of dishes” wins praise for this 16th-century thatched village pub near Oxford (under its current ownership since 2022). Ex-Manoir chef, Nat Berney, produces a seasonally changing menu that’s of restaurant quality rather than being especially pub-like (for example Côte de Boeuf to share or Whole Lemon Sole in Rose Harissa Butter). More reports please!

A short drive from Henley-on-Thames, this thatched pub, has a “modern dining room extension to a traditional wood-beamed interior”. Classic pub dishes (for example steaks or honey-glazed ham, egg and chips) are served alongside more ambitious fare, including venison from the surrounding Phillimore Estate.

“A lovely view of the weir at Marlow and over the Thames” through old-fashioned leaded glass windows is a highlight at this “friendly and professional” outpost of star chef Atul Kochhar, which – true to the contrasts of 21st-century Britain – aims to pay homage to his love of Indian cuisine in the environs of a “pretty” dining room by the river whose situation is archetypal of the traditional English Home Counties. On most accounts, his team provides “exceptional” cuisine that’s “sometimes full-on Indian” but mostly “a subtle, not-too-fiery fusion”. Ratings, though, are dragged down this year by a minority who find its performance “very average”. Top Menu Tips – “sublime Dal Makhani”; “the best ever soft shell crab and amazing monkfish”.

“As always, outstanding food” is again reported at Ryan & Lian Simpson-Trotman’s converted 18th-century pub in the lush countryside surrounding Henley-on-Thames – “a brilliant place that’s always a delight to visit”. There’s an à la carte menu with two courses for £65 per person or you can opt for a seven-course tasting menu for £130 per person.

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