The Guardian
Intrigued by its possibly prophetic name, Grace Dent made her way to a former box room above the Oarsman pub in “Tom Kerridge’s fiefdom” of Marlow, where Simon Bonwick, who earned a big rep as a solo chef at The Crown at Burchett’s Green near Maidenhead, is knocking out meals from a kitchen “smaller than the pantry in my late grandmother’s two-up-two-down”.
Diners eat together around “one vast, leather-topped, antique conference table” – so “bring your dinner party chat A-game” – in a room that reflects the chef’s “inner mind”, with his own semi-surreal dreamscape paintings on the wall and family photos of his nine children on display.
The food – “British flavours with French techniques and Japanese influences” – is introduced in equally personal style on an ornately handwritten menu featuring dishes such as ‘sea scallop like Mitsuhiro Araki showed me’ and beef with ‘rather nice beef sauce’. The latter was “a world-class gravy that was rather more than ‘rather nice’”, served with an excellent main course of Highland rump à la ficelle (tied with string).
“Yes, the Troublesome Lodger is a bizarre way to spend three hours, but do try to give it a go before the eviction.”
Grace Dent - 2024-11-10
