Berkshire, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

A short drive from Henley, Antony & Jay Worrall Thompson’s attractive gastropub serves a globally inspired menu with burgers and steaks a highlight of the selection. Fans – including those on a trip out of ‘the smoke’ – rate it as a “reliable” destination.

“Great food, great live music and great attention to detail” add up to “a perfect venue” at this country pub, run for 35 years by former rock musician and self-taught chef Paul Clerehugh (ex-Sweet). It’s a “lovely building with great décor and a nice atmosphere”, and if the “portions are way too big” – most guests are very happy with that.

Aussie chef Skye Gyngell’s “ambitious establishment” – a Georgian country house dining room in a “beautiful location” overlooking a lake and parkland. They are “very conscious of their environmental responsibility”, with “almost all ingredients locally grown or reared” and served in pared-back style. But while it received strong ratings all-round for its luxury hotel setting, a couple of reports did note “a feeling one has to be on one’s best behaviour!”

“Perhaps the best located restaurant on the Thames” in these parts provides a “great river view and a good buzz”. Run by Shuan Dicken, it provides an all-day menu that offers an easygoing selection of straightforward dishes, especially a “top breakfast”. It used to offer fancier fare, though, and the odd reporter feels the ambition is a little “basic” nowadays.

“It’s in such an amazing spot” – a “romantic setting by the Thames” on a stretch of riverbank immortalised in the ‘Wind in the Willows’: this riverside inn (which housed a ferry until 1967) has had its looks updated in recent years, and is nowadays more pub-like that it once was. Some old-timers say it’s “not as good as before”, but for others it’s “very good” and everyone agrees that on a sunny day few places are nicer than its outside terrace.

“Every village should have one” – a “really pretty pub (with rooms) and a beautiful garden” in the “lovely” setting of the Wellington Estate. Chef Jason King does not trade on its location, as his elevated pub-style classics (featuring produce plucked from the garden) are “imaginative” and “cooked to perfection” too. Top Tip – they sell their own bread and gin over the bar.

The “elevated food” served at Dominic Chapman’s smart village-green venue is “certainly worthy of its top cooking grade”, and “takes Home Counties pub fare up a level – the amuse-bouches and petits-fours make a pub lunch here a real occasion”. “We hope to return when there’s cricket on the adjacent field”.

“What a return” – chef Simon Bonwick is back on home turf at this diminutive and “lovely” sixteenth-century village pub, not far from The Crown at Burchetts Green, where he established a stellar reputation for classic French cooking over the previous decade. His food is “fabulous” – “precisely cooked with all the flavour you expect and more” (not least the “renowned” pies), and front of house (including wife Deborah) are “delightful, warm and welcoming with a smile”. PS – the chef himself created the artwork lining the quirky venue’s walls.

“Long may it thrive” – an “engaging” neighbourhood joint with links to the local gin and craft-beer outfit, The Keep. “The menu changes regularly, and there’s always something to love”. Top Menu Tip – “save room for desserts…they’re very good” (“the doughnuts are a guilty pleasure”).