Charvil Restaurant Guide

“Cracking Sunday lunches with football-sized Yorkshires” are the culinary highlight of this “pretty village inn” in a glorious spot just by the Thames (which gets a mention in Jerome K Jerome’s classic ‘Three Men in a Boat’). It’s a notably “stylish” and “buzzy venue” with a “lovely outdoor area” but has never been a particularly foodie destination. Local heart-throb George Clooney was rumoured to want to buy the pub when he moved into the area with his wife Amal – he told Graham Norton “it’s fantastic and we drink all kinds of pints and things”.

This “lovely restored Victorian lido” (complete with heated swimming pool and spa) has been “the best ticket in the culinary disaster of Reading for several years now”. One regular feels that the Mediterranean-style food “is still good, but the à la carte prices seem to have gone up more here than most places – still, it always feels like you’ve had a mini-holiday when you’ve been here”.

This “Reading institution” occupying an 18th-century tollhouse in the town centre has “had a few ups and downs over the last 25 years, but this year is back on top form with a solid menu and excellent service”. Self-taught chef owner Paul Clerehugh, a former rock guitarist with Sweet, also runs the Crooked Billet music pub in Stoke Row (see also).

“An excellent and attentive spot by the river with a fantastic brunch in the morning sun”, whose all-day menu is produced by a small team run by owners Shaun & Gemma Dickens. “I came here for brunch ahead of my nephew‘s wedding and enjoyed it so much I returned the following day!” Top Menu Tip – “recommend the full English and the smashed avocado with poached egg on sourdough toast”.

This romantic, high-end dining room has brought a slice of Italy to Henley’s waterside since the mid-1990s; “the space is not large, but the extensive use of mirrors makes it feel airy” while the crowd-pleasing menu is always “reliably good”. Given its popularity, it can get “very noisy” – particularly during the local Regatta, which lends its name to one of their many specials (the latter “significantly more expensive than the standard menu offerings”, which are a bargain).

This “very old pub in a great location next to Henley Bridge” has been a scenic boozer for yonks, but now comes in a “fabulous new incarnation”, having been taken over by seasoned restaurateurs Matt Dockray and Phil Renner, who relaunched in late 2022. The hugely stylish interior (not least in the vaulted dining room, strewn with trinkets) makes it a “great place for a first date”, and there are positive early reports on the elevated pub classics by head chefs Joshua Wilde and George O’Leary – both previously senior sous-chefs at Tom Kerridge’s Marlow joints The Coach, and The Hand and Flowers.

2021 Review: Henley residents can now save on the rail fare to ‘The Smoke’. Hot on the heels of opening a luxury food court in Harrods, the famous store’s first café outside London is to open in late 2019 on the market place of this chichi town (in what was formerly a branch of Nicolas). We are promised an experience akin to the new food hall approach recently adopted in SW1: ‘a menu of dine-in and dine-out options, replicating the current food-to-go and deli offering’ in Knightsbridge.

Following the departure of chef Dominic Chapman, this smart pub on a village green still ticks the boxes for “top food, service and environment at a sensible price” – now with British-Indian fusion cooking branded as ‘Milaanj’, a play on mélange meaning mixture. Top Menu Tip – “the Scotch eggs” (served with curry mayo).

2022 Review: The former Land’s End pub got a new lease of life (and name) in 2018 when it was taken over by Niki & Adam Fortes, and the best man at their wedding, Colin Savory (both Colin and Adam having a pedigree at top restaurants). The “great” countryside setting is enhanced by “superbly cooked” pub staples and finer fare and “you can tell there are real chefs in the kitchen”.

“Absolutely superb!” – Nandana & Sharat Syamala have earned an enviable reputation for “fresh and exceptional regional Indian cuisine” that reflects their backgrounds in Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh (“loads of dishes I’ve never tried before and really wanted to eat!)”. After five years, they moved into new premises in neighbouring Caversham in 2024. Top Menu Tip – “bhuna venison: mic drop. Glad for once I live in Reading”.

“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.