British, Modern Restaurants in Gerrards Cross
1. Glaze at Crowne Plaza Marlow
British, Modern restaurant in Marlow
Fieldhouse Lane - SL7
Experience excellent food and fine wine in the 4 silver star 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 no...
2. La Trompette
British, Modern restaurant in Chiswick
3-7 Devonshire Rd - W4
This “absolute gem of a neighbourhood restaurant” sits on a side street off Chiswick’s bustling main drag, and – like its cousin Chez Bruce – has earned a London-wide reputation over the years thanks to its “fine modern British dining”, “well-drilled service with a smile” and “comprehensive list of fine wines”. There’s been some “changing of the guard in the kitchen” in the last 12 months with Greg Wellman, formerly of The Glasshouse, Kew, taking over at the stoves. But whereas some fans say “it hasn’t undermined what remains a very strong offering”, others are less certain and ratings are not what they were: “I’m still the ‘fan from E18’ who schleps across town to go here, and remain a supporter, but it seems to have lost some of that elusive lustre that previously made it so special”.
3. The Victoria
British, Modern restaurant in East Sheen
10 West Temple Sheen - SW14
“Love this pub”, hailed by fans (often parents) for providing “one of the best Sunday lunches” in this part of southwest London, just outside Richmond Park in East Sheen. Over the years, TV chef Paul Merrett has transformed the rambling Victorian tavern into a boutique hotel with a large garden and spacious conservatory for dining.
4. The Swan Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Denham
Village Road - UB9
2022 Review: Upscale Georgian gastroboozer, handy for J1 of the M40, whose “very pleasant surroundings” (in a ridiculously picture-postcard village), superior ambience and “nice garden” add considerably to its charms. The food, which is divided into small and big plates of comfort food-style British fare, isn’t wildly ambitious but is “consistently good”.
5. The Jolly Cricketers
British, Modern restaurant in Seer Green
24 Chalfont Rd - HP9
“Worth the drive out” – Chris & Amanda Lillitou’s “quintessential English country pub” has a super-cute village location in the lush Chilterns countryside surrounding Beaconsfield. The cuisine is down-to-earth, but it comes with the spin one might expect from Amanda’s Tante-Claire training: the soup might be Jerusalem artichoke; the fish ’n’ chips may incorporate Newlyn hake and battered cod’s cheek; and a typical pie would feature game with a suet crust.
6. The Greyhound
British, Modern restaurant in Beaconsfield
33 Windsor End - HP9
Four years down the line, Daniel Crump and Margriet Vandezande-Crump’s “gorgeous” converted seventeenth-century coaching inn is simply “perfection” to the very many diners who comment on it: “not only do you experience fine dining” (an “innovative menu” whose “consistency is something to behold”), “but you get the choice of great beers too, because it’s a pub!” On the food front, “excellent” tasting menus (including dedicated vegetarian and vegan options) are ably abetted by a “brilliant-value set lunch”. Add in “incredible” service and “what more could you want?”
7. The Cape Grand Cafe & Restaurant
British, Modern restaurant in Beaconsfield
6a, Burkes Parade - HP9
This “great independent cafe recently changed hands when the owner sold it on to the longstanding manager” and, having initially been open just during the day (“very good salads and quiches” plus other South African-slanted breakfasts and brunch dishes and “excellent coffee”), it’s now also back to offering more complex meals at weekend dinners. Insufficient reports for a rating at this time of change.
8. The Grocer at 15
British, Modern restaurant in Amersham
15 The Broadway - HP7
This “great local” has had an up-and-down time of it of late, with the Gerrards Cross branch under new management, and The Grocer at 91, which had pivoted to being a food shop in the pandemic, now closed. On the plus side, this “very busy” outpost is still going strong with its “reliable” (if pricey) sandwiches, salads and toasties, and they also recently opened a new Amersham venue, The Grocer at 2 (Whielden St), spanning a grocery store and café.
9. Gilbey’s
British, Modern restaurant in Amersham
1 Market Sq - HP7
“Tasty bistro food” is enjoyed in the “lovely setting” of a seventeenth-century former school in Old Amersham, a “cosy” local spot opened by the Gilbey’s gin dynasty 35 years ago. Founder Michael Gilbey passed away in summer 2022, and his widow, Lin, has put the site up for sale. (She also runs its sister restaurant in Eton.)
10. The Dining Room at Cliveden
International restaurant in Taplow
Cliveden Rd - SL6
The “lovely location overlooking the Thames” – a spectacular Grade I listed country house dating from 1666, now owned by the National Trust and operated as a Relais & Châteaux hotel – is enough in itself to make any meal a “wonderful experience” here; especially if accompanied by “an interesting walk around the parkland” where historical figures from Queen Victoria to Christine Keeler came for R&R. The dining room occupies a prime site within the property with stunning views, where you can enjoy cuisine that’s “good but not inspirational” considering the “eye-watering” prices.
11. The Astor Grill
British, Modern restaurant in Taplow
Clivedon Road - SL6
Former stables have been converted into a “wonderful dining room” for the cheaper eating option in the “amazing setting” of Cliveden, the Astor family’s country pile forever famous for hosting the scandalous 1961 pool party at which war minister John Profumo met showgirl Christine Keeler. “Service is friendly and fun” but the food can seem rather “ordinary” – which is “disappointing given the excellent location” (“the menu has the usual staples such as fish ’n’ chips or burger” plus an array of more ambitious brasserie items, but is “not much better than you would get in a pub”).
12. The White Oak
British, Modern restaurant in Cookham
The Pound - SL6
2023 Review: “Good food at a fair price” was reported again this year at this well-regarded pub: part of a local group with siblings in Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield. In good weather you can eat on the terrace, or book an ‘Oak Pod’ which seats up to 6 people, and incorporate a heater.
13. Gilbey’s
British, Modern restaurant in Eton
82 - 83 High Street - SL4
This “stylish restaurant” near the bridge to Windsor has been run for almost 50 years by co-founder Lin Gilbey, who is responsible for its interior design. Her husband and business partner Bill (scion of the Gilbey’s Gin dynasty) sadly passed away in 2022, but Lin has pressed ahead with improvements, acquiring the premises next door to offer corporate entertainment and private dining facilities. Modern British cooking is generally felt to be “solid”.
14. Friends
British, Modern restaurant in Pinner
11 High St - HA5
2021 Review: “A new chef is bringing style and ambition to this lovely period building” – an “intimate” five-hundred-year-old Tudor structure in central Pinner where Stelian Scripcariu has taken over from Terry Farr (owner for over 25 years) at the stoves. A trip “can work out expensive” (nothing new there) but all local reporters say it’s “well worth a visit”.
15. The Fat Duck
British, Modern restaurant in Bray
High St - SL6
“Not only did it live up to the hype and our expectations… it exceeded them!” “The theatre of a meal at the Fat Duck is like nowhere else” and for many reporters the “absolute culinary sorcery” and showmanship at Heston Blumenthal’s converted pub in bijoux Bray make for a “once-in-a-lifetime culinary blow out”, with a dazzling array of dishes that are “either divine or merely mind boggling”. All that conjuring can fall flat though (“the science lab style, and focus on sounds and lighting actually detracted from what was probably exquisite food”); or equally it may not stand up to a repeat visit (“maybe I have been too often but the experience is becoming repetitive – we need some renewal!”). And then there’s the fact that for about one in three of our reporters, more prosaic matters of value for money intrude on their consciousness, and their main takeaway is: “how expensive was that!?” “Some courses were fantastic, others not so good, but to be honest I’ve had better food at other restaurants that didn’t charge us £1,200 for two people”.
16. The Greene Oak
British, Modern restaurant in Windsor
Deadworth Rd, Oakley Grn - SL4
This smart boozer is a “great all-rounder with reliable gastropub fare and a fine garden with covered seating”. It’s the flagship of Brucan Pubs, a small group of ambition founded by a pair with strong credentials, ex-Savoy, Ivy and Groucho club chef Jamie Dobbin and James Lyon-Shaw , formerly operations manager at the ETM group.
17. The Loch & The Tyne
British, Modern restaurant in Old Windsor
10 Crimp Hill - SL4
“A stunning tasting menu where every course offers a unique experience” wins nothing but praise this year for Adam Handling’s out-of-town operation, in a “charming converted pub in Old Windsor”, acclaimed for the “same high-quality, creative cuisine as his other ‘Frog’ restaurants” (“my favourite was brill with hispi cabbage and lobster bisque emulsion!”). There are a number of menus including an à la carte selection and one dedicated to Sunday lunch; and “at £65 per head for six courses it’s tasting menu is great value” too. In September 2023, it was crowned ‘Dining Pub of the Year’ in the Great British Pub Awards.
18. The Butcher’s Tap
British, Modern restaurant in Marlow
15 Spittal Street - SL7
“After a minor revamp where the butchery emphasis was toned down and the pub feel improved”, this highly rated boozer (“a noisy part of the Kerridge empire”) “now has a great atmosphere”. “The meat is exceptional” too, whether you select your cut from the counter and watch as the chefs grill it, or just pop in for the “superb burgers” (including the in-demand special burger of the month).
19. The Coach
British, Modern restaurant in Marlow
3 West Street - SL7
“The best of Tom Kerridge’s places” – his no-bookings local in the centre of the town may look “pleasant, if nothing exceptional”, but it is the one the locals head to in preference to any other. “Normally it is difficult to get excited about a soup and a fishcake” but here the “simple but excellent food makes it worth a special journey” and “service is very welcoming and professional”.
20. The Hand & Flowers
French restaurant in Marlow
126 West Street - SL7
What to make of TV-star Tom Kerridge’s Thames Valley pub, which helped catapult him to stardom in 2012 when Michelin awarded the place two stars. The choice of this ordinary-feeling inn on the edge of town was always “a little quirky”, but for many years satisfaction levels here held up even if the “ambience varies depending on where you are sat, as it can be nice and atmospheric, or you can feel very much shunted to one side”. But for the most part, folks historically didn’t quibble: they just focused on the down-to-earth style and “very high-quality British cooking”. The latter is still sometimes applauded, even if dishes can seem “more traditional and less interesting/exciting than expected”. But the overall tide of sentiment has turned in recent years, with a growing view that “it’s such a pity that what was a fantastic restaurant has now become overpriced and overrated”. Even those who still hail it as “quite possibly the best gastropub in Britain” can still view it as “seriously overpriced and certainly not worthy of two Michelin stars”. And that’s still the upbeat verdict. More representative of feedback are those who say it’s “horrendously overpriced for what is only reasonable pub food” (“two stars? I’m sorry, but that really is a case of the ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’”). Despite this being one of Michelin’s worst ongoing conclusions, with their history of kowtowing to TV celebrities we’re not betting on a re-rating any time soon.
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