Southend, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“What a gem of a gastropub” – “creativity and good value” (“the set lunch menu is a tremendous bargain”) are the hallmarks of the cooking from chef Ben Watson, who returned to his home district in 2022 after working for some of London’s top chefs (Gordon Ramsay, Jason Atherton, Clare Smyth) to take over this well-established foodie venue just outside Henley. His wife Priya (ex-Gymkhana) runs the front of house, and the occasional South Asian twist on the modern British menu reflects her heritage.

All-day outfit on the riverside highly commended for a “beautifully cooked and presented breakfast at very reasonable prices” – “the bonus is a great location if weather permits sitting outside”. It’s also a “solid venue for lunch” and later, with tacos, poke bowls, burgers as well as more substantial fare, including a “good vegan selection”. Founder Shaun Dickens was a hot-shot young chef at Le Manoir and Per Se in New York, but reined in his culinary ambitions to suit the venue.

2023 Review: “Foraged food prepared over a fire: unbeatable?” – Nick Mash’s higgledy-piggledy village inn is “an absolute treasure of a place”, with “really interesting, special cooking” on a purpose-built wood-fired grill that helps achieve outstanding results. It’s “well worth the trip” to the Chilterns, “(and the beautiful rooms mean it’s worth the stay, too)”. We’ve rated it in the hope that it can maintain the high standards set by former chef Jon Parry, who departed in mid-2022 after five years at the helm.

2023 Review: Chef-patron Olivier Bouet, who had presented “excellent rustic French cuisine” at this Chilterns village gastropub for five years, recently moved on, and the new owners reopened in July 2022, announcing their plans for an ‘eclectic modern British menu with South African influence and popular grill favourites. Every item on the menu will be made on the premises’. It’s a big change of style, hence for the time being we’ve left it unrated.

One of the UK’s first wave of modern gastropubs (est. 1989, pipping the Eagle in Farringdon by a couple of years), this Chilterns village boozer serves an “imaginative menu which changes daily” in a “great atmosphere”. But there’s more to it: founder Paul Clerehugh is a former guitarist with 1970s glamrockers The Sweet, and organises “great music nights” in the pub’s heated marquee, attracting an eclectic line-up of performers (George Harrison in the early years; last year, Nigel Kennedy, the Bay City Rollers and Geno Washington).

“Ridiculous!”. “We’ve been to a lot of Michelin star restaurants, and we know this is a pub and not a tasting menu restaurant, but, sorry, only a limited choice of dishes for each course and very expensive for what they are at that” – typical feedback this year on Tom Kerridge’s famous Thames Valley boozer. Its fame was sealed in 2012 when it became the first pub in the world to be awarded two Michelin Stars, but after a sunny heyday and many years of celebratory reviews, its trajectory in recent times has been of steady decline and this year’s feedback was by far the worst yet. Over half of reporters consider the experience their most overpriced of the year, and – aside from the ludicrous prices – the food itself also takes flak for being “uninspiring” or “too salty”, with expressions like “inedible” and “made me angry” starting to feature in one or two accounts. It’s frankly hard not to conclude that only Tom’s TV celebrity stops the Tyre Men from pulling the gongs here. Perhaps he is aware, as change is afoot with a reallocation of the team – after our annual diners’ poll had concluded, in June 2025, Sarah Hayward was announced as the new head chef here, crowned Michelin Young Chef of the Year in 2023. Top Tip – during the week, there is a ‘Classics’ menu for £95 per person (not available at the weekends, hence higher formula-price shown).

In summer 2023, citing the need to ‘slow down’, TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson bowed out from his Oxfordshire gastropub after nearly two decades at the helm (the latter part of which was overshadowed by controversies relating to its anti-vaxxer stance, and, more recently, a worrying hygiene rating). While David Brown, who heads up Marlow’s Royal Oak has stepped into AWT’s shoes (the latter will remain on hand as a consultant), head chef Jamie Webber remains from the previous line-up, which should ensure continuity when it comes to the popular venue’s “generous” and “well-cooked” pub grub.

“Simply delicious British classics are executed to a high standard” at Tom Kerridge’s relaxed alternative to his famous (and over-pricey) flagship The Hand & Flowers just up the road, and a “very good-value set lunch” (two courses for £20 per person, three for £25 per person) adds to the appeal – no wonder several reporters “prefer it to the H&F”. “Every visit produces something special”, and there’s a “really lovely atmosphere, chatting with the chefs at the counter while watching them at their craft”. Top Tip – these days you can book on the day of your visit, so “book early”.

“The third Tom Kerridge pub in Marlow” (and far from the best-known), this “exciting” local boozer and butcher’s “took its time to find its feet”, but is now “really buzzy and a true carnivore’s dream”; “okay, it is expensive for supposedly pub food, but it’s not like any normal pub…you select your meat/steak or cut from the butcher’s counter”, as per their ‘Meat Locker’ concept, “sit down with your pint, and wait for it to be brought to you cooked as you ordered it” (namely “in unadorned splendour”, though they do offer fancy sides if you want to pimp things up).

“Very much a local gem” – “Dom Chapman’s pub/restaurant remains a most attractive and well-run establishment”, with a “cosy and inviting interior”, “friendly staff” and a “great-value set menu if you want to save some money as well”. Ratings have slipped a notch on reports of some “pedestrian and inconsistent” dishes, but the broader message is of a “great local”.

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.

“So pleased we went… the food, service and table decor was excellent and we look forward to going again” – this traditional pub on the village green parted ways with Dominic Chapman in 2023 and its nowadays run as part of a growing genre of UK establishments as an Indian-in-a-pub, serving fish ’n’ chips with curry sauce, chicken tikka burger… and on Sunday it’s tandoori chicken roast.