Eton, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

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”.

Adam Handling’s charming and well-known converted pub in Old Windsor was launched in 2021 and offers a wide and flexible array of eating options – from pub classics, to a selection of steaks, to a tasting menu for £65 per person. Fancier options, like the “totally brilliant private dining room”, inspire some reporters’ best meals of the year and everyone likes the venue’s “very busy hum”. Not all reports are quite so enthusiastic, but even a disappointed reporter rated the food well.

“Very friendly service with good-quality food on a menu that’s refreshed regularly” is the recipe for success at this smart boozer that is now the flagship of Brucan Pubs, a five-strong group from chef Jamie Dobbin (ex-Savoy, Ivy and Groucho CLub) and James Lyon-Shaw, ex- operations manager at the ETM group. One unusual feature is the horsebox converted into a mini dining room in the garden – a tribute to the regal town’s equestrian tastes, perhaps.

“More an experience than a meal out: an amazing trip with faultless service and a restaurant and kitchen running like clockwork” – that’s a convert’s take on Heston Blumenthal’s temple of bizarre molecular gastronomy, world famous for its outlandish culinary concoctions and wacky ideas (like listening to the sea on headphones as you eat seafood). Especially for a first-timer, it can seem “outstanding in all aspects”, and to be fair even many of its detractors do actually rate the kitchen’s creations here as outstanding. But that it delivers “gastronomic theatre rather than a meal out” leads to a view in some quarters that this is “a once-in-a-lifetime experience, rather than somewhere to return to” (and a reporter who did comment on a repeat visit found the second run lacked variety). Then there’s the perennial issue of the “outrageous” prices, which continue to be a major detractor for about one third of reporters and which foster a feeling among more sceptical diners that the whole schtick is a case of “emperor‘s new clothes” – (“at least paying in advance removes some of the shock of the astronomic cost”). Finally, the ambience of this converted pub is “difficult to score as the decor is minimalist and the room is dark”: it isn’t dire but it’s safe to say that it’s not a huge contributor to the event. None of the above is new, by the way – this is a similar review to the one featured in the guide for many of the last ten years… and the show marches on…

Ex-Core chef Steven Ellis & pastry-chef wife Ami’s “temple-of-gastronomy-wolf in a comfy-pub-sheep’s clothing” launched two years back and it has a particular focus on local game. The “highly distinctive and skilfully crafted cuisine” (with “venison to the fore”) plus “attentive and courteous service” place it “at the top gastropub level”. NB – while “parking is potentially tricky, one could enjoy a delightful walk in Windsor Great Park before or after a meal here”.

“Impeccable!” – “Adam Smith has definitely added the wow factor to what was formerly the Restaurant Coworth Park” and with the Dorchester Collection’s 2023 revamp of this mansion’s main dining room – replacing its formerly bland international luxe looks with very successful, “subtle but stylish” surroundings – it is fully emerging as one of the south east’s foremost gastronomic destinations (“surely it must be heading for two Michelin stars”). “Several snacks lead into the hospitality masterclass which Adam and his team, including front of house, achieve at each visit”. “Bread is not just a side issue but a course in itself and something to be savoured” and is followed up by “exciting dishes realised with flair” and “a fantastic lightness of touch”; all “superbly presented” by the “smiling, thoughtful, nattily dressed staff”. And “the cheese room is an experience in itself”. “The best meal we have had in a long time”: “pricing has gone up quite significantly” but no-one complains about this – they say it’s “still worth it as the food is phenomenal”. “Gorgeous grounds to wander around too”.

“Some outstanding food and clever twists in the tasting menu” inspired high ratings and enthusiasm levels this year in the “really special” and “intimate” dining room (just seven tables) of this stately pile, complete with Tudor fireplace and tapestries, where chef Alex Payne’s menus accounted for some reporters’ best meals of the year. Some reports include quibbles, but even a diner who was at the only occupied table at the time said “what a pleasant meal and what charming staff. Not expensive by today’s standards and definitely worth the detour”.

A “lovely location – the converted stables on the Cliveden estate”, the Astor family’s Italianate country mansion where Christine Keeler famously frolicked in the pool, to the delight of War Minister John Profumo, is sadly let down by its number two restaurant, in the former stable block – “the main dining room was closed during the week so we ate in the Astor Grill, but the disappointing menu and even more disappointing food led me to wish I had waited a few years until my wife’s birthday fell on a weekend. Suggest you do the same. My only excuse is that you don’t turn 80 every day!”.

Owned by the National Trust since 1942 and a hotel since 1985, former guests at this famous palazzo (dating from 1666) include many of the 20th century’s most famous figures (Churchill, Gandhi, Roosevelt…). The “slightly stuffy but still jaw-dropping ambience of the beautiful dining room” of this famous palazzo makes it a perennial nomination for a “romantic” meal, but its fairly conventional modern European cuisine (with starting options including a wide selection of caviar) has never established itself as an especially foodie one, particularly for those concerned with value. as it can often seem “overpriced”. Top Tip – “Heavenly afternoon tea” – “a nicer location than grand London hotels” and “the views are exceptional”.

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.

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: 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”.

This independently owned and run pub just off the Thames Path serves “first-class, chef-quality cooking at chain-pub prices, with a great menu for all occasions” – “you don’t find many pub-restaurants full on a Tuesday lunchtime, but this one is for good reason”. “They even make gravies from scratch for each Sunday roast and their own desserts!”

Entering its fifth year since its founding in 2019, Daniel Crump & Margriet Vandezande- Crump’s converted coaching inn continues to dazzle with its all-round excellence (and was sensibly rewarded by the AA as their 2024/5 ‘Restaurant of the Year’). It’s not a gastropub, but “an outstanding fine-dining restaurant”, where you can eat à la carte or there’s a tasting menu for £95 per person. “You notice the service from the second you arrive. It isn’t a surprise to find the same staff there, year on year, as they have careers and are developed as professionals. The food is always of the highest quality with a very accomplished kitchen” led by head chef George Sweeney. A very large proportion of locals said it delivered their best meal of the year and it is now one of the top-100 most commented-on destinations outside London in our annual diners’ poll.