Hand and Flowers

Our group had quite an average experience at The Hand and Flowers. We, like others, waited quite a few months to enjoy a dinner here. A few dishes were not to individual liking, others were thoroughly enjoyed. Wait staff removed our Whitebait before fully consumed (despite an apparently unheard request to keep the appetizer at the table). Service was interesting – attentive, but one fellow seemed to need a better grasp of the English language. The dessert was unmemorable by taste, but the presentation was artistic. In lamentable contradiction to the pub’s acclaim, this was a pretty average dining experience.

I received the booking as a gift for my 70^th birthday in April last year and although we waited 12 months to visit, it was worth it. Everything about our experience on Sunday 10^th April was perfect. Walking across the car park you enjoy the beautiful aroma of seasoned wood burning on the patio. Entering the pub we were greeted by an extremely efficient and pleasant young lady, who took our name and politely asked if she could take my coat, before showing us to a table, where we waited until our lunch table was ready, food and wine menus were then passed to us, after which a very knowledgeable, polite and pleasant young lad took our drink orders, having explained the difference in the white wines. As usual, I ordered my vodka on ice. Nice to have such a selection, I chose Black Cow, one of my favourites and normally not seen behind bars. On finishing this I fancied another and even with a slight movement of the eyes, a waiter was there. I think they get inside your head LOL.
We were shown to our table and once seated, had our order taken. Our Waitress served us complimentary Whitebait and soda bread, my partner normally doesn’t enjoy Whitebait, but these were extremely fresh and delicious and quite a few went missing onto her plate.
Having selected a Red Wine, this was brought to the table, decanted and poured by again a very knowledge Young Man, who ensured our glasses were never empty.
Before leaving home we had already decided to select from the Sunday Lunch Menu and were not disappointed. Our starters of Pavé and Parfait of Salmon with black apple jelly, Confit Lemon, Avruga Caviar and Garlic Bread. When serving our food the Waitress explained that the Confit Lemon was the perfect accompaniment to the Salmon and should be savoured, she was certainly right, that small morsel had such a huge burst of lemon — exquisite!
For our main course we both selected the Treacle Cured Chateaubriand of Stokes Marsh Farm Beef. The beef was served on wilted Spinach and melted in your mouth, the Yorkshire Pudding was light and crispy, the Roast Potatoes the best ever. We also ordered a side of Broccoli which came with toasted Hazelnut mayonnaise, it is just gorgeous, I would love to know how that is made.
Dessert was an absolute delight for my partner, not one for normally eating chocolate puddings, she selected the Chocolate and Ale Cake as she wanted to taste the Muscovado Ice Cream, which was gorgeous, the salted caramel inside the cake was beautiful and the ale was served in a small glass, and our Waitress explained where the ale was brewed. I opted for cheese and biscuits — home made crackers, an explanation of all cheeses served and a recommendation that the small portion on cheese on the teaspoon be saved until until last, to ensure the flavour would be enjoyed fully and wow did it.
We decided to sit on the patio and enjoy our coffee, giving us the opportunity to chat with some of the staff, who all speak very highly of «Tom» not «Mr Kerridge». Great to chat with the Bar Manager and, even, the guy coming round to stoke up the wood burner. On returning to the bar for a final drink, we found Tom Kerridge chatting with some customers and discovered that we had been very very lucky — the man himself had been in the kitchen cooking our meals!!!
The Hand and Flowers prices may be quite expensive but you get what you pay for. All staff are highly trained, extremely knowledgeable about the food and drink served, and very very friendly. As one Waiter told us «we give two star Michelin service but we mustn’t forget, it’s a pub»
Tom Kerridge you deserve your success. To you and all your staff — THANK YOU for a very memorable meal.
Finally, to those that have given slightly negative reviews about prices of the food and wine. Like us, get on the web and check out before you go.

Ok, it’s pricey, but worth it in my opinion. It’s a lunchtime favourite for me and my wife and the set lunchtime menus are great value (of course, that’s a relative term!).
Also, very consistent. We’ve been going for years and never had a bad meal.

A friend of mine had been on the waiting list for here for over a year when he kindly allowed us to tag along with him. I’ve been a big fan of Tom since seeing him on the great British menu and have followed him ever since.
The pub is smaller than I expected, and they have stuck to a pub theme rather than a restaurant vibe when you arrive in the bar. There aren’t masses of seats but there were a few spares for people that wanted to just take a drink (especially on a warm day where additional seats are outside) The bar is well stocked with a selection of ales, beers, wines and various spirits. The bar service is friendly and our orders were taken quickly.
When our reservation time came we were escorted into the dining area which is again quite small and a little on the cramped side although once seated there is enough room. The menu is small with about 8 –10 selections each course all that sound really good and catering for all tastes. While there are connections to «pub grub» its a lot more up market! we were kindly given recommendations as we asked for them and then supplied with freshly cooked soda bread and fried whitebait as an entrée.
I went for the beef, and it was perfect! soft to the chew and full of flavour. the accompanying potatoes were amazing! my only complaint is that there are only three… although this was enough to leave me satisfied.
On our table there was also the pork loin and duck breast all which gained rave reviews from the people that demolished them.
Desert was the soufflé, it was a little bit sweet for my liking but the ladies in the group assured me it was top notch!
The service in the pub was very good, not quite up to the level of Michelin star restaurants that I have been to but way above other gastro pubs.
If there wasn’t such a long waiting list to get a reservation I would most certainly come here again soon but I guess I will have to wait :(

At first I was annoyed with the online booking system, but I called and requested a date. They called back within a couple of days and booked us in, so it was fairly efficient really.
After a few months of anticipation, we finally visited the Hand and Flowers at noon on a Thursday.
The place was just great, a warm welcome and an ale before being taken through to our table. I already knew what I was going to order…
I’d heard about the whitebait and bread through other reviews on here, it was delivered swiftly.
Salty yes, but really good. I’ve had whitebait before in cheapy pub restaurants, and it’s usually really bad. They’d actually pulled it off well at the H&F, I look forward to trying it again.
I went for the crispy pigs head, delicious. I wasn’t too keen on the pancetta, I’d have preferred that to be crisp as I think the flavour is better, but all round a very well balanced dish. I also got to try the potato risotto as my date had that, it was a first for me (the risotto, not the date) it was the most garlicky thing I’d ever eaten and I didn’t want it to end.
For mains I had to try the duck. Menus nowadays are so vague, they list a couple of things ‘Duck, peas, duck fat chips’ but what you actually get it a whole load of well though out and beautifully presented food. There’s a little ball of something duck related that you get, crispy duck skin, some kind of ducky puff and some duck liver parfait. Loads of food. The peas are actually minty peas with duck and some kind of lettuce, all topped off with a decent glug of ‘serve your own’ gravy.
For pud I had some kind of malt cake with ice cream and tuiles.
I couldn’t not have one as I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get the chance to eat there again. I didn’t enjoy it as I was already at bursting point. I wish I could eat it now, once the food had gone down.
I forgot to mention, while waiting for the mains, my date was in the ladies room and I see a person standing next to me in my peripheral vision. Before I could turn my head to see who it was, I hear the three most glorious words in the English language, and ones that I could never say no to ‘Another pint, sir?’.
We went to Marcus’ last night in London, the H&F was a thousand times better in my opinion. Way less formal, way friendlier staff and about half the cost. A lot has to be said for Marlow as well, what a lovely town. After eating we walked to a park and had a good old fashioned lay down. It felt like a Sunday afternoon. Lovely.
If I could a) afford to eat here every day and b) not die from my liver turning in to pure pâte… Then I would eat here daily.
Cheers.

It’s fair to say that the hype for this place is pretty high — what with the notoriously tiny space meaning that one must book months (a year, in our case!) in advance, and the fact that it’s the only British pub to hold two Michelin stars. Luckily, I wasn’t disappointed when I went in November 2014.
Upon sitting down, a twist of teeny, crispy battered whitebait appeared at the table alongside sourdough bread and butter. The whitebait presentation mimicked the way fish and chips is traditionally rolled up in that day’s newspapers; a nod to the standard fare on offer in gastropubs. Salty and moreish, my mother and I polished it off in less than a minute! For starters, Mum chose crispy pig’s head with spiced date purée, apple, plum and pancetta. The report? Succulent, sensuous and deeply flavourful. I had the lovage soup with bramley apple, smoked eel and ham and cheese tortellini. The soup was beautifully presented and super-​green; the cubes of eel and apple were perfectly matched with the flavour of lovage, which made me sit bolt upright as soon as I brought a spoon of it to my lips. The tortellini, however, was a slight disappointment — I’d have liked there to be more than one and felt that the ham and cheese filling drowned when faced with the stronger, smokier flavours that jostled for attention in this bowl.
For mains: a medium rare fillet steak of Stokes Marsh beef with chips and béarnaise sauce for my mother. A classic choice, my mum said it was wonderfully cooked and seasoned, and the béarnaise extra special with the tarragon flavour coming through more than usual. Perched atop of the steak were two beautifully caramelised onion rings, which my mother claimed as the best onion rings she’d ever eaten! And for me, an amazingly tender duck, its texture achieved with sous vide cooking. Nestled atop a bed of duck mousse, and garnished with the crispiest shard of duck skin, it came with chips taken to another level, cooked in duck fat, and Savoy cabbage with crispy duck. The duckiest dish I’d ever had for sure.
Looking around, I could see why we’d had to wait a year for a table. The Hand and Flowers is tiny inside — true to the architecture of the surrounding area with low-​ceilinged rooms complete with bare beams — and can probably only seat about twenty five covers at a time. But the size means that the service is impeccable. We were waited on hand and foot, had the menu patiently explained to us. And when I described my ideal glass of white wine (pale, sweet but not overly scented), I was brought a perfect Riesling.
And finally, pudding. You’ve got to have it when you go to the pub for Sunday lunch, right? But this was of a completely different class. Mum ordered blueberry soufflé with lemon verbena syrup and an extraordinary parma violet-​flavoured ice cream. Tasting it took me way back to primary school, confronted by the perplexing flavours I encountered in those hated lilac sugary tablets, encased in cellophane. Only this time, my grown-​up tastebuds probably appreciated it more… I ordered a burnt honey panna cotta, bedecked with gem-​like honeycomb, silky meringues, English pear and a lavender sorbet. Presented with a wonderfully delicate touch, this was the point where it became clear to me that The Hand And Flowers really deserved both of its Michelin stars. And that this wasn’t just pub dining any more.
My mother and I soothed our distended bellies with hot drinks — coffee for her for the road, and a mint tea for me. I’m a huge fan of glass tea receptacles and the teapot and accompanying glass were so covetable. I was so impressed by the design of the glass, allowing the drinker to cradle their tea without getting burnt fingertips. And that was really what summed up our experience at The Hand and Flowers for me: food that wasn’t too many light years away from the familiar, homely dishes that I’m used to, but a level of considerate service that took us leagues away from the establishments on the high street. Suffice to say, I’d really love to come back some day — if I can be fitted in with the hordes of people dying to dine here!
Pictures and more of my thoughts on The Hand & Flowers can be found on my blog:

Maybe I’m suffering from gastropub burnout? Perhaps nowhere can live up to the expectations that having to book a year in advance engender? I don’t know, but for some reason the Hand and Flowers just didn’t really wow me the way I was really hoping it would.
It was pure chance that when I phoned up to book in Feb 2014 the earliest weekend table they could offer me happened to be on my birthday, in Jan 2015. The sitting was for 21:45, which was later than I would have liked but it seemed as though fate had intervened in my birthday planning so I took it.
In hindsight I think having to wait that long meant that I maybe raised my expectations to an unobtainable level. The only pub with 2 Michelin stars in the UK, a huge waiting list, it must be amazing, right? Hmmm, well I guess.
Don’t get me wrong, it was a really good meal, it just wasn’t a great one. We were seated 20 minutes late, which usually wouldn’t really bother me but in this case it meant it was 22:05. That’s pretty late for dinner.
Service was polite and efficient throughout our meal. Various members of the team looked after us and communication behind the scenes was obviously good as there was no crossover despite us being taken care of by three or four different wait staff.
Food arrived at good intervals and presentation was as you would expect from this sort of establishment, as were the menu items. Anyone for curly kale or hispy cabbage?
I’m not doing a good job of vocalising my reasoning behind my totally average star rating. The crux of it for me was that when I compare my experience here to that I’ve had in other gastropubs which only (!) managed to garner a single Michelin star I didn’t feel like the Hand and Flowers did anything that any of those didn’t, or offered anything significantly better.
It was good, but I thought the Royal Oak in Maidenhead was better and the Crown at Bray just as good. I had to wait 6 times longer to eat here than I did at the Fat Duck, I don’t think I’d wait that long again.

Glad we got in here a few times before Tom’s name blew up and the restaurant was discovered by a lot more people due to his series on the BBC. Well earned success, and rich tasty indulgent food awaits. Booking is probably a nightmare now though, but it’s worth the effort. They also offer great accommodation in nearby converted cottages, very swish.

I went here on a whim with my sister on my recent trip to the UK, and we were lucky to get a seat at the bar. The bartender James was extremely friendly and provided great service!
However my meal was not what I expected.
I started with the potted artichokes with cured pork, summer truffle, trompette, and rye cracker. Unfortunately I found this dish pretty bland and unimpressive.
My main was the fillet of sea bass with roast tomato fondue, peppers, and aubergine «provençal», thyme salt, and French olive oil. I enjoyed this plate for the most part, especially the aubergine’s excellent flavours of cumin and coriander. However my fish needed salt!
I ordered the chocolate ale cake with salted caramel and muscovado ice cream for dessert, which again was lacking in flavour.
Overall the meal was not what I would expect from a Michelin star restaurant. For the price we paid, which was about £180 total (including 2 – 3 alcoholic drinks each), it wasn’t worth it to me.

The only two star michelin pub in the UK and recently voted the best restaurant in the whole country!
Everything was beautiful from start to finish. The bar area is lovely — exposed beams and leather sofas. The bar itself was stocked with all manner of exciting artisan spirits too. All reasonable priced too — a pint was £3.80
The staff were friendly and attentive without being over pretentious, although we did notice that their wasn’t a sommelier.
The starter of parmesan and smoked haddock was incredible, so rich and gooey. The lamb bun was also a delight and then the pudding — pear soufflé was just the most amazing dessert I’d ever had.
Was very surprised when the bill came — so much food and a great g&t and really wasn’t nearly as much as I expected to pay.

Honestly, the only thing that drives me crazy about the Hand & Flower is that it’s so hard to get a reservation.
*grumpsgrumps*
Anywho, here’s my report on the 2-​Michelin starred Hand & Flowers:
GO. If you’re at all jaded by pub-​fare-​done-​wrong, this place’ll set you right. It’s unassuming (like a pub!) but has a killer vintages and gin list (like a fancypants spot!).
It also, for its reputation and the pedigree of the chef, a really great deal. The 3-​course set lunch menu is 19.50 (no options: 1 set dish per course). To refocus: 19.50! A bright green leek and potato soup with a pickled quail’s egg and dried leek «straw» on top? YES’UM. Crispy pork belly with celeriac and apple purée and a perfectly pink radish? Un-​hunh, totes. And for dessert a rhubarb fool with yoghurt ice cream that — please note that I’m an intense rhubarb fanatic — blew me away with its mix of creamy and tart.
Another option is to go a la carte. I am going to stick with my consistent cheering of this spot and exclaim: this ain’t a bad option, either! The glazed omelette with smoked haddock and parmesan is ridiculous. RIDICALISS! It’s rich, but with perfectly meaty chunks of haddock and salty creamy cheese and… yes. Order this, please. Sides like triple-​cooked batons of fries and broccoli with hollandaise and toasted hazelnuts don’t disappoint. At all.
I have no sweet tooth, but could not resist. Warm pistachio cake with melon sorbet comes out a bright green. Panacotta with strawberry jelly and teeny tiny licorice meringues was super special.
Oh also — gee, I love this place — the coffee is great.
Unilocal note: Marlow itself is a beautiful place a short romp out of London with summery bunting on the streets and happy people doing happy things (perhaps I have rose coloured impressions based on my stomach’s happiness post-​lunch, but still!)
Do others find that British bread ain’t that grand? No crisp to the crusts, no great crumb? You’ll get some relief at the Hand & Flowers with their side of sourdough and soda bread. So, so delicious with butter and a peppercorn-​y mix.

Recent wedding anniversary trip to the pub, was excited at going but disappointed with the experience. :(Table was booked for 7pm, didn’t get to sit down until 7−45pm, waited 15 minutes before being given a menu !! Took a further 20 mins before they took our order, eventually got a plate of food in front of us 30 mins later !! By this time we were starving, staff were rude and clearly weren’t professional at all ! Other diners were waiting as well, one party of 4 walked out !! Assistant manager was out of her depth, think her name was Claire, food eventually when it arrived was lukewarm, very disappointed by the whole evening. Ruined our anniversary !! Definitely will never go there again ! One to avoid !!!

Absolutely fantastic it is the first Pub to win 2 Michelin stars and it is easy to see how. Flawless service truly amazing food as nice as I have ever enjoyed in a relaxed and friendly environment. Too many astonishing dishes to mention without almost reciting the entire menu (THE DUCK!!!). Accessible wine prices although you can go as far as your budget permits.

We had a lovely afternoon at the Hand & Flowers.
Food was deliciously lovely and we think that the service was decent. The complimentary canapé (fried whitebait with mayo) was a nice touch along with the housemade soda bread, coudn’t resist to get another serve of the bread. Our mains were cooked to perfection. I had the tenderloin of pork with malt glazed cheek, garlic sausage and mustard leaf. So tender and juicy and well-​seasoned! My partner had the lobster baked hake, interesting combo but executed nicely. We had roasted potatoes and kale with ham hock as our side dishes. Both were again cooked perfectly.
For dessert we had the chocolate cake and the raspberry soufflé. Yum, yum, yum!
We will definitely come back when they change to a new menu!

A solid **** stars for this Michelin 2* icon in Marlow. The meal enjoyed here was top-​notch from start to finish, but lacked the added lustre that I would normally expect from a restaurant with this pedigree.
To start with the positives: the food was well executed from start to finish. This goes from the addictive Salt & Pepper Soda Break (served with some of the best butter in recent memory) to the iconic «Great British Menu» Duck Breast with chips and peas, to (my favourite) the Raspberry Soufflé that we enjoyed from dessert. The wine list was large and diverse; the service staff was proactive without being overbearing; the setting (!) in an old pub was something charming and different.
But at points, I felt that the Hand & Flowers lacked the creativity or the je-​né-​sais-​crois of similarly regarded restaurants. I would absolutely put the Hand & Flowers in the same sentence of gastropub favourites such as the Harwood Arms and the Bull & Last (both fantastic restaurants!), but would I put it in the same sentence as the Fat Duck? Or the Waterside Inn? Probably not.
The Glazed Haddock and Parmasean Omelette was tasty, but surprisingly bland… it had richness, but to lack enough seasoning; pacing between courses was odd at times (appetisers came out too quickly — we were still munching on the Whitebait amuse); there were no petit-​fours; the quarters were a bit cramped.
But don’t get me wrong. The Hand & Flowers is a lovely place to have dinner, and when I next return to Marlow, I will most definitely try to come back. I was just expecting a touch more. That’s all.

Granted we didn’t have a reservation but there were plenty of tables an they were able to seat us promptly outside in the garden. My complaint is that after seating us, nobody bothered to check on us for 45 minutes despite my attempts to get their attention, they just ignored us. After the long wait, we were in a bit of a rush so the person who finally arrives suggested that we only had time to eat the fish and chips which were good but not award winning.
A true sign of good service is impartiality expressed towards the customer, whether you have a reservation or not, every customer is important and first impressions do count.

This is a gastro-​pub with the emphasis overwhelmingly on the gastro rather than the pub. So much emphasis in fact that this is not really a pub at all — there is no bar to speak of and everything is run (up to a point) in accordance with its 2 Michelin star status and with prices to match.
This is not necessarily a bad thing but it does mean that this establishment should be judged by restaurant standards rather than anything else. For me, it is very good but not excellent and probably not deserving of its second star. First, the service is not top notch. For example, our pre-​dinner drinks (which are taken at the table) and the glasses of wine we had ordered to pair with our starters arrived at the same time the last time we visited and would have been left to get room had we not complained. Although this was sorted out, it really shouldn’t happen in a restaurant which at this level.
Second, I had a slight problem with the table layout which being situated in a (former) pub is a bit disjointed and at times cramped. Again, not a massive point but this is not something that you would even notice at any of the UK’s other 2 star restaurants.
So, the food. Well, it is always a good sign when the chef (Tom Kerridge of Great British Menu fame) clearly enjoys his food and I have not been disappointed on any of my visits. The Slow Cooked Duck Breast was a particular highlight — succulent, rich and delicious. I always find the side of Kale and Ham Hock (salt and iron goodness!?) impossible to resist as well. To finish, the best dish on the menu for me is the Pear Soufflé which is served with a Poire William Sorbert (I would recommend some Poire William on the side in your glass as well).
I probably won’t return here too often as it is a bit of a pain to get to from North London. However, although it is not perfect, I will no doubt be back at some point for some more Kale and Ham Hock!

It’s a pub and it’s got a Michelin star — guess what the prices are like.
Actually, it was a pub. Now, though, it’s a restaurant with accommodation. And what a restaurant too.
The food is absolutely out of this world — delicious, imaginative and of the utmost quality. What’s more, for such a prestigious kitchen, the prices are affordable for us mere humans too.
The décor is simple and elegant, the staff attentive to the nth degree. There is ample parking (the place isn’t that big) and the location is just out of the town centre.
If you fancy a decent meal and don’t want to head into London, then I’d totally recommend a a visit here.

Ask someone what they think of an idylic British pub. I bet you that perhaps their vivid imagination will pick up some of the great features here at the H&Flowers pub. Its purely British in all its pride, or Scottish! The pure target of the staff at this place is to make good food, and often my decision to come here for an afternoon lunch is money well spent. I’ve never not had a smiling waitress or waiter here, which I think really improves the morale of all the staff, including chefs etc. I haven’t been for a while, but I’ve had some of the best ‘farmhouse’ style food such as Bangers and Mash here, along with the others. Interior great and cosy!

From the outside this place looks like a standard warm and welcoming period type pub and it definitely has that cozy pub feel about it, but it offers so much more. Essentially it is a family run restaurant which has a real homely atmosphere, however you soon realise this is one classy restaurant that delivers first rate food. The place has a Michelin star no less! I would say the menu is British fair with a twist, all the ingredients are fresh and in season and delivered on the plate in a imaginative but unpretentious way. The service is excellent. On the down side for me it is a fair old car journey from where I live but if you fancy a drink and are feeling fairly flush they have the most gorgeous quartet of guest suites (I was lucky enough to be shown them — pics on their website) each one individually styled and oozing style!
I cannot recommend this place enough, I am confident you will not be disappointed.