The Hand & Flowers

My wife and i , had dinner here on saturday, i must admitt i was slightly optomostic that this would live up to other 2 michelin star establishments i have been too, but i am glad to say i was blown away, it was a country mile ahead in my view. The restaurant is very small, but has a very traditional feel, and has kept the “pub” theme, which is great. Very friendly and informal staff, really liked this, not some ponsy snob looking down on you like he is doing you a favour as many of these michelin restaurants have…that i hate!

the food, i had the crispy pigs head to start my wife had the haddock omelette, both were brilliant and of the highest standard , mine in particular was for a lack of a better word, monumental!! i could have easily eaten another one and beautifully presentented, not a pigs head in sight!!!

second course i had the duck which won Tom the main from great british menu, it was brillaint and the chips to die for, my wife had the beef which was one of the best i have tatsted soo tender and flavoursom.

we opted to share a dessert, a chocolate cake, it was very good indeed, not the best i have had, but it can be forgiven for the rollercaoster of flavours we had just been presented with.

i have eaten at most 2 and 3 star michelin retaurants in london, this was right up their with the best and in my view eclipses them, well done michelin at last your inspectors have got it right, shame they cant get it right with the london scene, i would be stripping many of them of their stars, they simply do not deserve them in any way shape or form.

the most amazing thing, 2 starters 2 mains, desert, 2 glasses of champagne, wine, water, a smidge over 140, notes,service was not added to the bill we left tip in cash, any london restaurant would be minum double that if not tripple, plus how these london restaurants have the bare face cheek to add 15% service charge to the bill is a disgrace, i always cross it off and leave what i think is a reasonable tip. this is the best value michelin eatery i have ever been too and i cant wait to go back.

I don’t even know where to start, seriously. Hand and flowers is this kind of places, not being their fault, but trapped into the endlessness vicious circle of Michelin establishment. Granted 2 stars by the Michelin guide in the 2012 edition. OK this is nice, this friendly, this is overwhelming…but STOP. This is a fact. From 7 years being living in the UK I’ve always been easy with the rating of restaurants in the country, trying to identify the difference and understand.
From most starred restaurant in the world, to the best places in France and the UK, I’ve to say, that in this particular occasion we’re reaching the level of the ridicule.
Not for the respect of the chef, certainly not. After a full meal I think I had quite a decent experience for 3 hours. But come on, this is not acceptable to compare some places in the UK to the Hand and Flowers.
This is not acceptable to compare the Green House in London to this pub, the Pied a Terre, the teams in the world suffering every day to bring an experience, a moment in the life of you and me. This is not simply acceptable to compare the Gavroche or Joel Robuchon to the H/S. Even the Mid-Summer which I detailed over a full post was to be applauded in this instance. Something in going wrong in the Michelin rating establishment and we will have to understand what is happening.
Is it a kind of mafia surrounding the French established born guide ….. carrying what they did for the some recognized Chef in the world, and almost being creating a subsidiaries of connection with some grown up chef.
I’m fed seriously fed up with this outrageous way of the Michelin guide to establish new scales, new benchmarking where there is definitely none. Established for a while in the world. I will take the example of some Tailevent in Paris. How dare would you rate Taillevent the same level as the Hand and Flowers?
Am I missing the point here? Are we saying the UK Michelin got a different rating as the rest of the world? Then if the anwer to that question is a Yes, then I’m giving up. I though Michelin was establishing a global and standard level of rating all cross the world. This would be my mistake.
Here Tom Tom Kerridge, with all the best respect I got for his talent since I’ve seen him in Great British Menu, I can’t understand how you could have the respect to be part of the group of established Michel Roux or Joel Robuchon and not being ashamed of been awarded the same level on a simple pub in the middle of Marlow. I would be you, I would write to the Michelin headquarter telling that there must be an misunderstanding.
The first minute of this moment are just living the sum up of all the rest of the experience……Nill…close to nothing.
We arrive, we see a nice pub, a team chatting, an usual hesitation on taking your clothes and then the noisy dining room….are you sure this is the place you’re coming to have a Sunday roast?? Almost surreal.
Two Stars? This is a joke!!
My god….Michelin Guide UK is driving the people nuts by doing this kind of analogy. This is really bad, and these not even the fault of mister Kerridge. Seriously.
The Michelin star in the UK is not on the first time proceeding to this kind of operation. They did it recently in 2011 for Arbutus in London. Same scenario, as the total surprise was astonishing. Even from them from really close sources.
Come on Michelin team, you can do better and be realistically independent. Stop trying to ruin the level you established in other countries by just rushing and creating stars where there is none.
I’ve been recently to the Elephant in Torqay and this was a far better experience than the Hand and Flowers
Worse than that, something happen which never happen to me, and which was even worse for this poor chef…..a hair….seriously I’m not joking….this is a first time I had a hair in my dish. This was a joke. I’m not even doing any fuss of it ….expect that I and my friend had to wait 20 minutes to get another dish ready to replace.
Also I’ve to say, on top of that, we’ve been commended to leave the table for a certain time….what the hell is that…if you’re a 2 stars…you deal with that? I can’t wait to see serious people coming to your restaurant (pub)
In essence…..forget about this place.
If the food can be nice…..I’m not even commenting about it….as I’ve been so much disgusted by the treatment and the rudeness of the management and staff.
I even had to claim to cancel the price of counted replacement dish??? …….in a history of good food and Michelin star, this is a pure disappointment. Leaving me with hanger against my favorite guide and the fact that some people are currently committing into the selling of the quite old and established guide. We’re losing in quality and independency. This is a shame.
I hope this is not the start or even continuity of a downfall. I’m working to make people understand the real rating established a long time ago by people with passion. Recently the Michelin guide has committed a self-suicide by promoting too many places ….and not real looking to their own rating benchmark. I would recommend to those people currently working at Michelin to travel more. To experience more places in the world. You should go to Tokyo messieurs. You should go to Paris or Spain messieurs.
How can you rate Noma, Robuchon, Gavroche, Carré de Feuillants, …..or even Mid Summer with a 2 stars when you are rating 2 star at Hand and Flower.
This is OUTREAGOUS.
I would recommend you to extend your bib gourmand to different level…..this would be wiser.
As a lover of food and quality…….I’m sorry Hand and Flowers is a nice pub…maybe the best….but this is a PUB
Please enjoy the food…….unfortunately on shade by the silliness of an international rating established by currently falling regulator.
To the image of the big financial rating agencies…..it seems that some food rating agencies are currently overwhelming their power…..this could be their downfall soon….

Having followed Tom Kerridge on the Great British Menu I decided to book a table for dinner and a room in the hotel back in June for a surprise for my boyfriends birthday last week.

We arrived very excited and were checked in pretty quickly despite it being really very busy with the last of the lunch guests. The room was lovely – very comfortable and some great features like a huge copper bath in one corner of the room – really quite fun!

Dinner was nothing short of DELICIOUS!!! The atmosphere in the restaurant was brilliant, the guests were buzzing, sharing food and generally really enjoying themselves – and rightly so! The staff were so cheerful and extremely attentive and as a special birthday treat we got to meet Tom himself! What a lovely guy!

We will definitely go back as everything was just superb and I can't wait to sample more of his food!

Finally made it back to The Hand and Flowers after more than a year, and it still impresses. We live in London and are huge food fanatics, having dined at numerous top restaurants this wonderful city has to offer. So it's a great relief that the restaurant's standards have stayed consistent, and in parts improved.

I also decided to write this quick review to rebut the infuriating review of Mr. Guy F, who seemed to only visit this restaurant to receive a personal apology by the owner. Eh? Who does that?? And then have the nerve to give this restaurant a "1″ for Value and a "1″ for atmosphere.

This is without doubt one of the best value for money Michelin Restaurants in the region. Our lunch today totalled £125 for two (starters, mains and desserts) including two glasses of champagne (unfortunately I was driving). Where can you experience Michelin quality food of such caliber for around £60 per person. My experiences at Helene Darroze and Marcus Wareing recently have been a lot less impressive and I can assure you the bill came to a lot , a LOT, more than £125. As for atmosphere, I am not sure what people expect but the interior is quaint, warm and very inviting. It also had nice, natural buzz for a rather quiet lunch service and I can't imagine how it could receive a “1”??

The award winning duck dish is as good as I hoped and my wife's Haddock Omelette was creative and packed with flavour. The only critique I would have, would be the quality of the desserts. Neither dessert could keep up with the starters nor the mains. So good but not special. However, these are small issues and I really can't recommend this restaurant highly enough. Keep up the good work!

Went yesterday for Sunday lunch and this place is fantastic. Off the back of Tom Kerridge's great performance on the Great British Menu, this place was understandably packed.

The food was fantastic, I started with Moules Mariniere but this was nothing like one I had tasted before. No shells, all served in a pot with a stout based sauce which was lovely. My girlfriend had the smoked haddock omelette which was lovely as well, packed with flavours. The main event was the Roast Hog from the TV programme and it lived up to the hype. Never had pork that tasted so good!

Puddings were great too, my creme brulee with a shot of beer hit the spot. Simple was perfectly done. The gf had a pictachio cake with melon. That was fantastic.

I guess the only downside if there was one, was the service. Whilst the staff are very chatty and pleasant, they did seem to struggle slightly when the restaurant was full. I did hear a couple of complaints but we weren't in a rush and just happy to enjoy the atmosphere. I suppose once they move this up a notch with its increased popularity, it will tick every box. They even let us take our puddings to the garden.

All in all, a cracking sunday lunch and we'll definitely be back.

Popped into the Hand and Flowers Marlow for a quick snack lunch on our way home after an extremely disappointing ‘luxury break’ at the Vineyard at Stockcross (see separate review if you’re of a morbid disposition). We were in truth pretty teed off at being taken by a rise with sub standard food at premium prices.
Within a minute after stepping in the Hand and Flowers our dark mood instantly lifted. Although only One Michelin Star, aiming at a lower price point it was a complete triumph.
The service was perceptive, proactive and friendly .. As soon as we sat down despite ordering the lowcost set lunch (planning to eat supper at home), we soon had an original idea freebie of whitebait with a dip and some great bread with top quality butter. That was followed by a generous kilner jar full of tasty hamhock terrine with crispy thickly sliced toasted sourdough. Main course was crispy lamb’s breast on a bed of artfully arranged boulengerie potato over melting sweet slow roasted onions. Despite our originally good intentions of a light lunch we finished with the a la carte apricot soufflé, which was the best we’ve ever eaten washed down with excellent espresso coffee. With an excellent Argentinean Malbec Cabernet blend and a generous tip the bill was under £60 .. Stonking lunchtime value and perfect in every way on our visit

Avoid! Extremely disappointing meal at this restaurant. Phoned up to book a birthday lunch and the member of staff was EXTREMELY rude. To his credit, owner (who sounded genuinely nice) sent an email to say the member of staff had been spoken to which was good. However, we then turned up for a meal and the owner hadn't bothered to be there to apologise personally – interesting decision given the state of the restaurant business at the moment and the importance of customer retention. Despite its good food, the place lacked atmosphere overall and, while the service throughout the meal was good, after having had a bad experience on the phone with no apology (although I was informed afterwards that a relatively unflagged intermediate dish was the apology and that had I ordered dessert there was a birthday plate to follow – you couldn't make this stuff up!), we decided to leave. Italian waiter spoke no English so ordering a drink took about ten minutes, before we gave up and asked another person. The table next to us arrived after us but got served before. They asked for the bill after us and got it before (again). Bit annoying. Took 20 minutes to get our bill sorted and even then we had to point out that they'd overcharged us £20 for a bottle of wine we didn't drink. Good food, very lacklustre and inconsistent service. As I say, owner didn't make the effort to be there after the rude phone call on my birthday. Bad decision. We'll now NEVER go back (we would have done had he made the effort). Avoid. Expensive and careless, erratic service.

I have visited this establishment twice. The first time 2 years ago and it was excellant.The man behind the stoves cooked with passion flair and it showed all round.The along came Great British Menu and no doubt put his restuarant firmly on the map.However the food now lacks the passion and in fact is insulting. 10.00 for a scotch egg a la GBM it is a disgrace.I hope the chef rediscovers his passion and forgets his greed because long after the publicity dies down it will be the food that is remembered .

Since TK left Norwich for this country style pub, we have found the standard to be somewhat variable, but we keep going back, because when on form, this place can easily justify it’s M* status, as it did last night.

The big man seems to stick to a formula by retaining many of the main ingredients almost all year round, which seems to work quite well by seasonally adjusting accompaniments and or changing the style. Shin of beef has become a classic, as has the duck which seems to please in whatever guise : broad beans in summer, cabbage and chanterelles now. Fish dishes are skilful and rarely lacklustre. Rabbit survived the menu for a significant time to be replaced by chicken. I hope at some point it gets reinstated – amazing combination as described in the intro. The wine list has pleasingly broken away from the former limited brewery determined selection.

A relaxed, cosy evening is guaranteed for around £90 for two courses including a decent bottle of wine. It’s a shame that we no longer see Beth (his wife) front of house because her inimitable character added to the charm.