Address: Henley road, Medmenham, Bucks, SL7 2HE

Telephone: 01491 571 362

Website:  www.thedogandbadger.com

Date of visit: 20 December 2011

Costs: Around £20 for 2 courses. Most starters under £6 and most main courses over £10

Wines and beer: Rebellion and Fullers on tap. £3.40 for a pint of London Pride. Basic wine list with a few wines under £20 a bottle.

Likes and dislikes: Lovely pub, friendly landlord, excellent food and beer. Unfortunately, the tables are slightly sticky. Nothing that a spring clean can’t put right.

Cuisine: British

Summary:

I went shopping at John Lewis (High Wycombe) as it was an out of town site with ample parking. To my surprise, it was not as big as it looked from theM40. It was significantly smaller than the John Lewis in Reading.

The last 2 weeks before Xmas is a difficult place to eat out as most places are booked up for Xmas hospitality and staff dinners. The only ones that you can still get in are country pubs.

I have driven pass this Pub many times. It is on the main road between Marlow and Henley. The car park is usually nearly full. The Pub is listed as a lucky dip in this year’s good pub guide.

I was first in at 12.00 when the car park was empty. The pub is long with dining areas to both sides of the bar. There were trival persuit quiz cards on the tasble. The landlord explained that the quiz cards get most people “talking”. I got 4 questions out of 5 right on the first card and I decided that it was time to stop whilst the going wwas good.

I had a pint of London Pride and it was very good. In fact it was so nice, I had another.

The food here is fairly basic – fish and chips, steak, sausages and mash etc. Sandwiches are available from £6.

I settled for the haddock and chips (£12.50) and was surprised when it came. It was nicely presented with a medium size piece of fish sitting on top of a pile of mushy peas; there was a small side salad and a tube of thick chips and a light smear of vinegar around the mushy peas. It was one of the best presented fish and chips meal I have ever eaten. The food was not bad either. The fish excellently cooked. The chips – well they were a bit thick so it was like boiled potato with a crispy outside – roast potato. The tartar sauce was home made. This would certainly rank in my top 10 if not top 5.

E