Address: 126 West Street, Marlow, SL7 2BP

Telephone number: 01628 482277

Website: www.thehandandflowers.co.uk

Date of visit: 18 February 2010

Approximate cost per head: £10 plus. A la Carte around £20 for a main course.

Comments on wine list/beer: Very extensive and expensive. House wine OK

Summary:

This is the second visit within a month  to verify the cooking as it’s a michelin star pub.

Last time I had a carafe of basic Rioja at £12 for 250ml which I thought was over priced. This time, we had the red (£17) suggested on the fixed price menu. It was a 2007 Grenache Shiraz. I have had this “new mix” before from Octavia and was surprised that it worked. This time, the wine had a higher percentage of Grenache than Shiraz. On the menu it was described as fruity with a hint of animal……….I had never come across a wine with the word animal in it – I had to have it. It was quite drinkable and they were right, there was a hint of “game” in it.

We stuck to the fixed price menu – £10 for 2 courses (weekday lunch only). The place was full on a Thursday lunch time and nearly everyone had the fixed price menu.

On offer as starters was parsnip soup or pork pie with piccalilli. For second course, comfits of ling with lentils or venison stew with mash potato.

The pork pie was home made and came as a thick slice. It was full of prime meat – not off cuts – and there were blocks of ham within it. It was very good and the home made piccalilli was very mild not sharp. Prior to this, we were given a basket of home made bread and some deep fried whitebait. The bread was warm and the whitebait crisp and moist. Both excellent as was last time.

For main course, we had the venison and ling. I did nit taste the ling but my friends said it was very good. The venison was served in a mini frying pan and had prime cuts – possibly fillet – in it with no visible fat. It came with a sauce which was not over reduced.

We ordered sides with the meal (all at £4): cauliflower cheese, spring green and the famous chips. The cauli was fine but nothing special. The greens were cut into large leaves and were cooked perfectly – still with a bite. The chips which I raved on last time were not as good this time. They were more like tripe cooked chips and they were over salted – why do they do this? Nothing else tasted over seasoned.

The service was a bit slow between courses – as we had the set lunch and nearly everyone else also had the set lunch, I wonder if the kitchen staffs are over stretched when they are at capacity?

On the whole, it was a very good meal and this is possibly the best value lunch around but then AWT also offers £10 for 2 courses at his pub and there are two other very good (untested by me) restaurants in Marlow – Vanilla Pod and The Lost Soul.

Eddie