Address: Wilton Farm House, Marlow Road, Little Marlow, Bucks SL7 3RR

Websites: N/A

Intro:

Opposite Church Road are two very interesting farm shops. There is ample parking outside the shop. Off Church Road and Pound Lane are two pubs – The Kind’s Head and The Queen’s Head. Both worth a visit – see reviews on 9 Nov and 30 Nov.

Emmett’s Farm Shop – 01628 484094

It is mainly a green grocer with lovely looking vegetables in season. It is also a good place for bulk buying as the prices are good and you can park in front of the shop.

Besides the usual vegetables, they do have some exotic vegetables – decorative miniature marrows etc. However, they also have an interesting selection of breads and cakes as well as a very good range of cheese – all pre-wrapped. For example, a British Manchego? I also like the huge range of organic flours for bread baking etc.

They also offere pre-packed smoked fish, bacon and a few game birds in the freezer. Eggs comes in various sizes – both free range and “yuk” ……….I am not a vegetarian but I do like to know that the animals I ate had a reasonable life!

Phil Bowditch – Butcher and Fishmonger – 01628 483635
Phil Bowditch used to be based in the High Street in Marlow and they do a very good smoke eel. They have now relocated to a shed next to Emmett.

On the day I went, they had an excellent range of meat and fish. There were fresh tuna, halibut, skate wings and the usual white fish, shell fish and salmon. They also have smoke haddock, kippers etc – smoked in their own smokehouse.

The meat counter offered the full range of meat, sausages, bacon etc. I was very interested in their range of sausages – some unusual ones.

To me, this is a great place to shop. Parking is easy and prices are reasonable – Bowditch is average whilst Emmett is cheap.

Address: Church Road, Little Marlow, Bucks SL7 3RZ

Telephone number: 01628 484407

Website: http://www.kingsheadlittlemarlow.co.uk/

Date of visit: 30 November 2010

Approximate cost per head: Around £20 for 2 courses.

Comments on wine list/beer: Rebellion and Fullers London Pride on tap. Very basic wine list with all wines available by the glass (2 sizes) or by the bottle. All wines under £20 a bottle except the champagne at £28.

Summary:

The King’s Head is another pub (see reviews on The Qeen’s Head :19 October and 9 November 2010) in Little Marlow. They have 2 car parks with one in front of the pub and another one via A4155.

The building is 16 century. Upon entry, there is a bar area with tables and a restaurant in another room. Most diners seemed to prefer sitting in the bar (lunch time) which offered a wood burning fire. The restaurant serves similar food on tables with table cloths.

There are several blackboards outlining: starters, main courses (£9.75 onwards), steaks (from rump £11.95 to filet £16.95) and desserts (around £4).

The food on offer is quite traditional when it comes to the main courses. You can have a salad (£9.50) and also with various toppings e.g. steak (£13.45), various smoked and unsmoked fishes and shell fishes (£11.90) or scampi, steak, grilled salmon etc with vegetables and chips

The starters were a different matter and on offer today were grilled goats cheese (£4.75) or smoke salmon – not quite traditional pub food (to me traditional means what they have been offering a few generations back) although goats cheese, pasta and curry seemed to have crept onto most pub menus and are now deemed traditional pub food.

I settled for a pint of Rebellion (£2.80) and the steak and kidney pie (£9.75). When I was here a year ago, I had the scampi (£9.75) which was fine.

The Rebellion was all right but to me it was a bit weak in taste.

The steak and kidney pie was home made and came as a huge portion with chips and a bean and pea medley. The chips were fat chips but they were well cooked and had a hard and crispy edge to it. The steak and kidney pie had good and bad points. To start with, there were loads of well cooked chunks of meat that were trimmed – no fat, no gristle. The down side was that the pastry was a bit crumbly and it was neither flaky nor short crust. The best way to describe it was that it was a cross between a suet pudding skin and a crumbly cheese cake bottom but it was definitely savoury and baked. The sauce that came in the pie tasted of a heavily reduced sauce but was a bit too sweet for me and then the kidneys – they were sliced thin and there were not a lot of it. Overall, no bad but also not brilliant. The vegetables were cooked al daunte.

It is very difficult to compare The Queen’s Head with The King’s Head. The former cooking is perhaps a bit more refined and the chef likes to put a twist into the food. The dishes were presented better in the Queen’s Head but in The King’s Head, it is good honest pub cooking (large portions) in the way you expect from a pub and they do not have the word gastropub in any of their literature.

E

Address: Pound Lane, Little Marlow, Bucks SL7 3SR. (A4155)

Telephone number: 01628 482927

Website: www.marlowslittlesecret.co.uk

Date of visit:8 November 2010

Approximate cost per head: About £20 for 2 courses at lunch time. £20 plus in the evening

Comments on wine list/beer: London Pride, Brakspear, Guest (Mr Todd) -£3.20 for a pint. Wine available by the glass – 3 sizes. Glass of wine (large) from £5.15. Top red 2003 Cissac @ £44.95. Reasonable mark up on wines.

Summary:

I am back for another bit of “objective research” as a result of Daniel O’Sullivan’s comments last week. I have since discovered that Daniel is the chef proprietor of the place. Well that’s good as I am beginning to get feedbacks from several chefs or the management of the establishment.

The Pub is listed in the 2010 Michelin Pub Guide, 2011Good Food Guide and 2011 Good Pub Guide.

This time I picked up a business card as I walked in. On it was clearly stated 16th century Inn. And I noticed the “renovated “ floor boards.

The place offers several menus during lunch – a la carte, specials and a light lunch – sandwiches etc.

There are two bars and a dining room. On the day I went, the car park was pretty full – most of the diners were in the dining room.

I started off with a pint of London Pride which was fine. I then had a pint of Mr Todd – the guest beer – which was excellent. I didn’t go for the Brakspear, as having been brought up on it, I find the “new” version is not the same as when it was brewed in Henley.

This time, I decided to give the place my usual treatment – go for 2 starters from the today (specials) board.

On offer were Cornish scallops (£8.95), crispy curry pork (£6.95) , fish and chips with “mashed peas” and steak.

The scallops were nicely presented on an oblong plate with a balsamic vinegar smear. They (4) sat on a few rocket leaves which in turn sat on alternative batons of roasted carrots and parsnips. Sprinkled on top were deep fried shavings of root vegetable crisps. The scallops were cooked just right and from the texture, I can judge that they were quite fresh. The only downside of the dish – to my taste – was the use of the roasted parsnips which are quite dominant in taste to serve with a delicate scallop.

The next course was crispy curry pork salad. This was lardoons marinated with curry powder and then deep fried. The crispy pork sat on green lettuce leaves with wilted red onions underneath. The wilted onions acted like a sauce and gave the dish a bit of sweetness. Pretty nicely thoughtout. An improvement could be to serve this over a Caesar’s Salad using the crispy pork as the equivalent of croutons.

This is a Pub that likes to put a twist into its cooking. Judging by the clientele, it is pretty successful in its approach.

By the way, Daniel was not due to be on duty till later that day.

E

Address: Pound Lane, Little Marlow, Bucks SL7 3SR

Telephone number: 01628 482927

Website: www.marlowslittlesecret.co.uk

Date of visit: 19 October 2010

Approximate cost per head: £20

Comments on wine list/beer: Fullers London Pride and Brakspear on tap at £3.20 a pint. A simple wine list that has Pouilly Fuissee (£26.95), Cissac 2004 (£44.95) and Dom Perignon (£175) as its top wines.

Summary:
This a pub hidden away in a narrow lane as you enter Little Marlow (A4155). The A404 has Marlow on one side and Little Marlow on the other side. In 2010, this pub was listed in the Michelin Pub Guide and The Good Pub Guide.

The pub is around 200 years old. Although it has the obligatory exposed beams, the wooden floor boards rather than flagstone suggest that the building is not that old.

On the day I went, there were 3 menus. A quickie lunch menu with sandwiches around £5. Specials on a blackboard and the printed menu. The starters are priced around £5-£8 and mains £11.50-£16.35. Typical starters are, oxtail and barley broth with stilton dumplings (£4.95), pan fried scallops with bacon and pea puree. Examples of main courses are: ribeye steak with hand cut chips (£16.35), Pheasant with savoy parcel, potato fondant (£14.50), Grey mullet, onion and beetroot mash, braised leeks, etc. So the menu is modern British.

I had the specials of the day – fish and chips and a pint of London Pride. The total bill came to £13.15.

The beer was as I expected. The fish came as an elongated piece of Haddock sitting on a pile of hand cut fat chips with two small tubs – mashed peas and tarter sauce. The fish was crisp and moist and the sauce was home made. The chips came with the skin on and were ok but not fantastic. The outside could have been crisper and the inside “softer. The mash peas were exactly that with some of the peas still lumpy. I really don’t get it. What is the point in mashing fresh peas? To add sugar?

My conclusion was that the food here is fine but not some where that I would want to specially visit.

E