Reply With QuoteIf its a nice warm day, see if you can get a lunchtime table in the garden at the Hand and Flowers in Marlowe.
The restaurant is normally booked a year in advance but they don't book the garden tables.
It is a truly amazing place.
Taking my wife to Henley next weekend for a short break. Can anyone local/who knows the area recommend nice restaurants/pubs/things to do please? Will have the car so can travel but ideally central so we can walk/get a taxi.
If its a nice warm day, see if you can get a lunchtime table in the garden at the Hand and Flowers in Marlowe.
The restaurant is normally booked a year in advance but they don't book the garden tables.
It is a truly amazing place.
As a destination Henley won't occupy a whole weekend. Once you've walked around town and up and down the river there's not much else there. The shops are poor, the pubs are split between those for locals and tourist rip-offs like the Angel on the Bridge.
The Spice Merchant is good for Indian and Antico used to be the place for Italian. The rest are mainly High St chains. The surrounding area primarily consists of small villages with Gastro pubs.
If you want to splash out Le Manoir is about half an hour away, which is Raymond Blanc's Michelin starred restaurant, Cliveden in Taplow or The French Horn in Sonning.
I'd look at spending some time in Marlow as suggested, and Maidenhead or Reading for shopping. A copy of the Henley Standard is also useful.
Last edited by bonzo697; 26th September 2015 at 13:21.
If it's not raining .....take the Henley/Reading road out of the town and head towards reading , as you leave the town you will go past a few industrial units on your left and after about 1/4 mile you will past a petrol station on your left ( essso I think ) then Wilson Ave on your right , and then up to a mini roundabout , turn left into Marsh lane . It's a dead end road but there is a carpark and small sport centre at the bottom where you can park for Free. From there you can walk down to the river , if you briefly right right when you reach the river you can walk over the river on a wooden bridge/ walk way to marsh lock ( 500 yards or so ) it's picturesque . After your bored of that, Walk back the way you came along the rivers edge on the Tarmac path and take in the boats and field and people picnicking etc pasts the band stand and ice cream vans and this path will lead you directly into the centre of town, lots to see on the way .There are a few nice pubs in the town, including a chain or two, but good food can be had in the Arglye near the town centre or you could go with the Marlow pub mentioned about above , or try the Dog and Badger on the Marlow / Henley road or the Flower Pot ( google it ) which is a little more off the beaten track, both of which are on or very near the rivers edge. ( walk across the road and down the lane at the Dog and Badger to get to the rivers edge. Another good pub is the Two Brewers just outside of town on the opposite side of the river to the town, which you can easy walked to, and it's near the Henley Rowing club which is worth a look .
Last edited by BryanEbru1512; 26th September 2015 at 21:55.
We lived on Friday Street for a while so trawled most of the pubs at some time,,,,The Row Barge Inn was great as was The Anchor, but as that was just across the road maybe that influenced us a little.
The Brewers was a great pub, but it closed over 10 years ago. The Barge and The Anchor are decent enough and maybe The Tuns.
Last edited by bonzo697; 26th September 2015 at 11:21.
As recommended already, the Hand & Flowers would be an extra special treat although they would probably be fully booked. Tom Kerridge's other pub, The Coach at Marlow doesn't take bookings, so you could just stroll up and have an enjoyable bite to eat.
I can also recommend The Jolly Cricketers in Seer Green or Luscombes in Henley.
I remember Luscombes as The Golden Ball. Spent a few Saturday afternoons there and you could do the triangle up to The Rainbow and then back via The Fox (now closed) where Nigel Havers drank sometimes.
I live locally...
Generally speaking the food in town is OK but if you want something a bit more special you have to go 5 or so miles out of town.
I'd recommend Luscombes / The Golden Ball which is probably the best food within the the town (You'll need a short cab ride - it's about 2 miles from the centre).
Just up the road near Stonor Park is the Quinch Tree which is an independent Gastro Pub which is good.
Orwells in Shiplake Row is very good.
The Greyhound which is just outside of town (about 5 miles) near Peppard is very good if you like meat (Anthony Worral Thompson cooks there).
In town:
Spice Merchant along the River is good for a curry that is better quality (but a bit more money) than the regulars along the Reading Road.
Hotel du Vin for cocktails if you can bear the generally poor service. Food is okay but for price better quality outside of town.
Giggling Squid (Asian fusion) on Hart Street opposite the Church good food but service is appalling.
CAU is good for burgers and stuff a few doors up the road.
Three Tuns is great for lunch and drinks - it's in the marketplace.
The BULL on Bell Street is also good for drinks / good atmosphere good 'pub' food.
There are two Angels - the old one is good for a drink if the weather is fine for sitting by the river directly by the bridge their food is scampi n chips pub fodder. The Angel over the Bridge is better with food, but there's better stuff directly in the town.
Henley is also home to two fine Watch companies; Bremont on the Marlow road, near Toad Hall Garden Centre and Pinion Watch co (ME!) just outside of town... :-)
Have fun, it's a great place despite the stick thin yummy mummies walking with hordes of kids in private school uniforms and old 'gin and jag' crowd in their tweed and red trousers ....
Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham?
I'm local. Black Boys Inn, on the main road out of Henley towards Maidenhead was great when I last went a couple of years ago, but has changed hands recently.
Shaun Dickens at the Boathouse, near the station, is fantastic, although I think you need to book well in advance.
Thanks a lot for the suggestions, I'll have a good look at those over the next couple of days
You won't need a taxi if you want to stay in Henley, you can comfortably walk the four main streets in half an hour. I was schooled in Henley and have lived locally for over forty years but beyond eating or visiting the cinema there's not much to do to be honest. The place comes alive at regatta time or when some of the many festivals are on, and there is the rowing museum but that wouldn't take more than a couple of hours of your time. There are some cracking walks if you enjoy that sort of thing and you can plan your walk to take in some of the many fine gastro pubs in the surrounding area.
Don't forget to include thewatchbloke Piers!Originally Posted by PIERS (UK)
Not been there for a very long time, but it might be worth looking into the Beetle & Wedge in Moulsford too.
Not been for a few years, but The Five Horseshoes in nearby Maidensgrove is one my favourite pubs.
Lovely food and truly beautiful scenic views.
http://www.thefivehorseshoes.co.uk/
^Another good shout. (Worth checking if it's open before travelling as it's in the middle of nowhere and is closed some days). As has already been mentioned the town itself is fairly mundane, and it's the surrounding villages where you'll find the best places.
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