River restaurant reviews

apollo

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I rarely eat at the Perch & Puke even though it is my local. I have found the only thing worth having there is their Fish 'n Chips. Their quantities, especially on Roast Dinners - child's portions and they never offer Bread. Brayman eats there frequently.

My vote in this area is the Beetle & Wedge. Or if in Wallingford and you want plain value for money, The good old Hungry Horse at Crowmarsh.

The chinky in Wallingford as excellent too (Bejing Diner), have even seen Blakey in there.
 

byron

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The chinky in Wallingford as excellent too (Bejing Diner), have even seen Blakey in there.

YUP! Blakey eats there very regularly usually on the Buffet Days. I haven't eaten there for ages, last time was with Blakey but I keep hearing nice things about the Buffet.
 

dmst

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Decent pub in Henley

We tried the Argyll in Market Place, Henley on Sunday night. Although quiet, a good atmosphere, along with good food, beer and service.
 

djk

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The Hand and Flowers in Marlow is excellent. 2 course lunch for £10.

The Ferry in Cookham is part of a chain and it shows in the food, service and cost. 2 glasses of wine one large one small cost me £11.50. Location brilliant and thats why it does so well
 

jecuk

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The Hand and Flowers in Marlow is excellent. 2 course lunch for £10.

Having eaten there a lot over the years I have always found the a la carte very expensive for what I have seen as poor service. Food is always good but for the service provided (or not as the case may be) the price was too high. Would do lunch there at that price though.
 

jecuk

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Marlow update

So it looks like the Cheerful Soul in Marlow has shut down - was very disappointing last time we were there so not a surprise.

Also recently went to the Dog and Badger in Medmenham. Interior much nicer than before but the service was appalling. Waitress sat reading her paper, was like we had interrupted their lunch when we went in as the first guests. Terrible feel to the place. Food was OK.
 

joejo

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Boulters Inn

We had a night at Boulters Inn last Saturday and was most impressed. The moorings are fine, we draw about 1 metre and had no trouble getting in or out and a great meal in the restaurant. All in all a good experience.
 

Chill

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Boulters Restaurant

Went there on Saturday, Moored up in the afternoon and we did hit the bottom with the props! we moored on the outside and after we tied up you can clearly see the bottom. A previous post by Paul Dennis had said they were dredging to 2 metres I would of said its nearer to 1 metre than 2. The anti goose pontoon sprinkler doesnt appear to have been in operation as the whole pontoon was covered so not wanting to get poo trod into the boat i must of spent 20 minutes hosing it down, btw the hose only reaches halfway. We had booked a table in the Riverside Brasserie for 6 people, we had a round table over looking the river and I must say both the service and food were excellent so will be visiting again.
The next day we were joined by some friends on their boat and spent a very relaxing couple of hours on the terrace in the sunshine. A lot of time and money has been spent here and I am pleased to say it was busy both on Saturday and Sunday. We didnt have coffee but I agree £4.50 is too expensive.

Chill
 

No Regrets

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Well the ambience (Once we had scrubbed the green slime off the pontoon, which took 2 hours, and nearly bloody killed me!) was great. It's a very picturesque setting, and the interior is rather Italian in it's simple attractiveness.

Staff very pleasant and efficient, always aimed to please, and nice and chatty too, which is nice.

Food good, no complaints, the usual 'have had better' comments would be churlish, as the quality/ value ration seems correct.

Drinks a bit dear, but that's what boats are for, so they got less action than our well stocked cupboard did...

Boulters is deffo a place we would re-visit!
 

Brayman

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Mooring at Boulters Inn

We managed to get eight boats on the pontoon at the weekend and could probably have put another two on there depending on size and draught. Even after the dredging there are still some shallows spots so if anyone is thinking of going there in a cruiser just take it very slowly.

The 6th boat arriving:
 

DogsBody

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Boulters Brasserie

Would have to agree with No Regrets and Brayman above, regarding Boulters Brasserie.

We had a party of 40+ (including Brayman & No Regrets) there on Saturday and other than one or two who commented they'd have liked their steak cooked a little more (I always find the definition of a "medium" steak varies according to each chef anyway), everyone I spoke to thought the food was most impressive. The drinks did seem a little on the dear side, I seem to have spent £80 on drinks while there and didn't think I'd had a particularly boozy night...

There is now sufficient depth alongside their pontoon (both sides) but the approach to it still needs to be done with caution and it is best to keep as far right as possible, as there still appears to be a shallow area about 12ft to the right of the downstream end of the pontoon.

Noting No Regrets' comments, I believe the pontoon was due to be cleaned before our arrival but apparently we arrived a little early...

My thanks to Paul (the manager) and his staff, who were all very helpful and ensured our party was well looked after.

Hopefully I'll be able to arrange another BCC event there but will certainly be returning privately, as I know will some of our other members.

DogsBody.


Edit: No Regrets even made a point of dressing up for the evening, although I think someone must have told him it was a fancy dress evening, judging by his appearance! (Photographic evidence was obtained but I think we might hold off publishing it for a while...)
 
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Brayman

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The drinks did seem a little on the dear side, I seem to have spent £80 on drinks while there and didn't think I'd had a particularly boozy night...

Debbie might have a different opinion!

Edit: No Regrets even made a point of dressing up for the evening, although I think someone must have told him it was a fancy dress evening, judging by his appearance! (Photographic evidence was obtained but I think we might hold off publishing it for a while...)

I don't think we should hold back, go for it Darren
 

No Regrets

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In my defence...

I carefully prepared my Blazer, Bray tie, Dark trousers in accordance with evening regulations, and a fresh white shirt.
Even the shoes were polished to a higher shine than one would expect.

Then, I left them in the car.

This was not great, as I was very sweaty after two hours scrubbing a ninety foot pontoon, and a 'Rolling Stones' T shirt is not normally acceptable attire at an official event.

I think the pontoon did give me a bit of credit and a couple of drinks, and the Wife lent me her fur coat to hide it a bit....

So, if you have ever seen the film Tootsie.....
 

DogsBody

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You asked for it...

As for No Regrets' excuse of leaving his suit behind in the car, when getting ready to leave the marina on Saturday morning for the trip to Boulters, I realised I'd left my trousers at home, did you see me wandering around in my boxers al evening? No, I managed to come up with alternative arrangements that didn't require me to wear a fur coat all evening. Think you need a better excuse next time John!


Qudos for the iPhone screen saver John set up on his phone explaining the situation though.
 
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