[We paid in full at the Bottle & Glass both times. They didn’t know I was a blogger]
In a world where the list of possible restaurants to visit seems neverending, going back to the same place twice can seem like folly. With that in mind, returning to the same place twice in two days could be considered by some as sheer lunacy.
But in the case of The Bottle & Glass – another of our, ‘Jamie found somewhere that’s a decent walk from the campsite and it looks quite nice’ – I maintain that two visits in one weekend was one of my better decisions of 2022.
You’ll find The Bottle & Glass in Binfield Heath just outside Henley-on-Thames. It’s one of our favourite campsite destinations for its nice places to eat and drink. Not just in the town itself but in villages around it, like the Stag & Huntsman in Hambleden.
Back to The Bottle & Glass. From the outside, you might think it’s just another village pub. But a quick glance at its website, menus and the fact it’s in the Michelin Guide, shows you that it’s a little bit more than that. While the bar area is cosy and traditional, the restaurant has more of an aspirational feel, in line with its food.
There are rooms above if you want to stay over and head out the back to their ‘Burger Barn’, whose name doesn’t quite tell the story as you’ll get far more than burgers, with special feasts on some nights, celebration events, and a little shop area stocking local artisan products.
The menus are a showcase of British produce, with the odd modern twist. The a la carte has a good choice, but on our first visit it’s the set menu that catches our eye. Because at something like £15 or £16 for two courses and £20 for three, it falls under the ‘too good to be true’ bracket. Can food this good really be this cheap?
We decide to test it out, most of us opting for courses from the set menu, adding a couple of a la carte choices here and there, plus a few nibbles because nobody can resist those.
Soda bread is light and cakey, served with top-notch butter. It’s a welcome break from the sourdough that appears from every kitchen these days. Alongside it, ham hock croquettes are up there with the best I’ve tried – packed with ham, and super crispy on the outside.
Starters are a mixed bag and slightly overshadowed by the simplicity but perfect execution of the bread and croquettes. A goat’s cheese starter is simple to the point of being a bit disappointing, while a burrata comes with a tangy pesto that’s nearly great but is a touch heavy on the garlic.
On the other hand, softshell crab is great – light and crispy with a fresh, crunchy Asian-inspired slaw. And tomato soup is a great autumnal hit of sweetness and warmth, perfect for the time of year we visit.
The starters may not be quite as showstopping as the introductory nibbles, but main courses stage a comeback to rival plenty we’ve seen on stage, screen and the sports pitches. A beef cheek dish is brutish and chunky, yet also fall-apart soft and sexy. It comes with mash that still tastes of potato without being diluted by so much cream, butter, or something else that renders it into a textureless mess.
Of four of us, three had the beef cheek and it got rave reviews all round. I had opted for hake served with a sweetcorn chowder. Thinner than I expected (the chowder – not the hake) but what it may have lacked in texture it made up for in flavour.
Sweetcorn living up to its name with a moreish sweetness balanced by a healthy portion of samphire sandwiched between the well-seasoned broth and buttery potatoes and the perfectly-cooked fish perched on top. It’s great, but I still think about that beef cheek and what I missed out on.
We moved outside to a pristine courtyard for some autumn sun and pudding. If there was any proof there’s someone in the kitchen aspiring to far more than pub grub it lies in some of these desserts. A passionfruit and raspberry creation is the right balance of sweet and tart, with meringue and coulis decoration that is pretty without being fussy.
A cheese board and affogato are good – the product of decently sourced ingredients more than someone’s talent and experience – but that shines through in a chocolate orange delight that’s all the right mixtures of flavour and textures. There’s crunch contrasting with smooth, sweet with tart, there’s fruitiness, chocolateyness and everything that makes a good dessert good.
It’s a great meal. It’s also a bargain. And the combination of a lovely setting, good food, unbelievable value and attentive, knowledgeable service from Carl means when we pay the bill we immediately book another table for two days later for Sunday lunch before we head home. It’s too good not to.
Sequels are often somewhat inferior to their predecessor. Not so with this meal. The welcome is the same, except this time the restaurant has a bustle that proves how popular it is locally.
We start with a scotch egg that I still get a bit hot under the collar over, complete with golden lava yolk and rustic, crispy crumb. A mackerel starter is less indulgent but a fresh, light dish pepped up with beetroot, chunks of tomato and pine nuts.
Like our previous visit, main course is the star of the show and up there with one of the best roast dinners I’ve ever had – and that’s notwithstanding the fact I have to delay eating mine due to a work thing. Lucky for me, good service means it’s taken into the kitchen and kept warm for me but it’s testament to how good it is that had I not known I wouldn’t have been able to tell.
The beef is excellent. We’ve all requested the pinkest bits we can get, and that request is fulfilled, much to our joy. It comes with an enormous Yorkshire pudding, and the classics of roast parsnips and carrots. It’s simple, well put together, and tastes banging. As does the side of cauliflower cheese that nearly causes fights for the last mouthful, it’s so good.
If the previous visit’s desserts were good, this visit reminds us that there’s always better to be had. And better is the sticky toffee pudding served up at the Bottle & Glass, which occupies the same spot in my naughty little food porn mind as the scotch egg does.
It’s moist, sweet and sticky, complemented by a fat squishy medjool date by the side, more of their crunchy chocolate soil that I feel should be sold in little bags as sweet snacks, and top-quality ice cream. It’s the perfect finale and we’re still waxing lyrical about it as we finish off the last smears of toffee sauce with our fingers.
It seals the deal. The Bottle & Glass is a winner. Their set menu is also too cheap, and I told them as much on both visits. But even if they put their prices up, I’ll be making a journey back to Binfield Heath. Because food this good is hard to find – and worth it.
[We paid in full at the Bottle & Glass both times. They didn’t know I was a blogger]
