SUMMARY Tom Kerridge’s food is unashamedly British, gutsy and packed with flavour. The previous night we thought The Coach was very good, but The Hand & Flowers is a clear step up from that. It’s a rare treat to be able to eat in a 2 star restaurant in casual clothes (hardly a shirt collar in sight). I found the candle lighting too dim, but others could argue it’s very romantic.  I feel most of the front of house team should have been better informed about the dishes (and sauce names).  Final bill for a three course dinner for two, one bottle of wine, purified water, one glass of dessert wine and service was £219.21 which is pretty good in a two star Michelin restaurant.  Note, though, that it doesn’t accept Amex. 9/10

We arrived at The Hand & Flowers at 18:45, fifteen minutes late, but we were warmly welcomed. Though later in the evening I noticed they had phoned me about the same time to check where I was. There were only two diners already eating and we were shown to a table for two next to them, and then other diners arrived.  We noticed that the tables were pretty close to each other and neighbours could easily be overheard, particularly one with an annoying cough!  Lighting was quite dim, with candles on each table, so it was a challenge for me to take my photos without using the flash (I don’t think it’s acceptable to disturb people with camera flashes).

A snack of big whitebait in a metal cup were brought to us along with a “rosemary sauce”. When I asked the waiter what was in the sauce he told me it was made with mayo, ketchup and cayenne. Ah, ‘sauce Marie Rose’ I said!  It was an excellent version of this ‘simple’ sauce, so I was sure there must have been other secret ingredients. The whitebait was simply fried in a dusting of seasoned flour.  I thought they looked very big (but later realised they were regular size and it was just the way they sat in the cup which made them look big) which prompted me to ask a waitress what species of fish they were. She told me they were called “whitebait” so a moment of uncomfortable chit chat followed where I tried to tell her that ‘Whitebait’ is a general term for fish fry, but she wasn’t having any of it and clearly thought I was a pompous idiot!  At the same time we were given slices of brown soda bread and white sourdough and butter. 7.5/10

My first course was ‘Lovage Soup with Bramley Apple, Smoked Eel, Ham and Cheese Tortellini’ at £11.50.  The soup was a delight of winter ‘greenness’, by which I mean it tasted of the colour green (in the way mown grass smells of green) and not that it tasted of winter veg.  It was water, not cream, based, so it was light and refreshing. It was at its most delicious when my soup spoon contained the soup, the eel pieces and the small apple cubes, but regrettably I felt there wasn’t enough delicious eel to go round. Very good croutons – crunchy but not too hard – gave the dish texture.  The pasta was very good, with its classic cheese and ham flavour combination oozing a warm cuddle onto my tongue, but I was disappointed there was only one of them. 8.5/10

Mr A had a ‘Glazed Omelette of Smoked Haddock and Parmesan’ (£16.00) which was a lovely rich skillet of winter comfort. “Lush” in Tom Kerridge speak.  I commend this dish to you if you’re really hungry, otherwise it could almost satisfy a light appetite.

My main course was ‘Slow Cooked Duck Breast with Duck and Chicory Tart, Oat Crumble and Blood Orange’ with a duck jus, at £39.50.  I loved this dish!  I was at first surprised Tom Kerridge didn’t tell us on the menu which type of duck it was, or where it came from, but I reckon it was the best duck breast I’ve ever had (pushing one from Simon Rogan five years ago into second place). When my first knife cut went through it like butter I actually paused to check if my knife was super sharp: it was appropriately sharp, but it was the tenderness of the duck which made the knife cut so smoothly. The skin was, of course, crisped up nice and neat after being well scored.  And when the duck jus was added – OMG it was divine!  The jus was so rich that it tasted as if a load of beurre noisette had been added to thicken it, but our waiter assured me it was just a good reduction from a bone laden stock. BTW this waiter, whose name I didn’t catch, had an excellent knowledge of the dishes and the wines which would go well with them.  The duck tart was in crisp, flaky bric pastry and had a rich, gamey and sweet flavour. The blood orange came in the form of a gel spotted around the plate. It had a very powerful flavour, and for that reason I think one dollop less would have been better. 10/10

Thankfully I had room for a dessert, so I ordered ‘Choux a la Creme with Pistachio Parfait, Lime Chantilly and Banana Sorbet’ at £13.50.   What I got was a dome of choux pastry covered lightly with lime Chantilly, with the parfait and banana sorbet inside. Both the parfait and sorbet contained whole pieces of pistachio and banana respectively.  I thought this was a superb dessert; not too sweet handpicked with flavour. I particularly admired the cream which had all the flavour of lime, but non of its sharpness.  10/10

With our dinner we drank a pleasant bottle of Fatalone Primitivo Riserva 2013 at £46, and I had an organic Italian dessert wine Vigna del Volta with my choux, which I liked a lot. 8.5/10

SUMMARY Tom Kerridge’s food is unashamedly British, gutsy and packed with flavour. The previous night we thought The Coach was very good, but The Hand & Flowers is a clear step up from that. It’s a rare treat to be able to eat in a 2 star restaurant in casual clothes (hardly a shirt collar in sight). I found the candle lighting too dim, but others could argue it’s very romantic.  I feel most of the front of house team should have been better informed about the dishes (and sauce names).  Final bill for a three course dinner for two, one bottle of wine, purified water, one glass of dessert wine and service was £219.21 which is pretty good in a two star Michelin restaurant.  9/10