We were unable to travel overseas for the February half term week, due to Mr. A’s commitments, so I looked for a destination close to home for a two night break instead. Marlow pinged on my radar, prompted by chef Tom Kerridge’s latest TV series.  The Big Man (though slimmer these days) has created a little empire in Marlow, reminiscent of the way Rick Stein took ownership of Padstow: He’s recently opened a pub called The Butcher’s Tap which interestingly combines a traditional English pub with a Master Butcher’s;  there’s Kerridge’s original and flagship pub, The Hand and Flowers, which has two Michelin stars and bedrooms.  And then there’s the object of this review, The Coach, a traditional pub with food, which has one Michelin star.

The Hand and Flowers’ Rooms were full, so I booked to stay at The Compleat Angler Wednesday and Thursday nights and I booked to eat at The Hand and Flowers on the Thursday evening.  The Coach does not take bookings, and, as we wanted to eat there on Valentine’s night (Wednesday), we planned to arrive very early to try to get a table.

And so it was that we made the ten minute walk from our hotel and arrived at The Coach before 5pm and we were thrilled to find only four people had grabbed their tables, ready to place their food orders at 6pm.  We had a free choice of where to sit: a barman told us we could sit at one of the tables around the bar “for dinner”, or we could sit at the bar, right by the open kitchen’s pass “for dinner and a show”.  We chose the latter!

Newly promoted Head Chef Tom De Keyser stood in front of us directing his brigade firstly in the completion of prep, and then through the service. His leadership style was authoritative, but not aggressive, and it was also humorous and chirpy, which created a good teamworking atmosphere.

As this was my first time here, and the menu looked a tad confusing (in that it was divided by ‘Meat’ and ‘No Meat’ rather than by ‘starters’ and ‘main courses’), I asked a waiter for advise.  I was told that all of the dishes are “small plates”, we should order a selection of what takes our fancy, and the dishes would be brought out when they’re ready, maybe not in the order we were expecting.

My first dish was ‘Crispy Pig’s Head with celeriac remoulade and spiced date sauce’ at just £7.50. The cube of breaded and fried mixed elements of the head was crisp on the outside and unctuously moist and soft on the inside. The celeriac was subtly spiced and the date sauce worked well with the pork. There was also a whole date which was beautifully sweet and the date sauce was like a (very good) non acidic brown sauce.  Added crispiness came from a strip of perfect crackling.  This was very cuddly comfort food presented well 10/10

 

Dish two was called ‘Mushroom Risotto “Claude Bosi”‘ which I was drawn to because I love m Bosi’s food at Bibendum. I asked Chef De Keyser if chef Kerridge had worked with chef Bosi in the past, or what the connection was. He told me that Bosi had invented ‘celeriac risotto’ without rice, and this dish was an homage to him, using small cubes of mushroom instead of rice, to create what looked to the eye like a risotto, particularly as it came smothered in grated Parmesan.  The dish displayed excellent cuisine skill by getting so much flavour out of what looked like simple chestnut mushrooms, and by creating such a smooth creamy sauce. The mushrooms and the sauce must have been cooked separately to deliver such a sauce without overcooking the mushrooms!  I must also note the scattering of chives which had so much more flavour than what I bought in my supermarket last week! This dish was an utter bargain at just £6.50!  9.5/10

The next dish was ‘Maple Glazed Rotisserie Celeriac with Apple and Walnut’, which I shared with Mr A. The rotisserie plays a starring role in a few of the pub’s dishes, and before we’d ordered we’d gazed at a big celeriac and some beetroots turning on the spit, occasionally being glazed by chef De Keyser.  The celeriac was golden and as soft as butter and the tiny translucent cubes of apple, the grated walnut and a dollop of wonderfully acidic Hollandaise all worked very well together, and this dish was only £3.50!  Even if you simply treat this dish as a ‘side order’, such a price is very rare in a Michelin starred restaurant.  Well done The Coach! 9.5/10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I then had a short break, as the next two dishes out were Mr. A’s:  a ‘Fish Fritter’ cooked a pointe in a light and crispy batter, with fresh tartare sauce. I’d been confused by the word ‘fritter’ but this was a standard fillet of fish prepared expertly; as good as it gets at £9.50 10/10. Mr A also had ‘Venison Chilli’ which came topped with a toasted rice cream and a few grains fo puffed rice. The venison had been minced a little larger than beef usually is in chilli so we could enjoy its tenderness. A filling dish, this, at £12.50, and worth a 9/10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My main dish was ‘Whole Stuffed Rotisserie Quail, Black Pudding and Moilee sauce’ at £16.50. My order had been prompted by seeing the beautifully prepped plump little birds in a fridge opposite me, but I needed to ask about the sauce, and was told it was “like a curry sauce”.  The sauce was “meh” but the bird was delicious; stuffed with the (also still moist) black pudding and dried apricots and sprinkled with black sesame seeds.  9/10 This enjoyable main course dish arrived at the same time as our order for ‘Buttered Hispi Cabbage’ and the two worked well together. The hispi was tender with just the right level of ‘bite’ and its coating of melted butter was really lovely. And it was only £3.50. 9/10

I was truly impressed with The Coach. Throughout the meal (which took 1 hour 25 minutes to finishing the quail) I actually became worried that I was scoring the dishes too highly, given that I was booked to eat at Tom Kerridge’s flagship restaurant the next night.  But The Coach really does serve great food and is well worth my overall score of 9.5/10 With its keenly priced dishes and no booking policy, this is a terrific place to access Tom Kerridge’s hearty British comfort food.

I was too full to order a dessert. Our total bill for two people including pre-diner cocktails, three glasses of wine each, water and service was £170, which represented great value because everything about The Coach was SO GOOD!