The Hand and Flowers - (Near Berkshire, South East)

3 /5 Experienced Reviewer: Compared to our last visit this place has gone downhill - it really has! 2 star Michelin should mean high standards and quality food. Both failed on this occasion. The menu was changed vs the time of booking - heres an idea Tom, let diners know the changes via email! You have the booking info, so a simple fix. Okay, £25 for two courses looks not bad on paper. The taste is certainly there in parts. But portion size? Come on, dont take the "pith"! The hake was clearly overcooked on top (blow torching it may be fancy, but does cook it further!). Dessert was good. However, portion size was tiny (refer to photo vs spoon). Service was hit and miss. I had to top up our drinks (not Michelin standards) and little details are missing or failing (such as checking in on guests and getting the sides mixed up; we ordered mash, received cabbage - this was corrected but meant 1/2 the meal was already eaten). When paying the prices paid, one would expect a faultless experience (regardless of food portions etc). Unfortunately not. Yes, I did provide feedback when finally asked at payment stage. I do not expect a response from the establishment. Enough said really.

5 /5 Victoria Wan: Had the set menu which was: - Snacks - sausage roll and sourdough bread. The pastry was beautifully flakey and the bread was high hydration with a good crust. - Starter - cheesey tart with salted egg yolk. The tart was crisp and the filling was very flavourful. - Main - hake with beans. - Dessert - dark chocolate with blood orange sorbet and EVOO. This was absolutely delicious, the blood orange cut through the richness of the chocolate. Service was friendly and attentive - thank you. Atmosphere was cosy and informal. Would highly recommend especially for a more informal setting.

5 /5 James Gockelen: I took my wife to the Hand and Flowers for her birthday. It’s a restaurant that had been on our bucket list for some time, and it did not disappoint! Everything was exceptional, the welcome, the cocktails, the starter, main and desert - all top notch and delicious. A great choice of some of the finest wines you’ll find. The little sausage roll, fresh bread and flavoured butters that we were given while we waited for our stater were also delicious! We opted for the £175 House set menu, when you add in cocktails, wine and (optional) service charge we were at nearly £500 for the two of us. This is therefore a very expensive treat - but we have zero regrets!

5 /5 TC: We have just had a superb one night Dinner Bed and Breakfast stay at the hand and flowers. All of the staff looked after us and couldn’t do enough for us. Our room was great quality lovely comfortable bed too. The evening meal we had was absolutely delicious and top top quality as was the breakfast the following morning We would highly recommend everything at the Hand and Flowers to everyone. Many thanks to all of the staff who made our experience so special

3 /5 Dave: This is a difficult review to write as there were some very good points and some average. My overall rating is due to the place being 2 Michelin Star, sold as something special and expensive. Overall, the food was definitely not 2 Michelin Star, was definitely not worth the cost and we were definitely not made to feel special. It was expensive. We left disappointed and wont be revisiting. Accommodation We were given an excellent greeting by Coral, who showed us to our fabulous suite, Penny Bun, just across the road from the pub. Coral was really good - the best staff member we met. The suite was superb - couldnt fault it. Several rooms, immaculately furnished and decorated, a wonderful bathroom (complete with twin baths!) and an outdoor jacuzzi. The accommodation was certainly 5 star and we loved it. Dinner Dinner was disappointing and way over-priced. We went for the "House Menu" which was £175 per head for 3 courses. The amuse bouche was a sausage roll and was really good. I had a beef tart for my starter, venison for my main and a nougat delice for dessert. The food was good, but each dish was overpoweringly rich. We have had the privilege of eating in several 2 Star restaurants and this food was way off this standard; in fact, I wouldnt have said it was even 1 Michelin Star. It certainly wasnt worth £175 per head. Breakfast I really enjoyed breakfast - everything served was delicious (apart from the orange juice which was straight out of a commercial, plastic bottle and not freshly squeezed). But there was no choice. This was odd. At almost every hotel Ive been to, you are offered a choice of breakfasts, but here you got: bacon, sausage, tomato, mushrooms, scrambled egg served at the table. Everything was delicious but there was no choice. Service Apart from Coral, service was very average. For a Michelin 2 star this was really disappointing. Nobody came to clean the table during dinner service, no one was really taking care of the table, no one made us feel special. They were just doing their job. On the morning we left, we had a query on the bill and the girl checking us out was really rather rude and made us feel very uncomfortable. This was highly disappointing. Summary: excellent accommodation, but very over priced, good but not anything like 2 Michelin Star food and very average service. Tom Kerridge: we were disappointed.