Review: The Coach, Marlow
We have been doing our very best at Moving Venue to get back out and kickstart the hospitality industry, restaurants and pubs currently featuring high on our agenda! Our very own David Ridgway, Executive Head Chef and Kim Laley, Operations Director, ventured out to Marlow and went to The Coach, a one Michelin-starred pub, brought to you by the team behind Tom Kerridge’s The Hand and Flowers.
The Review...
A beautiful traditional pub with a homely & welcoming atmosphere with delicious food being the focus. We were fortunate to be seated at the bar, where we could observe the chefs in action across an open plan kitchen. Design elements are inspired by old English traditional pubs – with a quirky & modern twist. A polished decorative pewter bar-top wraps around the space with a hanging overbar framework above.
In regards to safety measures, there were clear Perspex screens across the bar/kitchen and all staff wore visors. Some tables were not in use to aid social distancing and on all tables, there were elegantly branded ‘Coach’ hand sanitisers. There were three separate sittings for dinner, so there weren’t people walking in and out the whole time. We felt that the ambience was unspoilt and it still felt bustling even with these measures.
The Food...
The menu comprises of ‘small plates’ with the option of ‘meat’ or ‘no meat’. Choose the former and you’re in the world of the rotisserie, with competition from the likes of the Coach burger or venison chilli with red wine; choose the latter and you could have Caesar salad, moules marinière or fish fritters with tartare sauce. We picked three dishes each to share with the stand out being the mushroom risotto, it is not a real risotto as mushrooms play the role of the rice in this dish. A homage to Chef Claude Bosi who invented the Celery Risotto without rice. Nice rich and creamy sauce, great flavours, overall a sensational dish.
The treacle cured bacon and egg dish was a pure delight, with melt in the mouth bacon, perfectly cooked egg, super sharp hollandaise and crisp apple, very delicious. The Battered cod was banging, super crisp and perfect with the Pease pudding and homemade tartare sauce. The Mussels Mariniere was so light and packed with flavour, no messy shells, and the freshly baked warm stout bread loaves were to die for. For the dessert, the lemon meringue fool didn’t touch the sides, it was so lovely with crunchy shortbread, and finally what’s not to love about classic profiteroles with vanilla cream and warm chocolate sauce.
The conclusion...
Overall we felt safe and looked after, the food was delicious and the restaurant was fully booked. We will definitely be back very soon!
