by Philippa Ratcliffe – Editor

There is something to be said that when eating and surrounded by your fellow diners, all you can hear are sounds of enjoyment, mumurs and plaudits of ‘wow this is incredible’ and ‘Oh my God, this is amazing’. Well this is what happens when you taste Alex Payne’s food at the the Thames Table at Crockers in Henley.

We’re lucky enough to have eaten at Crockers before and we were invited along to meet new Head Chef Alex Payne and his team this week. It was not a disappointment, if anything the food just gets better and better. We love sitting at the ‘chef’s table’ in the kitchen and watching each course being meticulously prepared in front of our eyes.

It’s not difficult to see why our meal was as esquisite as it was with Alex at the helm. At only 29 he has a wealth of experience in his wake including having worked at Michelin-starred The Latymer at Pennyhill Park, Heston Blumenthal’s Hind’s Head at Bray and at The Savoy Grill – Gordon Ramsay.

I think one of things that we love about Crockers is that it’s not stuffy at all for somewhere that has such top flight food, but is a relaxed, convivial dining experience surrounded by fellow lovers of food and wine. A particularly impressive trait is the creation of sublime vegetable dishes like the barbequed British hispi cabbage, ewes curd, yeast extract and Alsace bacon dish (pictured above). It was that good I was getting every last bit off the sauce of the plate with my finger! This was not sneared at in anyway, in fact enjoyment of your food like this is very much welcomed, knawing the lamb rack bone to ensure I got every last morsel was a case in point.

Rose veal sweetbread, Jerusalem artichoke, licorice

Cornish lemon sole, Jersey Royals, gomasio, gooseberry, celeriac

Another reason why Crockers get plus points is that their dishes are generous without being overbearing, which makes a change from some tasting menus which consist of miniscule amuse bouche mouthfuls, and you walk out feeling cheated out of calories craving a burger on the way home. None of that here.

We won’t spoil it too much more with images but by golly, the pre-dessert palate clenser was wonderful, which is just listed on the menu as white peach, raspberry, vanilla. It was a beauty.

The whole menu was beautifully paired with matched wines that you would definitely want to seek out and buy for yourself. Hat tip to the sommelier and I nearly popped the dessert wine bottle in my bag!

The bottom line is that Crockers IS unique dining and they’re correct, experience IS everything. We’re lucky to have Crockers in Henley and we wish them all the best going forward now they are able to open their doors proper.

For more information and all the menus visit henley.crockersuk.com