Restaurant in Marlow, United Kingdom
Michelin cooking, pub prices, same-day booking.
The Coach holds a Michelin star and a same-day booking policy — which makes it both the most serious and most accessible option in Marlow for spontaneous good eating. At £££, the small-plates format and ingredient-led cooking deliver Kerridge-standard precision in a room that still functions as a proper pub. Call early on the day you want to eat and ask for the open kitchen seats.
The Coach operates a same-day booking policy for lunch and dinner (weekend breakfasts are walk-in only, no reservations taken at all). That means calling or turning up on the morning you want to eat, which sounds inconvenient until you realise it also means your competition thins out considerably compared to its Michelin-starred sibling Hand and Flowers, where tables book out weeks in advance. If you're already in Marlow, The Coach is the smarter same-day move. If you're travelling specifically for it, plan to call as early as possible on the day. For the open kitchen seats, ask for them directly when you book — watching head chef Sarah Hayward's team run the pass makes a material difference to the experience, and those seats go first.
The Coach holds a Michelin star and has done since 2024 , ten years into its life as the more accessible, less formal arm of Tom Kerridge's Marlow operation. At £££ pricing, it sits in a deliberate sweet spot: serious cooking in a room that still functions as a pub, with handpumps, leather banquettes, and sports channels on mute. If you want the Kerridge standard without the Hand and Flowers commitment (or the wait), this is the right call. The 4.5 Google rating across over 1,200 reviews confirms the consistency isn't just a critic's impression.
Format is small plates, arriving as they're ready, and sharing is the point. That structure rewards repeat visitors who know to order widely , if you've been once and played it cautiously, the second visit is where you should push further into the à la carte and let the kitchen set the pace.
Coach's menu divides cleanly into 'No Meat', 'Meat', and 'Sweet', which sounds simple until you read what's actually in each section. The approach here is ingredient-led precision without any pretension about it. The rotisserie changes daily, anchoring the meat section to whatever sourcing the kitchen is working with, rather than locking the menu to fixed proteins year-round. That flexibility shows up on the plate as dishes that feel seasonally honest: a watercress and Jersey Royal soup in summer served alongside a Parmesan-topped cheese scone with ham-hock butter is the kind of thing that only works if the Royals are actually in season and actually good.
Mushroom 'risotto' is a useful indicator of the kitchen's philosophy. Sliced mushrooms replace rice entirely, and the dish lands with the kind of depth that takes skill to achieve without starch as a crutch. Tom Kerridge's low-carb convictions inform the menu structurally , there's no bread service , which means the kitchen has to make every dish earn its place on flavour alone. On the evidence of what Michelin inspectors have found across multiple visits, it does.
Desserts have been a consistent high point: a choux bun with mango and coconut filling, chocolate and orange sponge with marmalade ice cream, and a sticky toffee pudding with beef suet all point to a pastry section that takes the same ingredient-sourcing discipline as the savoury courses. The beef suet addition to the sticky toffee is the kind of detail that separates a technically serious kitchen from one that's merely competent.
The wine list covers more ground than the room suggests , whites from Syria, Greece, and Norfolk sit alongside the expected , and cocktails are available, though priced to reflect the ambition behind them rather than the pub surroundings.
Marlow punches well above its size for food. Our full Marlow restaurants guide maps the full picture, but The Coach occupies a specific position: Michelin-quality cooking without the formality or the forward-booking anxiety of Hand and Flowers. If you're building a Marlow trip around food, it's worth knowing that Compleat Angler and Danesfield House offer contrasting dining environments, while Sindhu covers Indian cooking at a comparable price point. For drinks and bars before or after, our Marlow bars guide has the options.
If the same-day booking model doesn't suit your trip planning, The Fat Duck in Bray is a short drive away and books months out, as does L'Enclume in Cartmel for those willing to travel further for the comparable Michelin tier. For Modern British cooking with a different regional character, Moor Hall in Aughton, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, and hide and fox in Saltwood represent the peer group The Coach sits within nationally. In London, CORE by Clare Smyth and The Ritz Restaurant operate at the same Michelin tier but with considerably more formality and higher price points. 33 The Homend in Ledbury is worth noting for those who like the pub-format fine dining model The Coach pioneered. Explore our Marlow hotels guide, wineries, and experiences if you're planning a full visit.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Coach | Modern British | £££ | The Hand and Flowers' reputation goes before it, but not quite as many people are familiar with its younger sister, The Coach, despite 2025 having marked its 10th successful year. A cosy, compact pub it has a relaxed, informal vibe – and the sharing of dishes is positively encouraged. Lunchtime sees a set-priced menu, while dinner offers an extensive à la carte that includes everything from deep-fried cod with pease pudding or their ‘rotisserie of the day’ to sticky toffee pudding with beef suet. Cooking is of the highest order and the hugely satisfying dishes burst with punchy flavours.; Take a peep into the Coach and you might be misled. This 'welcoming and friendly' town-centre venue – one of four Tom Kerridge establishments in Marlow – still has all the trappings of a bustling boozer. There’s attractive green tiling on the walls, a fine choice of local ale on the handpumps, seating on red leather banquettes or bar stools, and even a few TV screens (on mute) tuned to sports channels. However, it's the food that takes precedence – and classy food at that. Tables can only be booked on the day (apart from weekend breakfasts, when it's walk-ins only). Try to bag a seat near the open kitchen, where head chef Sarah Hayward creates a repertoire of small-plate dishes that arrive as and when they’re ready. A velvety little helping of watercress and Jersey Royal soup might kick things off in summer, served with a wondrously light Parmesan-topped cheese scone with ham-hock butter. Likewise, mushroom ‘risotto’, topped with more Parmesan, had an intensity born of culinary skill and training. It also revealed Kerridge’s low-carb convictions, with slivers of mushroom taking the place of rice (and there’s no bread on the menu). An inspection meal continued with highs and lows: half a barely cooked hispi cabbage with a salad cream and pork-puff topping was surpassed by roasted sea bass with cockles, saffron potato and a mouth-wateringly savoury bouillabaisse sauce. Flair was most evident when it came to dessert: a sublime choux bun arrived with a creamy yet tangy filling of mango and coconut (the accompanying custard-like pineapple rum sauce was scarcely needed), while a rich chocolate and orange sponge with chocolate sauce was enhanced by the bitter notes of marmalade ice cream. To drink, the pithy wine list holds much of interest (including whites from Syria, Greece and Norfolk) and there’s a short selection of inventive (if pricey) cocktails too. Service from polite young men is well-meaning, though a few extra training sessions wouldn’t go amiss. Nevertheless, it’s the bonhomous vibe that keeps this Coach on track.; Set just down the road from its renowned bigger sister, The Hand and Flowers, there is a more relaxed and informal style to The Coach. The menu sets out its stall with headings of 'No Meat', ‘Meat’ and ‘Sweet’; across the board you'll find pub dishes of the highest order, prepared with maximum care and minimal fuss. Whether it's the 'rotisserie of the day' or the treacle tart, the cooking displays a level of understated precision that results in hugely satisfying dishes bursting with punchy flavours. The warm, attentive service comes with a smile.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| Hand and Flowers | Modern British | ££££ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| The Butcher's Tap and Grill | Meats and Grills | ££ | Unknown | — | |
| The Oarsman | British Contemporary | ££ | Unknown | — | |
| The Troublesome Lodger | Unknown | — | |||
| Vaasu | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how The Coach measures up.
Groups are possible but the same-day booking policy makes coordination harder the larger the party. The Coach is a compact pub with banquette and bar-stool seating, so larger groups should call first thing in the morning to secure enough space. Parties of 6+ will find the format more manageable at a venue with advance reservations — though for groups of 4, The Coach works well if you call early.
The menu splits into 'No Meat', 'Meat', and 'Sweet', and the small-plate format means ordering broadly is the point. The rotisserie of the day is a consistent draw, and the dessert section has drawn specific praise from inspectors — the kitchen's precision shows most clearly at the end of the meal. At £££ per head, ordering across all three sections gives the best return on the Michelin-star cooking on offer.
Yes — bar stools are part of the seating setup alongside red leather banquettes, and the informal pub format means solo or casual bar dining fits naturally. Seats near the open kitchen are worth requesting when you call, as that's where head chef Sarah Hayward's small-plate repertoire is most visible.
The Coach doesn't operate a tasting menu format. Dinner is an à la carte with small plates arriving as they're ready, and lunch offers a set-priced menu. If a structured tasting format is what you're after, The Hand and Flowers down the road is the better fit — though it comes at a higher price point and with a much harder reservation.
Lunch is the sharper value play: a set-priced menu means you get Michelin-star cooking at a contained cost. Dinner opens into an extensive à la carte with more range. Both operate under the same-day booking policy, but if you're visiting specifically for value, the lunch format at £££ is hard to argue against.
The Hand and Flowers is the obvious step up — two Michelin stars, advance bookings required, higher price point. For a more straightforward pub meal without the Michelin overhead, The Oarsman and The Butcher's Tap and Grill are both accessible Marlow options. Vaasu covers Indian-influenced cooking if you want something outside the Modern British category.
It works for a low-key special occasion, but manage expectations around format: this is a pub with bar stools and sports TV on mute, not a white-tablecloth room. The Michelin-star cooking at £££ is genuinely celebratory, but if the setting matters as much as the food, The Hand and Flowers delivers a more occasion-appropriate atmosphere.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
