Hotel du Vin Plats du Jour Review

Last week the Henley Herald was invited by Hotel du Vin to have lunch from their recently re-launched Plats du Jour menu in their Bistro restaurant.  The Bistro restaurant offers a light, airy and comfortable dining experience and all the staff were very welcoming and attentive.

We started off with one of us having the deliciously creamy Crème du Barry (cauliflower soup), which was topped with a small amount of truffle oil, and the Chicken Liver Parfait served with a toasted brioche and raisin chutney that provided a tasty start to the meal.

To follow we choose the unusual Beetroot Bubble and Squeak Hash with poached hens eggs and horseradish hollandaise plus the Coq au Vin with buttered mash.  The Bubble and Squeak was excellent, nicely presented and full of flavour, with the hollandaise sauce perfectly complementing the eggs and main dish.

The chicken in the Coq au Vin was well cooked, came off the bone easily and the sauce with pancetta and small sweet onions was excellent – I would have liked a little bit more of this.  The Coq au Vin was a large portion of three pieces of chicken which unfortunately I couldn’t quite finish as I knew I needed to leave a small space to try a dessert.

After the very enjoyable main courses, we decided to share a Crème Brûlée to finish our meal. This scrumptious creamy egg custard dessert was perfectly topped with caramelised sugar – just crisp enough to delve into without the topping flying out of the dish unlike some we’ve had at other restaurants!

The lunch menu is competitively priced at 2 courses for £14.95 or 3 courses for £16.95; dinner is £16.95 and £19.95 respectively. They both offer an enticing selection of four starters, mains and desserts created daily by their chefs. The menu always includes the classic dishes of Chicken Liver Parfait, Coq au Vin and Crème Brûlée every day.

So next time you’re thinking of going out for lunch and dinner, don’t forget that Hotel du Vin in Henley is not just a hotel but it offers a great dining experience with an excellent set-price menu.  We would recommend it.