The Waterside Inn
Home Counties · United Kingdom
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Character and identity
A "restaurant with rooms" on the Thames in the 16th-century village of Bray, The Waterside Inn is first and foremost the Roux family's gastronomic temple, serving classical French cooking since the early 1970s and now run by Alain Roux, who took the reins from his father Michel in 2002. The 11 bedrooms are scattered between the old farmhouse and cottages around the grounds, each with its own character, Persian carpets, and a French-inflected country aesthetic. There is no concierge and no room service; a guest kitchen stocked with coffee, teas, and wine stands in for both. The mood is quiet, romantic, and unmistakably culinary.
Who's it for
Best for:
Serious food and wine travellers who want to eat one of the country's great French dinners and stagger no further than a cottage bedroom afterwards. Couples on a romantic gastronomic weekend out of London will find the pacing, the riverside setting, and the cellar of over 1,000 wines exactly right.
Should look elsewhere:
Families with young children (under nines aren't permitted), anyone wanting a full-service hotel with concierge, spa, and room service, or travellers who view dinner as one component of a broader stay. The rooms are charming but secondary to the restaurant.
Bottom line
The food is the entire proposition, and on that measure it ranks among the best in Britain, with Alain Roux's pâtisserie a particular high point. Book the Menu Exceptionnel, stay the night so the wine list can be properly explored, and accept that you are paying for dinner with a beautiful bedroom attached, not a hotel with a restaurant.
Location
What this place offers
- Restaurants
- Wi-Fi
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Breakfast
- Smoke-free property
- Front desk
- Full service laundry
- Kid-friendly
- Parking
