From Marlow to Surbiton

Saturday, June 06th , 2026

The Hand and Flowers has a new head chef in the form of Sarah Hawyard. The menu now seems to be a mix of classic dishes from the former kitchen regime, plus some newer dishes that Sarah has introduced. I enjoyed an excellent duck liver parfait, and indeed the whole meal felt a notch up compared to my previous visits. That said, the bill was £224 a head for the four-course menu with just water to drink, and that is an awful lot of money when you consider the level of ingredients in the meal.

Koyal remains my favourite Indian restaurant in London. The standard of food is incredibly high, and at my latest meal we enjoyed classic dishes such as wild boar vindaloo, and newer ones such as beetroot tiikki. I was pleased to see that Koyal won an award this week at the Indian Restaurant Awards (held at the Lancaster Hotel in London). This was a new awards ceremony in which I was one of the five judges.