Gourmet Dining at The Henley Festival

The Henley Festival is a five-day music and arts festival held every year on the banks of the Thames. Following on from the Henley Regatta, the festival attracts visitors from all over the world and features performances by both household names and relative unknowns. There are also displays by leading art galleries, and over the years I have seen exhibits that even included original works by Salvador Dali and Damien Hurst.  But the Henley Festival is not just a festival of music and art, it also showcases some wonderful food and drink. 

The festival caters for every price point and almost every taste you can imagine, from a caravan selling Mexican specialities out of its window, to a Chinese restaurant and right on to La Scala and Albert Roux by the Riverside. Many people picnic in the car park before coming in, and although this may not sound very salubrious, this is picnicking at its most elegant. Portable gazebos and folding chairs are erected and the prevailing sound is of champagne corks popping. You are far more likely to find smoked salmon, caviar and foie gras in these picnic baskets than pork pies and Scotch eggs.

We generally have a glass of champagne and some nibbles before going into the festival, but we always enjoy eating our dinner at one of the restaurants. In the past I have eaten both at Albert Roux by the Riverside and The Terrace Restaurant, and this year I returned to The Terrace with friends and family to enjoy a delicious meal before we went on to enjoy the evening’s main performance on the floating stage.  The Terrace Restaurant is just that, a terraced structure featuring tables on several levels. Overlooking the Thames, the Terrace’s riverside location lets you watch the boats and yachts attracted by the festival pass by as you enjoy your dinner.

I have consistently been impressed by the food served by The Terrace and their menu offers a broad choice of dishes, ensuring everyone has a good choice of things to eat.  Three courses cost about £40 and there is an excellent wine list.  The menu changes annually, and this year I started with the Smoked Chicken Tian with Summer Salad and Apricot Chutney. 

It had a beautiful balance of flavours, the sweetness of the apricot chutney perfectly complimenting the lightly smoked chicken.  Another member of our party tried the Goats Cheese, Shallot and Tomato Tarte which looked so pretty.

The Oak cured Scottish Salmon with Horseradish Crème Fraîche, Caviar and Chives was also beautifully presented. 

There was a selection of five main courses to choose from, and between us our party tried most of them.  I’m told the Whole Roasted Fillet of British Beef served with a Stilton and Spinach Potato Fondant and Port Wine Reduction was absolutely scrumptious,

as was the Three Way Gressingham Duck, a selection of a Crispy Duck Leg, a Pan-Fried Supreme of Duck and Shredded Duck Confit served with Sweet Potato Puree and Baby Vegetables with a Vanilla and Rice Wine Dressing.

My Pan Fried Fillet of Sea Bass was served with lemon oil, crushed new potatoes, summer greens and a buttered sauce made with fine herbs was the perfect summer dish, really light and delicious.

The desserts were equally lovely, particularly the Raspberry and Rose Scented Trifle with Vanilla Custard Biscuits which had just the right amount of rose water to give this traditional dessert a fabulously modern twist.

Although I am not fond of Summer Pudding, I have to say the one ordered by my husband did look wonderful, and for something that is difficult to serve in one piece, it was incredibly well presented. 

I was allowed to taste the Amaretto and Chocolate Torte with Vanilla Cream and Espresso Syrup which both our friends ordered and it was incredible.  The espresso gave it a really gutsy edge, and although it was very rich, the vanilla cream offset the potential heaviness a dessert like this could have beautifully. 

I was incredibly impressed by the choice The Terrace Restaurant’s menu offered this year, and by how consistently well presented and delicious the dishes were.  Despite the many challenges presented by serving food prepared in a marquee on a riverbank to patrons in a multi-level restaurant, everything was hot, delicious and although there were five of us, not one of us had anything even slightly wrong with our dishes. It was very nearly a perfect meal, with everything served hot, and with the waiting staff anticipating virtually our every need, as well as allowing us a lovely pause between the main course and dessert so we could take the time to enjoy the rest of our wine. I would definitely return to the Terrace Restaurant when next we visit the Henley Festival, and I have no hesitation in recommending it should you be planning a visit in the future!

The Henley Festival is held annually in July.  For more details as they become available, please click here. 

A Casual Midweek Dinner

We went out for dinner Thursday night on the spur of the moment, which is not usually a good idea when you live just west of London. Most restaurants are booked solid nearly every night of the week, and Thursday is often considered the warm up to the weekend, so your chances of getting a table on spec are pretty much nil. Sure enough, when we arrived at the fashionable canal-side in Reading, every restaurant we walked into was fully booked or had at least a forty minute wait for a table. We decided to try just one more restaurant before we gave up and went home, and went into 'Strada' without much hope, particularly when the couple in front of us turned down an offer of a table in about - you guessed it - forty minutes. The advantage was, there were three of us, and the host said he had a table that should be available in about six minutes. That didn't seem too long a wait, particularly as we have been to Strada before and really enjoy their creative menu and delicious food. And sure enough, we were shown to a perfectly laid table in less than the promised six minutes.

Although Strada do not have a bar area in their Reading branch, the restaurant itself is nicely laid out, so that you feel the buzz of being in a lively restaurant, but you've got plenty of elbow room at the table. Their menu is quite varied with lots of choices for just about everyone. As the majority of the food is prepared to order, should there be an ingredient you are not keen on they are more than happy to leave it out. Our son ate from the main menu, choosing one of Strada's delicious pizza Florentina. It had both cooked and fresh spinach which made for a delicious contrast.

My husband and I were impressed with their set menu which offered three courses for just £13.50 so we decided to work our way through that. It offered two choices of starter, Bruschetta con Peperonata and a Gnocci dish. I hesitated about the bruschetta because one of the ingredients was goat's cheese, something I really do not care for, but the waiter said the chef would be more than happy to leave it off so I chose that. It was really delicious with wonderful roast peppers, and a great way to wet my appetite. (Mind you as it was by now nearly 9pm my appetite was pretty sharp already!) My husband had the gnocci, baby potato dumplings with a delicious sauce. We both selected the same choice from the five main courses on offer for dinner, a Risotto Verdure with freshly grilled asparagus, broad beans, peas, courgettes and spring onions flavoured with grana padano cheese and mint. It was lovely and obviously freshly prepared as the risotto was perfectly al dente. All the vegetables were fresh and crisp and the balance of flavours was perfect. There were only two choices for dessert, a Tiramisu or a Pannacotta, so we decided to have one of each. Both were exceptionally delicious and definitely homemade.

I can't speak highly enough of the service. The waiter was friendly, knowledgeable and attentive. I was also very impressed that a refillable bottle of chilled filtered water and water glasses appeared when we ordered our drinks. It was refilled without hesitation throughout the meal - we did not even have to ask.

It's always hard to recommend a whole chain of restaurants in its entirely as the staff really do make or break these places, but the experiences we have had in our local Strada would encourage me to try one elsewhere without hesitation. The Strada website says that Strada "is all about quality, freshly prepared pizzas, pastas and risottos served in stylish, contemporary surroundings". In this case, it definitely is, and I highly recommend it.

I would recommend booking in advance if possible to ensure you get a table. Strada have locations through the UK and you can use their online booking service by clicking here. Our local branch which we enjoyed on Thursday is canal-side in The Oracle Shopping Centre at 20 The Riverside, Reading, RG1 2AG - telephone on +44 (0) 118 939 4861.

I'm also very impressed by Strada's website, which even offers video recipes. Click here to learn how to make some of their signature dishes from Maurice Maffeo, their Head Development Chef.


(This is a personal review. The opinions are mine and I was not compensated by Strada in any way.)