The French Horn in Sonning (simply down the street from George and Amal) has been run by the Emmanuel household since 1972 -and it exhibits.
Not a lot a case of getting seen higher days as not having been spruced up in any respect – though the setting by the river continues to be attractive. This well-known Thames-side restaurant with 31 rooms has a museum-like high quality to it, albeit a dusty one in want of a money injection.
These nostalgic for the Seventies, when wealthy French cooking dominated the roost, will find it irresistible. And people seeking to remind themselves how drab these days might be won’t be upset, both.
Riverside: The French Horn in Sonning provides a beautiful location and top of the range delicacies
Thoughts you, the site visitors backed up exterior ready close to the bridge will need to have been ten occasions lighter when the Emmanuels purchased the place all these years in the past.
We wait greater than 5 minutes to cross the street from the automotive park. Then, the receptionist says we are able to have a selection of room — both in the principle home or again throughout the street in one in every of a number of cottages.
‘I’d advocate the cottage,’ she says, sounding a contact embarrassed.
For good purpose. The upstairs double reeks as if the window has not been opened since Slade had been prime of the charts. And what decor. Most elderly individuals’s houses have extra aptitude than this.
‘Let’s take a look at the cottage,’ I say. It seems to be little higher, other than its massive rest room overlooking a flower meadow. The sitting room wall lights are wonky; the brown carpets are dreary; the espresso desk within the downstairs front room is chipped and three an identical armchairs are lined collectively like a safety barrier, in case a smidgen of fashion ought to break via their ranks.
The prints of backyard scenes are so pale you can’t recognise any of the flowers and the john brush holder within the rest room is thick with rust. Or let’s hope it’s rust.
The ghosts of the morning: A spring daybreak on the River Thames at Sonning Bridge, full with mist
After a nice wander alongside the towpath to Sonning Lock, we head again to the French Horn for one more journey down reminiscence lane. However this one is a pleasure.
A complete duck is roasting on a spit in entrance of the open hearth, drinks are being served, orders for dinner taken. And the maître d’ is laying on the appeal thicker than a faculty custard. The wine checklist is fabulous — so long as you’ll be able to resist the 1959 Chateau Lafite Rothschild at £9,409.50 a bottle.
The set dinner is a snip at £22 for 2 programs of this high quality. Our T-bone steaks are good, and we put up no resistance on seeing vanilla ice cream and sizzling chocolate sauce on the menu. Service is old school and impeccable.
Oddly, visitors are inspired to have breakfast of their rooms. There are strict directions to hang around a kind of breakfast requests the night time earlier than.
We do nothing of the sort and are allowed to have our scrambled eggs in just a little room subsequent to the bar. Pretty, buttery eggs, too.
Put the French Horn in your checklist for dinner and graze on a slice of culinary historical past.
