Weekend bolthole
Head to this Georgian townhouse in Oxfordshire for elegant guestrooms and immersive tasting menus
Escape to a Georgian townhouse in Oxfordshire
What makes Crockers Henley unique?
In a prime spot off the leafy market square of Henley-on-Thames, a converted Georgian townhouse’s warren of rooms hosts a boutique food lover’s hideaway. Venture through The Grill restaurant to the back of the building, where two elegant chef’s table dining rooms host intricate, interactive dinners. Sit on velvet stools strategically placed around a sparkling open kitchen and watch chefs pipe cheese into gougères, pincer peanuts onto passion fruit chocolate desserts and sprinkle puffed rice over sizzling duck breasts. Treat yourself to the ‘dine and stay’ package to prolong your experience in one of Crockers Henley’s seven elegant rooms, featuring restored marble fireplaces, industrial copper lamps and en suites with rainfall showers. Each room has a roll-top, claw-foot bath to sink into before dinner with a refreshing, homemade bottled negroni or passion fruit maverick martini.
On the menu
Crockers hosts not one but two chef’s table experiences: modern British dishes in The Thames, and Pan-Asian-inspired menus in The Gardiner. In the former, talented chef Alex Payne kicks off his eight-course tasting menu with Oxford sourdough made using a 120-year-old starter from Italy, providing a springy base for whipped, mousse-like beef fat and cultured Irish butter. Highlights of the menu include chicken liver parfait delicately sandwiched between crisp chicken skin in a savoury spin on the Jammie Dodger, and halibut cooked in beurre noisette and served with a sesame-covered Jersey Royal potato, celeriac purée, sweet fennel jam and sea buckthorn gel.
Highlights
The stay starts with a welcome afternoon treat in the Alice in Wonderland-esque mirrored courtyard. The brioche pastry notes in a glass of English sparkling Gusbourne Brut Reserve are enhanced by the delicate choux bun of the month: banana caramel crème pâtissière topped with a sophisticated squiggle of Italian meringue.
What you’ll want to recreate at home
You can purchase the contemporary artwork (by artists including Australian Anthony White) that’s on display in the rooms from the gallery, Informality, across the marketplace. Replicate the mini bar by sourcing your own Campfire gin from Puddingstone Distillery in the Chiltern Hills. Add an elegant scent to your home bathroom with Noble Isle handwash, which is inspired by the rich, cultural heritage of the British Isles and uses extracts such as Yorkshire rhubarb, Northern Irish samphire and Gloucestershire perry pear.