The Greyhound is a gastropub and restaurant par excellence located in Beaconsfield Old Town.

This is right at the top of my list of “outstanding eats” within the wider Oxford area. It’s the perfect location if you’re meeting friends halfway between Oxford and London & the Home Counties. It recently came 22nd in the ‘2024 UK Top 100 Restaurants Square Meal Awards’ alongside famous eateries such as ‘The Angel at Hetton’ in Yorkshire and ‘Ynyshir’ in Snowdonia.

The gastropub sits opposite a church on a relatively quiet Beaconsfield street in the desirable old town. There’s evidence suggesting the restaurant building has been in Windsor End almost 400 years and that it may have started life as a pair of cottages back in 1645.

The co-owners are the most delightful husband and wife team Daniel and Margriet Crump, who comes from Mechelen in Flanders, Belgium. Daniel is originally from Torquay and he’s been working in restaurants since he was 14. Together they have an impressive combined pedigree of Michelin-starred Pétrus in Knightsbridge, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea, Trinity in Clapham, and the Oxford Blue, Old Windsor.

Jermaine Harriott is the Head Chef and started with Dan & Margriet in summer 2022 as the sous chef and has now graduated to the top job. His cooking style is focussed on seasonal produce and retaining the integrity of the ingredient. Jermaine has worked in some of the UK’s top restaurants, including Langan’s Brasserie and Jason Atherton’s Michelin-starred Pollen Street Social. James Askew is the development chef creating the new seasonal dishes.

This is a superior modern dining experience but in an old Grade II listed pub that is low ceilinged and heavily beamed. But it’s been tastefully decorated in a contemporary, vibrant style with pride of place going to the signature curved yellow leather banquette seating. Lots of tasteful ephemera, a piano in the entrance hall, quirky table decorations and all tied together with rich tones of deep navy, gold, yellow and dark wood. What results is a relaxed atmosphere and warm, welcoming hubbub. Outdoor seating and eating on the terrace is available during the warmer months.

Daniel is the most charming host you could imagine, beautifully attired in snappy blue suit and tie. He was named as a Master of Culinary Arts for service – just one of 25 people to achieve this accolade in the UK. He sums it up simply “Hospitality is what we do and we never pay lip service to that”.

Margriet is a hugely experienced sommelier, using a broad range of wine suppliers for different specialisms. This is an innovative and comprehensive wine list with almost 20 wines available by the glass through the Coravin wine system. The wine list is laid out by Margriet in helpful simple genres if you’re not an expert e.g. white wine: (light, herbaceous, crisp) – (medium, floral/fruity, concentrated) – (full, complex, aged flavours).

What really grabbed me – above and beyond the exquisite inventive food – is the staff.

Dan & Margriet genuinely care about their employees. Just like Sir Alex Ferguson, they believe you grow the best players young and from within your ranks. Dan works with 6 local secondary schools and has taken on 6 apprentices over time after chatting to over 200 students. He has built a rigorous staff training programme and the Greyhound Academy. He is fastidious about daily training from the wine to the dishes and the provenance with c.60-90 minutes of pre-service training every morning. This is reflected in the excellent staff. Rohit, a Stoke Poges lad, has been with the couple since a work placement aged 16. You could not meet a more polite, accomplished, enthusiastic young man.

Upstairs used to be a dance room back in its previous 60/70s incarnation but it’s now decorated in a sumptuous bohemian style with more banquette seating and striking artwork. Downstairs there’s an alley where in times past they’d have brought the coaching horses to the stables. The vast timber doors for carriage entry are still intact. Outside there’s a covered wooden pagoda area, garden sofas, coffee tables and high stools & drinks tables.

Dan is proud of his modest kitchen garden, which is planted up with fruit trees and raised beds from which many of the fresh herbs, micro-greens, fruit and veg are picked. Suppliers are the very best – Kingfisher in Brixham for seafood, Aubrey Allen for meat and Solstice in Covent Garden market for the freshest, most seasonal fruits and veg.

We were sat in an intimate banquette seat in the front window. There’s a calm buzz and it’s not stuffy or snobby. Dan and Margriet just aren’t that sort of host & hostess. I doubt they’d tolerate any such shenanigans! They’re as authentic and dedicated to their art of hospitality as anyone I’ve met and with youthful, energetic experience on their side.

My dining partner and I surfed across all elements of the menu, sampling part fixed price menu and part tasting menu. There’s a great lunchtime fixed price menu at £35 for three courses so you can enjoy these innovative recipes and gourmet dishes at sensible prices. Dishes are seasonal. The lunch menu changes every 2 months. A la carte dishes change with the season.

So to the food…

Two types of beautiful ‘amuse bouche’ served on a rustic wooden board kicked everything off with style.

We both enjoyed a fresh yellow tomato gazpacho with home-baked soda bread and whipped nutty buerre noisette. The bread is much enjoyed and famed in these parts and regulars normally sneak an extra loaf home with them. In the cold soup, you could taste the chalkiness of the soil, the delicate cress flavours and the richness of the fresh tomatoes.

We then sampled three perfectly presented and balanced à la carte starters, all highly unusual and different: Norfolk Quail with Pickled Walnut, Red Currant & Radish; Severn & Wye Eel with Watercress, Celery & Yoghurt and Orkney Isle Scallop Carpaccio with Grapefruit, Wasabi & Yuzu.

The delicate quail was dressed and prepared to create a nuanced interplay of pickled walnut, vibrant zesty redcurrant, and crunchy radish, offering many intriguing taste and colour combinations.

How often have you eaten eel? Never in my case.

The succulent eel, delicately prepared, offered a rich, buttery flavour that intertwined with the peppery notes of watercress and the crisp freshness of celery. The velvety yogurt added a subtle tang. There was a surprising melt-in-the-mouth consistency to the eel.

A colourful dish, the Orkney scallop petals worked well with the zesty grapefruit, providing a citrusy bite to counter the whisper of wasabi which imparted a subtle, tingling heat. The touch of yuzu, with its citrusy brightness, added a refreshing note that lingered delicately.

Mains were delicate and perfectly balanced and presented.

Even the new potatoes were served with a golden miniature fork and shovel! Buckinghamshire Pork Loin, Malted Onion and Broad Beans – the pork was delicately roasted, accompanied by a rich malted onion reduction. The dish is elevated with the addition of tender broad beans, creating the perfect blend of colour, taste and texture.

Torbay Hake, Fowey Mussels, Smoked Potato & Sea Vegetables – the hake was artfully paired with Fowey mussels and elevated by the smoky allure of carefully prepared potatoes, while sea vegetables add a crunch and fresh contrast that can’t help but make you picture the seaside.

I can’t resist a dessert soufflé.

The knockout Banana Soufflé with Peanut Butter Ice Cream and Salted Toffee Sauce (£13) is the best I’ve tasted on my travels through Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds. Brasserie Blanc and The Killingworth Castle serve stellar examples.

My partner went with the light artistic Callebaut Caramel Chocolate with Raspberry and Hyssop (£13). Refined and beautiful constructed.

The Greyhound thrives on very local guests.

You’ll most likely struggle to get a table on Saturday and on Friday nights without booking a few weeks ahead. There’s just 40 covers for lunch and 65 for dinner. Dan believes that you never run two sittings and the table is yours all evening. How enlightened and rare. Guests are recognised for their continued patronage too. You’ll receive your own wooden napkin ring after four visits with your name carved on it.

There a range of special dining nights and wine talks. Past events include a popular Chapel Down wine dinner in summer and Burgundy wine tasting in early autumn.

In summary, The Greyhound Beaconsfield is worthy of its industry accolades. It’s more Michelin star than gastropub but you’ll be embraced by Dan, Margriet and the young team in the friendliest, most relaxed way. They nail all the small details, from pitch-perfect service to delicious food. You’ll also fall in love with the whole Crump ethos. They’re well on the way to becoming the future superstars of the fine dining world – watch this space!

The Greyhound
33 Windsor End, Beaconsfield, HP9 2JN, The Greyhound Pub & Dining
Closed: Sunday – Monday

Bitten were invited as guests, all views remain our own