Celebrating their first anniversary this November, The Braywood restaurant in Paley Street, Maidenhead, have much to take pride in: recently receiving 3 AA Rosettes for 2025 and well on course for a coveted Michelin star which would align them to their nearby competitors in Bray…
The Michelin inspectors certainly know the area well and only have 4 miles to travel from the world-famous 7 Michelin star village of Bray in Berkshire which boasts two long-established 3 Michelin-starred restaurants: Alain Roux’s The Waterside Inn, celebrating 40 years of exemplary French cuisine, and Heston Blumenthal’s world renowned The Fat Duck along with his 1 Michelin starred The Hind’s Head serving witty reinventions of British classics.
You have to be a confident restaurateur with a very good head chef to be brave enough to take on such fierce competition and it’s almost more of a compliment than a Michelin star when the discerning Bray locals, fortunate enough to have the best food in the country right on their doorstep, have supported The Braywood since it opened. If I were based in Bray and had an ‘in’ with the reservations managers at the 3 star establishments it would feel odd to dine so elaborately every other week and for this reason, I suspect that the majority of local foodies are greatly relieved that there is a newcomer (who offer an excellent value £32/39 set lunch menu) to fill the gap between a gastro pub and a formal affair with umpteen courses costing up to £450 per person.
Granting customers an unfussy, yet elegant environment where the food and service takes centre stage, The Braywood is the fifth venture from the independent hospitality group, WSH Restaurants, whose portfolio includes the highly regarded Woodspeen and Boxford in Newbury, besides The Sparsholt in Wantage and The Clockspire in Sherborne, so their understanding of what customers want has been well honed over many years.
With time enough for an aperitif in the swanky bar, I had every confidence that I was about to experience a memorable lunch the moment I stepped into the entrance with its cosy log fire. The simple, yet striking architecture and decor, which looks like something you’d see featured on Grand Designs, successfully merges contemporary slickness with comfort to offer diners a relaxing space quite unlike the other restaurants down the road in Bray.
Chris Bagot Architects carried out the superb reconstruction and extension of the former Michelin-starred Royal Oak, previously owned by broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson, with a Californian-inspired aesthetic offering guests laidback luxury. Designed to be both a destination in its own right and a great way to kick off or conclude lunch or dinner here, The Braywood’s spectacular bar, featuring an impressive vaulted ceiling and comfortable banquette seating takes on a cosy cabin feel in the winter months when the wood fire is stoked with logs.
As a non drinker, I was extremely impressed by the excellent selection of alcohol free spirits such as Lyre’s Dark Cane and London Dry, with a highly original seasonal mocktail list including ‘Papaya Ember’ with Lyre’s Italian Orange, papaya puree, lemon marmalade and bbq spice, finished with basil oil and a ‘Pumpkin Fizz’ with Lyre’s Dark Cane, pumpkin puree and lemon ginger beer, garnished with a bay leaf and blow torched chestnut.
Welcoming non-diners who fancy dropping by for a tipple, the bar is the perfect partner to the light-filled flat-roofed 70-cover dining room with its feature skylight and striking picture window created from a single piece of glass to offer uninterrupted views of the garden. Bringing the outside in was integral to the design of the restaurant, with natural wood and exposed brick contrasted with plants to soften the Scandinavian-style minimalism, so too the warm lighting which transforms this lunchtime oasis into a seductive space come the evening.
Every stage of the Braywood dining experience is orchestrated by an assured team front of house, some of whom have transferred from The Woodspeen, including General Manager Thomas Gammella, who make the dining room an inviting place to be, but the restaurant’s star asset is Head Chef Sam Brenan, who started out working for Gordon Ramsay at Petrus before a move to the former Michelin-starred L’Ortolan near Reading, and is quietly yet confidently carving out a reputation for himself at The Braywood.
Having had the privilege of cooking for Alain Roux and the team at The Fat Duck since the restaurant opened last year. With Brenan having held the same position at sister venue, The Woodspeen, he is now thriving on the challenge to update many of his signature dishes in favour of a more vibrant and contemporary menu for which he is deservedly gaining notice.
While I continued working my way through the mocktails, my companion had a wine list of over 600 Old and New World wines to browse, 20 of which are available by the glass. There’s a strong focus on Italian and French, though if you feel like being more adventurous, you’re in safe hands when guided by The Braywood’s knowledgeable Head Sommelier, Jacopo Maroni, a young man who is not only passionate about the wines honouring his Italian homeland but is ardently keen for diners to sample exceptional varieties produced on British soil.
My starter of Cornish crab with brown crab meat showcased immaculate preparation and Brenan’s love of simplicity and ingredient-focussed dishes: the joy of the naturally sweet and salty shellfish enhanced with diced Pink Lady apple, dots of ponzu gel to offer sweetness and acidity, and finished with papadum-like crisps for a contrasting texture and savouriness. I continued the seaside-vibe with the stone bass main course: a fillet of milky white fish accompanied by a prawn-stuffed Hispi cabbage and shellfish bisque, a split sauce cleverly finished with caviar to offer bursts of saltiness in contrast with the natural sweetness of the prawn.
So what if the side of triple-cooked chips were a little pale? For this was the only remotely flat note in an otherwise melodic three courses, concluding with the high note of a perfectly risen apple and blackberry crumble souffle with blackberry jam, vanilla custard (a silky creme anglaise as opposed to a gloopy school dinner affair) and blackberry jam ripple ice cream, made for tipping into the fluffy centre and causing conversation to come to an abrupt halt.
My companion, who isn’t usually crazy about desserts, was ecstatic about the Ortega-soaked sponge savarin with fresh plum and fig leaf ice cream, and with which he orders a glass of the locally produced Ortega. As a self-confessed sweet tooth, I echoed his enthusiasm for The Braywood’s exceptionally executed desserts; a fitting conclusion to an exciting, pitch-perfect fine dining experience that more than warrants leaving the more predictable confines of Bray village and putting the change towards another lunch here.
When I’m invited into the gleaming kitchen where the brigade are prepping for dinner service, I can’t resist asking Chef Brenan how determined he is to gain a Michelin star. Clearly flattered that I consider it possible, he replies that, however nice it is to receive accolades on behalf of the restaurant team, happy customers are what motivate him and get him out of bed in the morning; the kind of chef who, not diverted with television appearances and cookbook signings (long may it last), will give you a good meal time and time again.
The Braywood, Paley Street, Littlefield Green, Maidenhead SL6 3JN. Serving lunch Tuesday – Sunday and dinner Tuesday to Saturday evenings. For more information, menus and reservations please see the website.
