The Waterside Inn

The Waterside Inn sits on the Thames at Bray, a restaurant with rooms that Michel and Albert Roux opened in 1972 in what had been an old riverside pub. It won its first MICHELIN star in 1974, its third in 1985, and has held three ever since. Alain Roux, Michel's son, has run the kitchen since 2002, and the cooking is classical French. The dining room looks through glass onto the river and the willows, with a terrace outside for drinks before dinner.

The restaurant can be taken whole. It closes to the public on Mondays and Tuesdays, and the house will open it on those days for exclusive use, ideally for up to 75 guests, with the evening shaped around the party from the arrival cocktail to what follows dinner.

For smaller occasions there is River Cottage, the private dining room beside the restaurant with its own discreet entrance. It is dressed in velvets, silks and antique furniture, with a drawing room alongside, and opens onto a sheltered walled garden planted by Stephen Woodhams. It seats up to 12 for a birthday, an engagement dinner, a confidential meeting or a civil ceremony. Alain Roux's culinary school can also be booked privately for a cooking day with friends.