Feast Over Flame Pop-up in Marlow
A magical dining experience has popped up in Marlow. Sophie Farrah takes to the river. Feast Over Flame is on until May 31 and already proving popular, so if you want to take to the river then book soon…
Feast over Flame
First impressions
What could be more magical than arriving for dinner by boat?
This is creative pop-up Feast Over Flame’s fifth year, and it all begins at the Compleat Angler hotel just by Marlow Bridge.
Here, a lovely little river boat (and a cold glass of fizz) awaits, ready to whisk diners upstream to a secret location…
The journey is incredibly idyllic; we gently pootled along the beautiful stretch of river between Marlow and Bisham, feeling like Ratty and Mole.
Before long, we spied flaming torches in the distance and felt immediately excited by the theatrical welcome and impressive sense of style.
We disembarked at our picturesque location and were then guided through a pretty garden along an enchanting fairy-lit path to our final dining destination.
Beneath an impressive marquee, around 20 tables all beautifully laid and decorated with flowers and lights await, sat on the grassy banks of the river.
It’s a unique and undeniably magical setting for a springtime supper under the stars…
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The menu
As the name suggests, ‘Feast Over Flame’ involves fire - each table comes with its very own Big Green Egg cleverly and cosily built in.
There are five courses in total, and it’s a set menu featuring gastronomic delights such as fresh scallops, Wye Valley asparagus, ‘surf and turf’, s’mores and more, so make sure that you arrive hungry.
But whatever you do, don’t ask for a menu.
I was very curtly told that there aren’t any and that I was the only person in five years to ask for one.
So if, like me, you quite like to know what you’re eating, set menu or otherwise, then you’ll either have to ask your waiter course-by-course, or check the menu online.
A welcome drink is included in the ticket price (see details below), and once you’re sat down there’s a well curated drinks menu on offer.
We spied plenty of creative cocktails flying out of the kitchen and shared a bottle of Maison Saint Aix’s delicious AIX rosé (£45).
Feast over Flame
The experience
Feast Over Flame is designed for tables of 6 and 8 people, so it’s perfectly pitched for lively group outings.
If you’re looking for a peaceful and romantic evening by the river then this is perhaps not the event for you – the music was pumping and there was a real party atmosphere from the offset.
The refined food menu sounded promising (once I’d reminded myself of it online) and didn’t disappoint.
An entire loaf of freshly baked bread studded with herbs and sweet cherry tomatoes arrived almost as soon as we sat down, along with a dish of delicious whipped wild garlic butter.
Soon, our Big Green Egg was flung open, and the pancetta-wrapped Wye Valley asparagus began to sizzle. Once perfectly grilled it was plated up with a soft quail's egg and some truffle mayonnaise.
Sweet and salty, creamy and crunchy and served on a pretty leaf-shaped plate, it’s a perfect springtime starter.
The apple-smoked scallops that followed were also very good – again these were cooked on the grill in their shells and then served with a beautiful cumin espuma (a light, airy foam filled with flavour), a fresh pea purée, and a pea shoot and apple salad.
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After this, the Big Green Egg didn’t seem to get much further action.
Both meat and veggie mains came from the kitchen: the pescatarian option is a roast cauliflower steak, which felt a little uninteresting in comparison to the rest.
The grilled fillet of beef with tiger prawns looked far more enticing, but at least both came with the same excellent triple-cooked truffle chips and a good Béarnaise, all freshened up by a watercress and shallot salad.
A fun pre-dessert arrived next – several ‘egg shells’ sat in a nest filled with a creamy vanilla panna cotta and a zingy orange gel. Yum.
Dessert was our favourite course – a luscious ‘Pina Colada’ pavlova filled with creamy coconut, sweet pineapple and crispy-chewy meringue, elevated further by toasted coconut and a chunk of fresh, juicy pineapple, caramelised on the grill.
It was a mouth-watering medley of tropical flavours and pleasing textures.
The final touch was a simple plate of chocolate biscuits and marshmallows for making s’mores (a toasted marshmallow squashed between two biscuits), not on the Big Green Egg but on a small can of flaming gel fuel… Presentation felt a bit basic in comparison to previous courses, but there’s no denying the pleasure and fun of making (and eating…) this indulgent campfire treat.
Soon it was time to sail back to Marlow. The homeward journey, along the dark and peaceful river aboard a beautifully fairy-lit boat, was unforgettably dreamlike.
Feast over Flame
What we liked…
The concept – we loved the boat trips and beautiful setting, and the creative menu was well executed.
What we didn’t…
Service, which was friendly for the most part, was a little disorganised, but it was opening night…
The bill, please
Dinner (adults only) is priced at £99 per person and available Thursday to Saturday from 6 pm for groups of 4-8.
A family-friendly lunch is available on Saturdays for groups of 4-8 from 12 pm, priced at £99 per adult and £45 per child.
For more information and to book, visit www.feast-events.com
