The George and Dragon Marlow

Last Updated on September 5, 2025

Down by the Riverside…

The George and Dragon is part of the Heartwood Collection group founded by chef Raymond Blanc. The group also manages Brasserie Blanc restaurants, which bodes well for dinner! With 32 pubs and seven pubs with rooms, it’s a group that is expanding fast, its latest opening being The George and Dragon in Bouji Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

On a site that was formerly a Premier Inn, the George and Dragon has been open for just over a month since undergoing a spectacular refurbishment, so it’s the perfect time to review.

Marlow is best known for its riverside location, with Higginson Park offering delightful riverside strolls and boating. The High Street is crammed with stylish boutiques, art galleries and other retail opportunities for those who have a luxury lifestyle and for the rest of us to window-shop.

All Saints Marlow is an attractive Victorian church built out of Bath stone that is positioned right on the riverbank, and a stone’s throw away is The George and Dragon.

The hotel has three levels of rooms; Snug Rooms are suitable for the single traveller, Comfy Rooms are characterful and the ‘ideal choice for a relaxing stay for a couple’. But we were staying in a Fancy Room with an extremely comfortable super king bed with 200 thread count sheets, soothing pillow spray and nine pillows. The room was not huge but was delightfully furnished with high-quality, hand-crafted wooden furniture and lots of thoughtful touches. Some fancy rooms are dog-friendly, and some have a pull-out bed, ideal if you have a child with you.

The room was very well-kitted out with plenty of plugs, decent WIFI, a Roberts digital radio, a 43” TV, a hairdryer, an iron and board, a fridge with bottled water, an Illy coffee machine, tea making facilities with milk and oat milk supplied and a safe. There’s also a place to work and a space to relax with air-con to keep you cool.

Our Fancy Room also had a freestanding bath – available on request – as well as a sumptuous rainfall shower. There’s a range of Bramley’s eco-friendly toiletries, and I was delighted to see bath salts in a lovely wooden holder, which are a rarity these days.

After exploring the town, the hotel and the room, it was time to head down to the bar and restaurant to have a drink or two and dinner. The restaurant is a vibrant collection of spaces featuring dark wooden floors, Art Deco light fittings, wooden tables, and an eclectic mix of artworks. There are larger areas for big parties and cosy nooks for a romantic tete-à-tete, as well as outdoor seating and a large bar area. We were keen to explore the new summer menu on a night when the restaurant was buzzing with families celebrating GCSE results.

The drinks list has an extensive Gin menu, a seductive-sounding Spritz list, as well as seasonal and classic cocktails. An Apricot Collins, a blend of Bombay Sapphire gin, fresh lemon juice, apricot syrup and Fever-Tree white grape and apricot soda, was refreshing, not too sweet but still having plenty of apricot flavour. My Negroni was well-made using Tanqueray Gin, Campari and South African Regal Rogue red vermouth, which is a favourite of mine. A bowl of mixed olives slathered with herbs helped the drinks go down.

The menu is divided between starters, mains, nibbles, sharing plates, sides and puddings. For meatheads, there are steaks from Aubrey Allen that are chargrilled, grass-fed and dry-aged for 30 days.
Heartwood make a big deal about their restaurant’s soufflés and for good reason. My starter of a twice-baked cheese soufflé was hot, light, and fluffy, with a crisp top, and came with a rich Cheddar sauce. A good soufflé is hard to find, and this was excellent.

The beetroot terrine transformed the humble root from something earthy into something much more refined. It was a generous portion of the compressed vegetable served with the bite of a smooth horseradish sorbet and a sweet balsamic dressing.

Main dishes were substantial. A monkfish and king prawn skewer had a zesty, spicy marinade, but the accompanying papaya salad was slightly bland, needing some more Asian seasoning. The dish was well-matched with a medium-bodied Viognier, Esprit Cépage from the Languedoc in France, with its apricot notes.

I was drinking a Muscadet, La Pêcherie from the Loire Valley, which was lemony and saline and great with my pan-fried sea bream. The fish was nicely seared and sat in a gentle Bouillabaisse sauce, accompanied by sautéed squid, confit onion, grilled artichokes, potatoes, and green beans. This was a great dish. Side dishes of triple-cooked chips and green beans were well-executed. The spuds were fluffy and crisp on the outside, and the beans still had plenty of snap.

Another Asian-inspired dish, a dessert of coconut sticky rice with a mango and passion fruit salad, mango sorbet and coconut tuile, was sweet and satisfying.

I always say one soufflé is never enough. So, encouraged by the charming restaurant manager, I opted for the pistachio soufflé for my pudding served with a hefty dollop of Jude’s chocolate ice cream. This was again fabulously delivered with plenty of pistachio flavour. Our dessert wine, a Sémillon from Château Ramon, was sweet and raisiny and a fine way to end our meal.

It’s rude to talk about money, but the food offer at The George and Dragon offers exceptional value for the price point, about a third cheaper than at the posh Brasserie chain outlet in the town, with a quality level that makes it something of a bargain.

After a great night’s sleep, it was time for a well-deserved breakfast. There is tea or coffee plus juice, a continental breakfast course, plus a hot dish from the à la carte menu on offer at The George and Dragon. We chose not to have the continental breakfast, but there is a choice of granola and yoghurt pot, muesli with natural yoghurt, toast with preserves, porridge or a cereal of your choice.

The à la carte breakfast includes a Full English or Vegetarian, Eggs Benedict, Royale or Florentine, smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on toasted sourdough, smashed avocado on toasted sourdough with two poached eggs and chilli flakes or buttermilk pancakes with streaky bacon and maple syrup or mixed berries, bananas and maple syrup. It’s a good-looking selection.

I chose the Eggs Royale, a toasted English muffin topped with some excellent smoked salmon, two poached eggs and a moreish, freshly made Hollandaise sauce. I asked for baked beans on the side, which were happily procured. It’s not classy, but I like them.

My wife had the smashed avocado on toasted sourdough, a prettily presented dish with two pert poached eggs. on top and a sprinkling of chilli flakes for added excitement.

After breakfast, we felt properly set up for our day, actually for several days! We decided to explore the area and ended up in Windsor, having passed the site where the Magna Carta was signed at nearby Runnymede, so there is plenty to do in the vicinity.

If you need to go to Marlow, then The George and Dragon is the perfect inn to stay in. If you don’t need to go to Marlow you should find an excuse and plan a trip staying at The George & Dragon. You will have a lovely time. I did!

Heartwood Inns have just launched their brand-new loyalty app, which is called ‘Treats’, and apparently, there’s a complimentary drink waiting for you in the app when you join, and lots of prizes. A regular customer can reach VIP status, which promises exciting perks. The app is downloadable from your app store or the Heartwood website.

The George and Dragon, Marlow
01628 337274
The Causeway
Marlow
SL7 2AA