The Henley Royal Regatta is a must-see event held every June over five days. It’s a celebration of society, rowing, and the English summer. If you’re fortunate enough to be able to attend, there’s no better way to experience it than with Keith Prowse.
There are two Keith Prowse venues, Fawley Meadows and Temple Island. Fawley Meadows is a hospitality village right on the riverbank with a restaurant, covered area, private areas and a range of food, drink and entertainment. Temple Island is a more exclusive venue very near the start line of the races.
We enjoyed a day at Fawley Meadows, and was blown away by the quality of food, drink and hospitality on show.
From 11 until 12 there is a champagne reception. There are free drinks all day. While the drinks are free flowing, we didn’t see anyone get obviously drunk. It was a nice, calm, relaxed atmosphere that lends itself well to a nice day by the river enjoying the sunshine.
From 12 until 3 there is a buffet-style relaxed lunch that includes a range of British foods done well. There are a range of dishes eminently suitable for outdoor enjoyment in a relaxed environment including: chicken and wild mushroom parfait, chargrilled asparagus spears, medallions of beef with a red pesto and thyme marinade and chargrilled chicken supreme.
Vegetarians are equally well served with Mediterranean vegetable and mozzarella towers, hot new potatoes in pink peppercorn butter, seasoned mixed rare baby salad leaves with croutons and honey and pesto roast vegetable salad.
Sweets consisted of maple and butterscotch baked cheesecake and mixed summer berries served in chocolate brandy snap baskets.
The cheese board had a variety of nice cheeses, including cashel blue cheese, mature brie and sage Derby, served with fresh coffee.
Each of those dishes were of a very high quality. Each food station had a server who would fill your plate with whatever you wanted. Drinks were plentiful at the bar, whose staff were fast, efficient and friendly. The staff here were obviously well-drilled in their tasks, as we saw no faults whatsoever.
This was a buffet done well. There was enough food for everyone, and empty plates were replenished quickly to avoid delays. Everything was fresh, tasty and very satisfying.
The rest of the area had some live music, a tepee with masseuse offering head and neck massage, nice tables, a covered area, and plenty of space along the riverbank to watch the races.
"The Keith Prowse operation is slickly-run, the staff are friendly and efficient and the food of a good quality."
After 4pm, it was afternoon tea, which was made up of a selection of sandwiches and pastries which were of equally high quality. The selection was vast, and all were typically British, egg and cress, ham, cucumber and so on.
After eating we took a boat down the Thames in a Salters Steamer. This was a highlight of the day as we took a leisurely cruise down the Henley course. There was a complementary bar on the boat too, and alcohol was free-flowing here, but also with restraint.
Anyone looking to enjoy Henley Regatta and be well looked-after could do much worse than the Keith Prowse enclosure. The operation is slickly-run, the staff are friendly and efficient and the food of a good quality. Of course, the free bar and champagne reception doesn’t hurt either.
Overall, our day was excellent. The sun shone, the races were exciting and the hospitality was top-notch. We are seriously considering coming back here for next year.
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