From cheese doughnuts to stunning mains, find out why The Loch & The Tyne is Windsor’s must-visit restaurant for cosy vibes, creative dishes and unforgettable flavours.
When it comes to fine dining restaurants in and around Windsor, the Loch and the Tyne is always at the top of people’s lists. Run by one of the UK’s best chefs Adam Handling (always a fan favourite on Great British Menu), the Loch and the Tyne isn’t like most other fine dining restaurants chasing Michelin stars. Gone are the fancy tablecloths and stilted service. Instead, expect wooden farmhouse tables and a very laid-back atmosphere. It’s like popping down to your favourite boozer, but instead of pork scratchings they have fancy chicken butter with homemade bread, which funnily enough tastes a lot like pork scratchings.
Located in an old country pub with views of the surrounding countryside in Old Windsor, the Loch and the Tyne is the type of place you’ll keep wanting to go back to. It’s the second time we’ve been here now, and we’re already looking at our diary for when we can go back again. Honestly, the food is so good here, and I’m so happy we have a restaurant like this in Windsor.
The restaurant itself has those cosy alpine chalet vibes with wooden beams everywhere. I really love restaurants that are easy going, where you don’t have to feel like you’re on your best behaviour. Want to rock up in jeans and a t-shirt? No worries.
Chloe and I are making it our mission to review all of the best restaurants in and around Windsor. Well, I can tell you now the Loch and Tyne is going to be hard to beat.
Keep on reading to see what dishes we liked most, and why you should add this place to your restaurant list.
Quick info
- Location: Old Windsor (Map HERE)
- Price: £££
- Best for: Birthdays, anniversaries, foodie dates
- Must-order dishes: Cheese doughnuts, beef tartare, yellowfin tuna
Snacks
One thing Adam Handling knows is flavour. Every morsel on a plate packs a punch, and nothing is out of place. When we told friends we were going, they immediately said “the snacks are incredible – you have to get the cheese doughnuts and the octopus hot dog”.
The cheese doughnuts are so naughty. Fluffy pillows stuffed with a cheesy béchamel and a Himalayan mountain of parmesan grated over the top for good measure. It’s the type of dish you don’t even care what the calories are because it tastes so good.
The octopus hot dog took me back to being a kid. It tasted just like a summer bbq hot dog with ketchup and American mustard, but with a playful twist of it being octopus.
The other snack we loved were the hash browns with caviar. At £22 for two canapes, they are at the top end of the menu for what you get, but then you are paying for a giant dollop of caviar – they certainly don’t scrimp here. Again, this snack packs a punch, and the hash browns are oh so crunchy. They are naughty and indulgent in all the best ways. If they weren’t so expensive I’d order these over and over again.
Starters
After all the decadent snacks, the starters are much more traditional. Chloe and I love Asian flavours, so we had to order the yellowfin tuna with avocado cream, green chilli and a ponzu dressing. This was absolutely delicious, and the perfect palate cleanser after the very rich snacks.
Along the same lines, we also ordered beef tartare. I will pretty much always order this dish if it’s on the menu. Well, at Loch and Tyne, it is your classic beef tartare. No reimagining of the dish, no deconstruction, just good quality ingredients all working together. This one lets the ingredients do the talking.
After chatting to the waiter, we also ordered the dish ‘mother’. Apparently, this is one of Adam’s favourite dishes and created as a joke for his mother when she turned vegetarian. It is a salt-baked celeriac stuffed with truffled cheese and a confit egg yolk, finished with more truffles, dates and apple. The smell of truffled celeriac lingers throughout the dish, and it really feels like a warm hug on a cold winter’s day.
Mains
I always love the misdirection of fine dining menus. For mains, the two dishes we ordered were ‘duck, plum, butterleaf’ and ‘beef, beer, onion’. Just three ingredients in each, right? As if.
The beef was slices of sirloin, then there was a burnt onion, an onion puree, and onion crisps for texture. For the beer, this was a beer jus with bone marrow stirred through for extra umami. Thankfully, there was also a very sharp pickled cucumber to cut through the richness of the dish.
For the duck, this was a pan-fried duck breast with a duck leg spring roll, plum ketchup and greens. I tell you what, I would give anything for the recipe for the plum ketchup. It was so tangy, and it perfectly cuts through the fat of the duck.
I pretty much would’ve ordered anything off the mains menu. The wild mushroom pie really caught my eye, but I’ll have to come back for that another day.
Dessert
After literally licking the plate clean, we were absolutely stuffed when it came to dessert. However, it wouldn’t be a restaurant review without covering pud, so we took one for the team and somehow squeezed it in.
Chloe and I shared the plum crumble tart with custard and vanilla ice cream which was a lovely way to round off the meal. It felt like a very autumnal dish which matched the weather.
How much is The Loch and The Tyne?
Snacks on average are around £8, starters £20, mains £30, and dessert £10/12.
For a three course meal with a drink, you’re look at around £80 per person, so it is obviously expensive. However, if you come on a Sunday, you can do a three course meal for £60 per person which works out slightly cheaper. Apparently the Sunday roasts are up there with the best around (don’t worry, we will be reviewing them for Windsor Uncovered at some point!)
Given the quality, the location, and the relaxed but refined dining experience, the pricing feels very reasonable for what you get. It’s not cheap, but it’s also not overly pretentious. It’s exactly what you’d hope for in a chef‑driven gastro-pub.
Rooms & staying overnight
If you want to turn your dinner at The Loch & The Tyne into a mini getaway, you’re in luck – there are two charming rooms upstairs.
The Tyne is a double-standard room, perfectly suited for couples, with a king-size luxury bed and an ensuite bathroom. Your stay includes a decadent breakfast for two, full access to the pub’s garden, and the chance to borrow their eco-friendly bikes to explore the grounds.
All in all, staying at The Loch & The Tyne isn’t just about the food; it’s a full countryside escape. Whether you want to celebrate, unwind, or simply soak up the charm, the overnight option makes your trip feel more like a luxury retreat than just a meal out.
Final review of The Loch and The Tyne
I honestly can’t tell you how lucky we are as locals to have a restaurant like this on our doorstep. Loch & the Tyne isn’t just “good for Windsor” – it’s one of the best gastro pubs in the country, full stop. The combination of Adam Handling’s bold, playful flavours and that relaxed country-pub charm makes it somewhere truly special, and the popularity speaks for itself. People really do travel for this place, and once you’ve eaten here, you’ll completely understand why.
If you’re searching for the ultimate fine-dining-meets-gastro-pub experience in Windsor, this is the restaurant everyone raves about., After two visits, we can confidently say it more than lives up to the hype. Whether you’re celebrating something big or just fancy an unforgettable meal, Loch & the Tyne is absolutely worth adding to your must-visit list.
