The Anchor
Ripley, Surrey
The redbrick pub has its deepest roots in the 16th century, as its unevenly beamed façade and whitewashed gable end indicate. When Ripley is rippling with summer heat, a lunch in the sheltered courtyard is a delight, but the pub's interior rooms exert plenty of airy contemporary appeal too. Fire up the appetite with a little puffed pork skin or a smoked salmon tartlet before you set about the menu. There is a deal of imaginative energy going on in Michael Wall-Palmer's multi-faceted dishes, amid gentle layers of richness, as in a starter of smoked haddock thermidor with a soft-boiled egg, tomato and spinach. A main dish of roast lamb rump with hispi and a cassoulet of beans and morteau sausage is fortifying enough, even more so with a side of hash browns and chipotle mayo. Tonka panna cotta with ginger meringues, rhubarb and honeycomb makes a fitting finale. Wines are a well-selected global jumble, from £27.
Dining Information:
Private dining room, Separate bar, Wheelchair access, Parking, Credit card required
High Street, Ripley, Surrey GU23 6AE
01483 211866