Britain’s cosiest pubs
Published 27 September 2024

Describing their venue as a neighbourhood restaurant inside a 19th-century pub, the good folk at The Camberwell Arms have an appealing proposition on a busy road that slices through SE5. 'Compelling, simple, seasonal' food is the real deal, served up in relaxed, pared-back spaces where the bones of the old pub remain in its stripped floors, fireplaces and high Victorian ceilings. There's a hatch window out front so drinks can pass to thirsty locals on the pavement, and a private dining room with its own bar at the other end of the spectrum. The gauntlet is thrown down with 'Scotch bonnet pork fat on toast' – a dish of fire and fat, and not for the faint-hearted. Share a few small plates such as semolina gnocchi in a 'bright, fresh' San Marzano tomato sauce or charred onions with artichoke pesto and pistachios; otherwise, stick to the trad two- or three-course format. A bigger helping of grilled fish (wild bream or plaice, maybe) arrives with chips and aïoli, while thinly sliced porchetta is dressed with white peaches and rosemary. Two like-minded people can go for sharers such as half a spit-roast chicken (with blistered hispi cabbage and crème fraîche enriched with chicken fat) or aged Hereford rump steak with anchovy dripping. To finish, a 'beautiful' apricot and chocolate galette with crème fraîche and sour-cherry molasses sent one reader away very happy. Sunday lunches catch the eye with more of those sharers as well as roast potatoes cooked with sage and lemon. The drinking options include cocktails and well-chosen wines (from £26.50).

*Bangkok Diners Club will open in Edinburgh Castle's restaurant space from Wednesday 2nd April. Watch out for a new review coming soon.*

Not that Castle. This one is a reconditioned late-Georgian pub in the Ancoats district of Manchester, now part of a regeneration zone that has conjured a modern neighbourhood where once there was industrial wasteland. Generously upholstered banquettes, mirrors and plenty of daylight from big windows are spirit-lifting in themselves, but the cooking lifts the place into another dimension. There is a traditional Sunday lunch offering, but the more speculative contemporary food makes weekdays equally popular with readers. Locally grown purple artichokes are served alla giudia, a Roman Jewish deep-fried treatment that produces a crisply seared surface on a creamy, bittersweet inner texture – not to be missed in their season. When did you last eat a fantail squid? Here they are, hauled in from Brixham and served with new season's peas for textural contrast. For main course, there might be a satisfying fish dish such as hake with pepper dulse and Jersey Royals, while meats offer locally farmed Tamworth pork belly with hispi cabbage or lamb shoulder with broad beans and – of all the things to come upon in Ancoats – nasturtiums. A whopping great pie of Ryeland lamb shank should provide plenty of sustenance for a hungry pair of diners. Seasonal fruits make the dessert list a welcome recourse, whether it be strawberry fool and elderflower cream or Yorkshire rhubarb sorbet with a brandy-snap.

Palatial grand dining in the capital is the principal string to the Galvin brothers' bow, so it's inspiring to find they can also make a good fist of running a traditional village pub (the roots of the Green Man extend back as far as the reign of Edward III). Situated in a hamlet not far from Great Waltham, it's sufficiently ensconced within the locale to have a stretch of the river Chelmer running through its beer garden, and has been smartly done out inside, with a whole suite of dining rooms to choose from.

Chris Ball offers a contemporary British pub menu with a versatile choice, and his dishes are inventive without feeling overworked. Start with a ceviche of sea trout and bass, dressed in lime and chilli with avruga caviar, or opt for a hearty, silky soup such as marrow and red pepper velouté with toasted sourdough. A locally supplied kitchen is always good to find, especially in the game season, when Great Waltham partridge might turn up with beetroot, pickled blackberries and rainbow chard in a concentrated jus, while lively vegetarian dishes have included miso-glazed aubergine with charred spring onion, harissa potatoes and cumin yoghurt.

Desserts mobilise all the treat sweetness you can handle, with treacle sponge and vanilla cream, coffee panna cotta with popcorn and caramelised banana, or Valrhona chocolate mousse textured with puffed wild rice. An impressive drinks list embraces racy cocktails, a decent spread of wines by the glass, and, er, cigars.

A gem of a village pub, owned and run by Will Orrock and his wife Cassidy Hughes, where there’s more than a passing nod to the Fergus Henderson (St John) school of cookery. Chef Adam Spicer's menu is brisk – beautiful ingredients are left relatively unadorned, and flavours are full. What a vol-au-vent lacks in flighty height it makes up for in crispness and the springtime deliciousness of foraged morels and wild garlic, and how good to see tenderly seared cuttlefish among the starters, alongside a silken ink-black mayonnaise studded with cod's roe – don't forget to save some of the excellent house bread for mayo-scooping purposes.

A terrine of brawn and ‘blood cake’ is as muscular as its name suggests, but alongside the heft is deft culinary balance from the crunchy bite of radishes and some zippy piccalilli. As for seafood, expect a few luxuries. The delicate flavour of lobster is somewhat swamped by its coronation sauce, although a turbot main course is memorably good. Served with fat mussels, the saline pep of monk’s beard and a gently spiced mouclade sauce, it’s a dish to hurry back for. Local produce stars throughout – from vegetables and leaves courtesy of nearby organic Maple Farm to chocolate from Pump Street or the St Jude cow’s curd served alongside a caramel tart. This is ‘proper cooking,’ notes one reporter.

The Greyhound is also a proper boozer, welcoming drinkers for honest sustenance. Do check out the great-value bar snacks – say Welsh rarebit or a ploughman’s including homemade pork pie and house pickles. Perfect with a pint, or a glass from a wine list which is fit for every occasion – be it a classy Burgundy (a 2021 Saint-Aubin 1er cru ‘Clos du Meix’ from family-owned Domaine Hubert Lamy, perhaps), a steely Austrian Riesling from the Arndorfer winery or a simple lunchtime sip from the Languedoc.

Stablemate to The Heathcock in Cardiff, this snug village pub brims with folksy features: wonky whitewashed stone walls, stripped floorboards, a Welsh dresser loaded with jars of preserved fruits, and a wood burner in an inglenook that contrasts with the polished metal of the open kitchen. The ever-changing menu takes its cue from the setting – traditional by inclination, but shot through with contemporary freshness. Executive chef (and local boy) Tom Watts-Jones previously worked at Fergus Henderson's St John in Clerkenwell, and it shows. Welsh rarebit (unctuous, glossy and perfectly charred) arrives on a chunky piece of sourdough (from the Hare & Hounds Bakery in Cowbridge) with a bottle of Worcestershire sauce on the side, while seasonally attuned starters might range from a thick, silky soup of new-season's asparagus and wild garlic topped with a runny-yolked crispy egg to a fresh, light risotto incorporating plump mussels and more wild garlic. To follow, our braised, crisp-skinned duck leg – an absolutely wonderful combo of crunchy and fatty – was teamed with velvety butter beans, chunky bacon and a rich cider sauce cut through with the spiky brightness of aïoli. We also enjoyed a tender, perfectly rosy hanger steak with flawless chips and a punchy peppercorn sauce. For dessert, dainty brown butter cakes – oven-fresh and nutmeg-spiced, fluffy in the middle and caramelised on top – were a huge hit, as was the almost impossibly thick and creamy honeycomb ice cream. A compact list of European wines offers plenty by the glass or carafe.

Brett Graham (The Ledbury) and Mike Robinson (game specialist) opened the Harwood Arms on a quiet residential street near Fulham Broadway in 2009, and the kitchen shows a long-running commitment to prime British produce, delivering a concise seasonal menu of four choices at each course – an extremely likeable line-up of reinvented classics we would be happy to eat on a regular basis. It seemed only fitting to kick off with the dish most associated with this pub – a punchy, golden-brown venison Scotch egg accompanied by Oxford sauce, much copied but rarely bettered. This was followed by a superb warm pumpkin tart topped with Quicke’s goat’s cheese, which worked well with a mushroom purée. Complete technique was on show in a dish of excellent Berkshire fallow deer served with a faggot, red leaves and cranberries, as well as in Cornish monkfish (on the bone) topped with brown shrimps and accompanied by roasted cauliflower, tenderstem broccoli and brown crab butter. The accompanying deep-fried new potatoes with garlic butter had us nodding with pleasure. Desserts are convincingly puddingy and feel absolutely right for the setting – from a perfect custard flan with caramel and spiced plum ice cream to a pineapple upside-down cake with malted treacle and crème-fraîche ice cream. The dining area is a low-key space decked out with dark green wood panelling, a proudly displayed stag's head and generously spaced tables (with cutlery kept in a brown-leather gamekeeper's holster). The vibe is relaxed and service is friendly without being overly chatty. To drink, there is quality across the price-spectrum, from a selection of 21 wines by the glass (from £7) to high-calibre representation from Burgundy (including top producer, Domaine Ramonet) as well as Bordeaux's Left Bank.

From bar to beer garden, the Heathcock majors in laid-back sophistication: expect simple white walls, reclaimed furniture, a decent selection of beers, and warm, efficient service. Here, informality never equates to idleness, and the same is true of the food, which – for all its rustic edges – is intelligent and considered. A big, chunky sourdough doorstep, say, quilted with the cheesiest, beeriest Welsh rarebit you could wish for, a bottle of Worcesterhire sauce on the side. Or grilled Wye asparagus teasingly dressed in grated Welsh black truffle and breadcrumbs then laid on a swirl of wild garlic purée. Native ingredients are trumpeted: a clutch of fluffy ricotta dumplings luxuriate in a heritage tomato sauce, with chunks of fresh tomato tasting of the summer sun thrown in for good measure. Game makes frequent appearances, as do native fish and seafood: smoked eel might be breadcrumbed, deep-fried and served with horseradish, rhubarb and chard on sourdough toast, while native mussels go Welsh with a leek and cider sauce. This is a small-plates menu, so expect to try at least three dishes each – and be sure to order dessert: a flawless, cloud-like rhubarb soufflé was a ‘sparkling highlight’ for one diner, while a perfectly crisp and syrupy pear tarte tatin delighted another. A good spread of European wines includes plenty by the glass. A recent addition is a Champagne and oyster bar upstairs.

Llansteffan sits on the blue-green Tywi estuary, its ascending streets of pretty houses topped by a magnificent castle. Set at the upper end of the village, close to the church, the Inn at the Sticks covers many bases: bedrooms and a deli/wine bar in addition to the main pub/restaurant space. The setting is rustic in a stylish, uncluttered way, with quarry tiles and wood floors, exposed beams, brickwork and a couple of chunky wood burners.

‘Welsh sharing plates’ describes the menu (expect beef, lamb, cockles, faggots and excellent cheeses), although you might also encounter Asian sticky pork with pak choi, sesame seeds and crispy noodles, or sweet, gleaming Vichy carrots teamed with the breezy, lemony freshness of whipped feta and topped with almond and chilli crumb, basil gel and a drizzle of honey.

Astonishing flavours, colour and verve take this place far beyond normal pub fare although it never stints on the classics. The beef, beer and Perl Las blue cheese pie is on-point in every department, delivering a bounty of big, tender chunks of meat, a deep and dark savoury gravy, and a perfectly risen puff-pastry top. Other standout dishes include cockle popcorn – light-as-air batter, with a drizzle of homemade chilli vinegar and a punchy little pot of aïoli for dipping.

The bar stays high for desserts ranging from a beguilingly soft and gooey 'bara brith' sticky toffee pudding set on a butterscotch and tea sauce to a Welsh coffee panna cotta sporting a candied walnut crumb and a sleek caramel sauce. To drink, there’s an excellent choice of wines as well as beers.

Famed locally for its food and drink, the Parkers Arms sits on a stretch of the B6478 as it unwinds across the Trough of Bowland, not far from the river Hodder. Locations don't get much more rural than this, and it's all the more gladdening to find the interior hasn't been suffocatingly boutiqued. 

In 2021, The Hairy Bikers stopped in here, and helped turn the curried mutton pie into a viral sensation, and it remains true that the pies are a powerful part of the draw – majestic constructions of exemplary pastry, crusts crimped, the glaze shining them up like burnished armour, the insides generously filled with good things.  Otherwise, fish from Morecambe Bay is worth considering, perhaps roasted sea bass with foraged samphire and Ormskirk potatoes. Start with a single whopping hand-dived Hebridean scallop in a butter of its own roe and garlic, or salt cod fritters in lemon mayo, and close the deal with cherry frangipane tart and matching ice cream.

Simple lunches for intrepid walkers offer sanctuary from the Lancashire rain-pelt. The Bowland brewery's ales are a mainstay of the drink offer,  while wines are an accessibly priced classic selection.

‘I’m from London but happily go to Wiltshire to eat at the Red Lion,’ declared one reader who loves everything about this ‘brilliant village pub’. Snuggled away in a pastoral backwater on the remote fringes of Salisbury Plain, the self-styled and impressively thatched ‘Freehouse’ amply fulfils its obligations as a local (indie real ales and jolly chatter at the bar), although Guy and Brittany Manning have long established the place as a serious gastronomic destination. The food is defined by big natural flavours in the Anglo-European idiom, be it a terrine of Salisbury Plain venison with Armagnac prunes, chargrilled chateaubriand of Wiltshire beef or Cornish monkfish accompanied by roast romanesco, cauliflower purée, brown shrimp and sauce grenobloise. These are dishes culled from the carte, but you can also partake of a five-course tasting menu offering the likes of scallop and crab tortellono with ras el hanout bisque or English rose veal partnered by potato millefeuille, steamed spinach and chanterelles. Desserts follow a similar path, so expect anything from orange-blossom panna cotta with Yorkshire rhubarb to dark chocolate délice with poached kumquat, fennel pollen and biscotti ice cream. Otherwise, the cheese plate is ‘immaculate.’ The well-annotated wine list includes around 20 selections by the glass or carafe, with bottles from £23. Accommodation is across the road at the Troutbeck Guest House, a boutique B&B by the river.

It may date back to the 16th century, but the vintage timber-fronted Anchor is now a clever blend of old and new – pastel tones with exposed brickwork, lead-light windows, beams and smart wood furniture – while a trump-card courtyard is overseen by staff who are genuinely helpful, well-informed and attentive to a fault.

The kitchen treads a neat line between cleverly executed fine dining and approachable modern-day pub food, with British and European influences intertwined, and ‘careful consideration for every flavour in every part of a dish’. On the plate, that might mean crispy venison with Cumberland sauce and radish or an on-trend pairing of cured trout, beetroot, kiwi and grapefruit gel with a hit of pickled jalapeño. To follow, keen sourcing shows in dishes such as skrei cod with shellfish and pearl-barley risotto or guinea fowl breast paired with sweetcorn purée, bacon and a crispy onion loaf.

Sides of hash browns with harissa mayo are on the money, likewise desserts such as a modern twist on Arctic roll or vanilla cheesecake with gingernut crumb and marinated pineapple. Set lunch deals and five-course tasting menus broaden the Anchor’s all-round appeal. Real ales from breweries in the Home Counties vie with craftily mixed cocktails, while eight house selections by the glass or carafe head up the well-spread international wine list. 

The stone-built St Kew, dotted with hanging baskets, and with an expansive trestle-tabled garden full of mature trees behind, dates from the reign of Edward IV, and aims to cover as many of the requirements of a village pub as possible. There are four dining areas, all imbued with an infectious air of country-inn conviviality, and the kitchen also works to the principle of broad choice.

In between the chicken Caesar salad, beer-battered haddock and short-rib cheeseburgers with pickles and fries, there are some more speculative options for the adventurous: raw scallop with ponzu, brown crab emulsion and apple; beetroot gnocchi with courgettes, romesco and feta; pork chop with pea and bean fricassee, Cornish new potatoes and cider sauce, for example. 

Desserts cover a lot of ground, from sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce, ginger crumb and clotted cream to poached pineapple with coconut ice cream. There's usually some Cornish cheese too (perhaps Trelawny from Whalesborough Farm Foods in Marhamchurch), while Sunday roasts might bring apple-smoked sirloin and rare-breed pork belly with their time-honoured seasonal  accompaniments – all cooked with consummate care and attention to detail. Local beers and ciders are the jewels in the crown of a drinks list that also takes in some well-chosen mainstream wines.

According to one reader, the Alford Arms sets the ’gold standard’ for pubby excellence in this neck of the Chilterns. Others concur that it's 'consistently top notch', and we reckon this born-again Victorian hostelry is a thoroughly likeable proposition with plenty of box-ticking attributes – not least its glorious location in a bucolic hamlet on the fringes of Ashridge Estate (NT).

Fans are also quick to applaud the pub's tasteful farmhouse-chic interiors, hand-pulled ales and savvy all-European wine list, although the venue’s trump cards are its unwavering commitment to local produce and its community spirit – from supporting the village cricket team to doing the milk run when it’s snowing. Much of the credit for its enduring appeal must go to David and Becky Salisbury, who have been running the show and championing the cause since 1999.

To eat, bubble 'n' squeak with oak-smoked bacon, free-range poached egg and hollandaise has been on the menu since day one, but everything else changes on a weekly basis. Expect a rolling repertoire of appealing seasonal dishes ranging from chargrilled Padrón peppers (grown in nearby Northchurch) or Ashridge venison bonbons with bramble sauce to an apple and pear strudel made with fruit from the Chiltern Heritage Orchard.

Given the pub’s landlocked location, fish has to make the long journey up from the West Country, but the haul speaks for itself: how about Cornish crab with chilli-buttered courgette linguine or hake fillet with crushed new potatoes, buttered kale and caper sauce. Chatty, well-informed staff provide ‘first-class service,’ whether you’re popping in for a pint or contemplating the full three courses. Dogs are ‘welcomed rather than tolerated,’ too.

The medieval village of Nun Monkton must be one of the prettiest in Yorkshire, a picture-book collection of ivy-clad cottages, complete with a duck pond, a village green and the tallest maypole (88ft) in Britain. At its heart is the exemplary Alice Hawthorn (named after a famous racehorse), a Grade II-listed inn of old mellow brick with a grassy courtyard at the rear for outdoor dining and 12 newly built contemporary-style bedrooms. Inside are flagged floors, old beams and rough-hewn tables, though if that sounds rustic think again. This country inn is as neat and polished as a pin with Turkish rugs, button-backed banquettes and chairs upholstered in modern ‘Yorkshire tartan’. Current hosts John and Claire Topham are experienced hoteliers – for many years they ran the General Tarleton in Knaresborough and before that, John worked alongside the sadly missed Denis Watkins at the Angel at Hetton. They have made the pub such a go-to destination that it’s sometimes hard to score a table. Persevere, because our autumn seasonal menu was excellent, featuring the likes of heritage beetroot with goat’s curd, pickled cantaloupe melon and double-podded broad beans. A bright sea bass ceviche, cured in lime and combined with finely diced onions, tomato, mango and coriander, made for another superb starter. Generous mains brought a deep, rich, slow-cooked beef cheek, served with stretchy, cheesy pommes aligot and a big-hearted fish stew rich in mussels and clams with a tomato-based broth. For dessert, a prettily presented crème catalan with raspberries and praline shards was spot-on. Everyone is put at ease by the relaxed, personable service – as well as the wide-ranging, kindly priced wine list.

Since opening its doors back in 2003, the laid-back Anchor & Hope has maintained strong pub credentials, making it a great, buzzy bolthole for drinkers and diners alike  – and offering something completely different to the chain restaurants in the immediate area. Indeed, when it comes to food, 'it's definitely still the place to go post-Old/Young Vic if you can get in’, advises a reporter, adding ‘it would always be my choice in the area.’

Comfort levels are basic, but diversion comes in the form of views into the busy kitchen, where seasonal ingredients feature heavily on the short daily menu. It’s a zesty assortment of dishes, the tone set immediately by the likes of a couple of hand-dived Brixham scallops teamed with green tangerine, capers and mint, or a three-cheese and hazelnut soufflé with winter chanterelles and radicchio.

Braised wild venison Provençal with spätzle and Parmesan, or seven-hour lamb shoulder with preserved lemon, cumin, tomatoes and gratin dauphinois (for two), are just a couple of comfort-zone main courses the kitchen does well, followed perhaps by quince and almond tart with clotted cream. There’s a worker’s lunch, too, starting at £11 for one course, and a reasonably priced European wine list with a good choice by the glass or carafe.

The Public House Group (the Pelican, the Hero, the Hart et al) is fast becoming the last word in pared-back cool contemporary British pubs and this Cotswold outpost is a model of its kind. Owners Phil Winser and James Gummer grew up around these parts and cut their drinking teeth in the Bull (which has stood on the corner of Sheep Street since Henry VIII was taking wives). Together with Olivier van Themsche, they've retained an atmospheric air, with low raftered ceilings, welcoming fires and the flicker of pillar candles throughout the flagstoned bar and dining rooms.

With Sally Abé in post to lead the kitchen, there’s just the right dose of finesse cutting through the line-up of contemporary pub dishes. Start with some warm soda bread to bolster the lightness of ‘mackerel, tomato and lovage’ or mushroom and chestnut soup; otherwise, head straight to a heartier Bull pie or pork chop charred on the grill. On one recent visit, a dish billed simply as ‘farm salad’ proved a flavour-flaunting textural medley of green beans, courgette, fresh peas, and crushed and whole-roasted hazelnuts. Delicious simplicity continues right through to desserts such as pitch-perfect chocolate mousse and apricot frangipane tart.

Wednesdays might bring steak night and the otherwise absent chips to the table, while the beautiful garden plays host to summer BBQs. An enterprising list of cask ales and speciality ciders competes with the adventurous wine selection (fleshed out with a weekly changing list of single bottles).

A staple of the Pontypridd scene since 1851, this forward-thinking community pub is a veritable hive of activity. Not only a staunch champion of Welsh produce, it’s also home to the Otley Brewery, which sits in the grounds behind the building. There's a tap room if you want to chill out, as well as a craft beer shop selling an astonishing range of cans and bottles, and assorted special events from live music and cheese nights to macramé workshops.

As for food, local and sustainable ingredients dictate the show, with Welsh heritage proudly showing its colours in the form of cockles on toast with laverbread or a Merthyr brisket pie with mash – although much of the action centres on the charcoal barbecue. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the menu is limited to eclectic small plates – pork belly burnt ends with pickled ginger or home-smoked salmon fishcakes, say. From Wednesday to Saturday, a full repertoire takes over, so expect anything from beer-glazed charred chicken with grilled leeks to buttermilk-crusted sea trout to a vegan laab salad with enoki mushrooms.

Sunday means roasts, while desserts could bring lemon meringue tart or whisky and orange cheesecake. Beer is the drink of choice, with a rolling roster of Otley ales (and others) at the bar.

In secluded countryside and surrounded by orchards, this is a 'lovely traditional pub with an immaculately kept garden,’ noted one visitor. Inside, the bar with its open fires and dried hops entwined across low-beamed ceilings doubles as the restaurant, creating a cosy atmosphere. The menu of ‘good, simple, seasonal dishes’ offers excellent value for accomplished homely cooking. At inspection that included a ’very fresh and summery’ squid salad with shavings of raw fennel, and a dish of thick, creamy and 'not overly smoked' cod’s roe with seaweed crackers, a soft-boiled egg and fresh radish. Cornish cod was ‘perfectly cooked’ and accompanied by fresh broad beans, basil pesto and Jerey Royals, while a special of 'lobster frites' came dressed with garlic and parsley butter. ‘Perfect’ desserts included strawberry shortbread with fresh raspberries, crème patissière and coulis, and a chocolate crémeux with homemade honeycomb and lusciously boozy cherries. Staff are ‘super chatty, friendly and very efficient’. If the line-up of cask ales and ciders doesn't tempt you, there's also a short, reasonably priced wine list with bottles from £25. A gem of a place.

‘Our local’ noted one reader proudly. For anyone with misgivings about pubs with restaurant inclinations, this urban hostelry should set you straight. As befits a sibling of Southwark’s Anchor & Hope, Stoke Newington’s Clarence Tavern, and the Magdalen Arms in Oxford, the Canton Arms is fully committed to its role as an old-fashioned city boozer. Low-lit and friendly, there’s pretty much a 50/50 split between drinkers knocking back pints of real ale in the front bar and diners in for some consistently delicious food in the dining area at the back.

Ingredients are seasonally spot-on, with the daily changing menu delivering anything from labneh with walnut and pomegranate dressing or crispy blood cake with homemade quince jam to roast hake with crab bisque, steamed potatoes and gremolata or duck confit with Puy lentils. After that, there might be bread-and-butter pudding with praline sauce, which was recently reported as ‘something I dream of weekly’.

It’s all considered good value, and that includes the line-up of drinks, which range from an ‘amazing’ selection of real ales on rotation and an impressive list of classic cocktails to a perfectly judged European wine list.

Halfway up the Southern Upland Way, alongside the Galloway Forest park, the Clachan is in a world of its own. Get off the M74 and turn left at Gretna Green. A whitewashed village inn with slate floors, antique panelling and a bar festooned with dried hops, it runs to a template that will have your metropolitan friends turning green with envy. The bothy takes the overspill from the main dining area – and there is nearly always overspill, so popular is the locally sourced, smartly presented cooking.

A game-season starter might partner Gelston partridge with pickled pear, golden raisins and a hash brown done in duck fat, or look to potted shrimps with pickles of kohlrabi and cucumber. Loin of the local venison goes into a labour-intensive main course with a pie of the braised shank, with fondant swede and red cabbage for company, while the marine option might team monkfish and mussels against a backdrop of celeriac, 'nduja, black olives and samphire.

At the end, there might be buttermilk panna cotta with rhubarb and gingerbread, or a platter of Scottish cheeses with oatcakes and chutney. The short wine list is founded on a bedrock of seven wines by the glass, from £3.25.

Not to be confused with The Clifton hotel nearby, this revamped pub and restaurant opened in July 2023. It’s the third venture from Sarah and Tom Watts-Jones (owners of two successful south Wales dining pubs) and is ‘pushing boundaries without being pretentious’ – as one reader perceptively noted. The decor is tastefully understated: a white, high-ceilinged bar area leads to an open kitchen and sage-panelled dining room tucked at the back of the pub, where bare wood tables are topped with pretty wildflower posies and candles.

The staff are keen to emphasise the kitchen's use of local suppliers (including produce from their own smallholding), its commitment to seasonality and its dedication to making stuff in-house. If nothing else, head chef Cory Scott is a top-notch baker – his rye soda bread, sourdough and cultured butter with tiny crystals of crunchy sea salt is worth the visit alone. At the heart of things is a large, wood-fired grill which adds smoky flavours to all manner of dishes – as in a starter salad of courgettes, lightly charred baby gem, broad beans and ewe’s curd. Main courses, such as a whole grilled plaice with cockles, mussels, laverbread and crispy leeks, are designed to be shared – so bring a friend to make sure you don’t miss out.

For afters, there could be summer fruit pavlova with Pimm’s sorbet or some well-chosen local cheese. Order a pint from the bar or pick something suitable from the predominantly French and Italian wine list, which offers more than 20 selections by the glass. The lunchtime and early-evening set menu is spectacularly good value.

‘What a lovely little place,’ observes one visitor to Dominic Chapman’s classy village pub not far from Maidenhead. All-comers are welcome here, and accommodating staff are keen to keep everyone happy – whether you’re in for a pint after walking the dog in the nearby woods or have ‘turned up from London in a fancy car’. Inside, it looks and feels local but with a gentrified veneer; prices on the seasonal carte are at the higher end of the foodie pub scale, but there’s also a set deal (dubbed ‘the village menu’) which will provide three courses for under £30.

Chapman’s sure-footed cooking brings judiciously sourced ingredients (some of them local) and worldly-wise culinary technique to the table – from his renowned lasagne of wild rabbit, wood blewits and chervil to peppered fillet of wild venison with creamed spinach, celeriac purée and sauce poivrade. He also has a way with fish, be it roast Cornish cod (with gremolata and olive oil) or line-caught Cornish sea bass (with potato gnocchi, purple sprouting broccoli, girolles and a boozy red wine sauce). Alternatively, look to the specials if you fancy a plate of tagliolini with smoked salmon or a stomach-warming oxtail and kidney pie with mash.

Desserts are fashioned with immaculate skill, witness dark chocolate délice with cherries, salted-caramel ice cream and almond biscuit – although there’s also room for a generous helping of steamed treacle pud with custard. The wine list is noteworthy too, offering plentiful by-the-glass options covering most major grape varieties. In short, ‘an all-round perfect local’ and a ‘huge asset to the area’. 

‘So consistent, cosy and welcoming,’ commented one regular visitor to this fine old 16th-century inn a short detour from some of the National Park’s best trails. Since taking over in 2019, the Barker-Jones family have given the oak-beamed, slate-floored interior a satisfying makeover, with lots of attention to detail (note the lovely hand-painted photos on the walls). ‘You would feel welcome to just pop in for a drink,’ noted a reporter, but it would be a sin to miss the pub’s main attraction – its menu of carefully sourced local and seasonal food.

The kitchen delivers ‘deep full-on flavours’ across the board, from hunks of warm home-baked bread with Netherend butter and bowls of verdant pea soup topped with seasonal ramsons to panna cotta with rhubarb and shortbread or treacle tart given extra zing with confit orange, candied zest and crystallised ginger ice cream. In between, Jail Ale-battered haddock with triple-cooked chips is a winner, likewise the cider-braised West Country pork fillet and the stone bass and Teignmouth mussels with fennel, samphire and mussel velouté. It’s also worth working up an appetite for the effusively praised Sunday lunch with its offer of roast moorland sirloin and the like. 

Service from really professional, welcoming staff is all you could wish for, as is the wide-ranging drinks list, which covers everything from local Dartmoor Ale to classic cocktails and a small but varied list of mostly Old World wines.

Are Oisín Rogers, Charlie Carroll and Ashley Palmer-Watts champions of a new era in pubs? The Devonshire is certainly one of the most enjoyable places to eat in the capital – if you can get in (far too many people want to eat here). Yet it looks set to become an institution – and long may it continue, for this is no ordinary pub. Ingredients are impeccable and the strong meat-focused menu serves the kind of dishes you want to eat, especially in the lively environment of a central London watering hole where drinkers have their own space and staff are noted for their relaxed expertise. Dining rooms are divided between the first and second floors where, under the direction of Ashley Palmer-Watts (formerly executive chef at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal), the kitchen applies a certain simplicity and accuracy of cooking to impeccable ingredients.

Flames are at the heart of the operation, with wood-fired Ibérico pork chops, lamb cutlets, fillet, ribeye and T-bone steaks (plus lobsters) keeping company with the likes of lamb hotpot or beef and Guinness suet pudding on the hand-scrawled menu. Three wonderfully meaty scallops, lightly roasted, served in the shell with nothing more than a buttery, vinegary sauce and strips of crisp bacon, is a terrific opener that hammers home the kitchen’s modus operandi – namely sourcing prime ingredients and treating them with the utmost simplicity. And there’s something deeply comforting about a fixed price, no-choice lunch that can deliver real quality and value in the shape of prawn and langoustine cocktail, skirt steak with excellent chips and béarnaise sauce, and light, luscious sticky toffee pudding – all for £29.

Sunday's roast ribs of beef carved from a silver-domed trolley are terrific value too and have helped restore the tradition in this part of town. To drink, everyone orders Guinness – it’s fast achieving cult status here – and you can drink well without breaking the bank from the mainly European wine list. The pub now has its own 40-cover rooftop terrace for fine-weather dining (note that you can't book this separately). 

The Dog & Gun takes centre stage in the tranquil north Cumbrian village of Skelton. As befits its name, the place will welcome your canine companion (if you give notice), but perhaps leave the firearms at home. It's a welcoming dining space, divided by a central bar, with misshapen ceiling beams and wheelback chairs, and an approach to service considerate enough to turn down the Ed Sheeran when orders are being taken. Ben Queen-Fryer works in splendid isolation at the stoves, offering a style of high-gloss country cooking that puts the emphasis on substance as well as impressive technique. Pasta is spot-on, as in a yolk-yellow raviolo filled with pork, sauced with a reduction of the poaching milk with sage and garlic. A terrine of smoked Jersey Royals, or perhaps a cheesy soufflé, might be alternative starters, but do save room for the trencher-style main dishes – witness a stonking venison suet pudding packed with tender, gamey meat, served with a stick of beetroot done in duck fat, mead gravy and a side of the chunkiest chips. Dover sole is butter-sauced, while the veg option might be earthy cep risotto. Even the crumbly-topped dessert soufflé, made with the Lyth Valley's celebrated damsons and partnered with frangipane ice cream, is a hefty proposition – so that diners not opting for the chocolate millefeuille need not feel skimped. A couple of Cumbrian craft beers and sanely priced wines by the glass lead the drinks offering, with selections forsaking the beaten track for Swiss varietals, Slovak Riesling and an orange creation from Alsace.

Ambleside is well served by the Drunken Duck. It is not one of those pubs that has left its drinking side behind (not with that name); instead, it throws a welcoming arm around locals in an atmosphere of free-and-easy conviviality. That said, an appreciable attempt has been made to give the dining area its own identity with some framed art prints of flowers, a festooning of dried hops, and an open-to-view kitchen. Last booking for food is 8pm.

Staff are expertly clued-up, not least with knowledge of the Barngates beers brewed on site. The food is distinguished by nutritious heartiness, seen to impressive effect in a vegetarian main course of roasted cabbage and mushrooms topped with capers and horseradish, served with potato cakes, which might be preceded by a fricassée of Jerusalem artichokes with apple, black garlic and sunflower seeds.

Homely main dishes make great cold-weather sustenance, even when the cold weather comes round in late June: a bowl of fortifying marjoram-scented rabbit stew arrives with chunky veg, potent gravy and a cloud of lovely mash. Sides of perfectly textured chips and aïoli will help fill any holes.

In the context, the afters seem pleasantly light: yoghurt mousse and rhubarb sorbet team up for a refreshing finish, under a summery dusting of dried raspberries, or there may be a raspberry and fig version of Bakewell pudding. Gluggable wines by the glass head up a no-nonsense list.

The beach at Salthouse, the other side of bird-rich marshes, is a bracing, shingly expanse of wild nature. Fuel your exploration with the generous fare on offer at this friendly pub, either at fire-warmed spots inside, at picnic tables with their uninterrupted views or in a pretty ‘secret garden’ at the back. Some Brancaster oysters and a glass of manzanilla could slip down nicely before a devilled crab and pea tart or sardines on toast with tapenade. Steaks, burgers and sticky toffee pudding are always available, but check out the specials board for the likes of confit duck with braised red cabbage and polenta. 

The earliest licence was granted to the current inn's predecessor, once a smugglers’ drinking den, at about the same time as they were storming the Bastille over the Channel. Having seemingly played an incidental role in the action of Lorna Doone, the pub is now owned by the Greenall brewing family, who have extensively refurbished the place in tasteful contemporary style.

Chef Prim Lapuz's kitchen is justly proud of its meat supplies, which mostly originate from nearby sources, and it's no surprise that the place has garnered many nominations for its Sunday roasts: ‘I have never had such amazing beef,’ is typical of readers’ comments. The sausages are pretty good too, perhaps made from a blend of Exmoor venison and pork belly, served with wild garlic mash and Cumberland sauce. Fish dishes are equally convincing, too, with a slab of hake in a rich sauce incorporating brown crabmeat among the possibilities.

With the likes of grilled squid and chilli jam or a satisfyingly chunky country terrine with onion marmalade among the starters, it's clear nobody will turn faint for lack of nourishment. Crumbles and puddings bring up the rear in stout fashion, or you might consider something like a chocolate, orange and prune frangipane tart served with clotted cream. The drinks side of the operation is as comprehensively furnished as you would expect from proprietors who have been in the alcohol business since the 18th century.

It may date from the mid-17th century, but nowadays the Farmers Arms is every inch the 21st-century village pub. It was the initial inspiration for a far more substantial project that has become 'The Collective of Woolsery' from San Francisco-based tech entrepreneurs Michael and Xochi Birch.

The couple now own the local convenience store and post office, the fish and chip shop, and various rooms and cottages around Woolfardisworthy (to give the place its full name) – including the Grade II-listed Wulfheard Manor (opening as a hotel in 2025). In addition, their 150-acre farm provides the pub with rare-breed and heritage meats as well as just-harvested fruit and vegetables – hyper-seasonal produce that is beautifully realised in the hands of Ian Webber (Michael Caines’ former head chef at Gidleigh Park).

The bijou ‘farm menu’ could bring a moreish Curworthy Haytor cheese puff dotted with oxeye daisy petals and deep-red globules of sour cherry gel, ahead of Birch Farm pork fillet perched on a generous chunk of coppa bacon and offset by the earthiness of fermented grains, paprika, red cabbage and finely sliced pickled fennel.

Alternatively, you could look to the more traditional 'pub menu' for the likes of Honey Wood Haze cider-battered haddock, chips and minted peas, or an elevated monkfish and scallop fishcake with buttered leeks, poached Birch Farm egg and chips. Visually stunning desserts include a warm lemon geranium cake topped with raspberry jam and pistachio ice cream, served with a citrussy lemon verbena curd.

There’s also a terrace with a covered seating area and heated stone benches for all-weather dining. To drink, take your pick from locally brewed ales and seasonal cocktails, or select a bottle from the well-chosen wine list. 

Part of Charles and Edmund Inkin’s 'Eat, Drink, Sleep' trilogy – which also includes the Gurnard’s Head and the Old Coastguard in Cornwall – this ever-popular pub with rooms is, in many ways, an archetypal dream of a country inn. It transports you to a half-imagined heyday of fireside sofas, knobbly brickwork, low beams and quarry tiled floors, with craft ales at the bar and fresh, home-cooked food buoyed up by produce from the kitchen garden.

For all its heritage vibes, the Griffin is also a slick, modern operation, with polished service and a properly cheffy kitchen (headed by Gwenann Davies). Her repertoire includes traditional ideas such as broccoli and Stilton soup or lamb rump with faggot, peas and red wine gravy alongside more contemporary dishes – perhaps a sticky glazed BBQ short rib with sweet, spiky kimchi, luscious sriracha mayo and fresh herbs, ahead of pearly, crisp-skinned hake with a crunchy, breadcrumbed crab and chorizo cake, set on an intense, velvety, red pepper purée.

Each dish is carefully considered, right through to dessert. A voluptuous white chocolate mousse with berry ice cream, fresh raspberries and crunchy, bittersweet honeycomb provided a satisfying end to our most recent visit. Sunday lunch is an ultra-traditional feast featuring meat from the lowland hills, greenery from the garden and plenty of homely touches. In addition to real ales, drinkers can pick from a fair-sized wine list that has been annotated with personality as well as knowledge; the numerous options by the glass are well worth considering. 

A ‘tip-top’ local asset since 2004, James and Bianca Rix’s relaxed, unstuffy pub a few miles from Ware combines its roles with great panache. The casual bar serves as a dedicated drinkers’ den (real ales but no food), while the restaurant is airy, spacious and lit by an ornate gold chandelier – although most plaudits are reserved for the ‘fabulous’ ever-attentive staff. Outside is a pretty garden for all seasons, and the kitchen is also noted for its calendar-driven approach.

Contemporary, ingredients-led Anglo-European cooking is the style, with springtime menus delivering everything from whole Cornish plaice with Jersey Royals and salty fingers (aka ‘jellybeans’, a cousin of marsh samphire) to perfectly pink, crisp-skinned French duck breast with gratin dauphinois and green peppercorn sauce. To start, readers have praised the three-cheese and hazelnut soufflé with spinach, and a dish of sautéed rabbit livers with fairy-ring mushrooms, peas and wild garlic on toast. To finish, a 'beautiful' saffron-poached pear and an almond tart with crème fraîche have gone down a treat. Roast rib of dry-aged Hereford beef with Yorkshire pud and all the trimmings is the highlight on Sundays, when lunch meanders on until 5pm. 

The kindly priced wine list favours France, with a decent smattering of organic bottles and by-the-glass selections. Also check out the owners' pop-up shop, a handy spot for coffee, pastries and deli produce.

One of the smallest towns in England, well-heeled Stockbridge is charming – and the ancient Greyhound is the perfect inn to match the surroundings. From the mind-your-head beams, wood burners in inglenooks, bare wood floors and tables to the evening candles, soft lamplight and a please-all menu, there’s plenty to entice. Its location – the front overlooking the broad High Street, a garden at the back by the Test (Hampshire’s finest chalk stream, complete with half a mile of fishing rights) – is a prime draw whatever the season, visitors coming for food that comforts rather than challenges. In the kitchen, Phill Bishop looks to the locality for ingredients but also mixes up influences in a true modern British way: New Forest asparagus tart with cashew-nut houmous and avocado rubs shoulders with cured Test trout and scallop ceviche served with rhubarb, elderflower and pickled ginger, or there could be new-season lamb cutlets with crispy cannelloni, artichoke, wild garlic and glazed carrots. To finish, poached pineapple with coconut biscuit, lime purée, mint, rum and coconut sorbet makes a big closing statement. Welcoming, efficient staff are dedicated to doing things well. In addition to the carte, the prix fixe is particularly good value, as is the serviceable list of mainly European and English wines, which starts at £24.95. 

On the fringes of a 1,000-acre deer park just four miles from the Norfolk coast, this idiosyncratic pub/restaurant with rooms is quite a prospect. The grey-stone exterior may seem rather stark but inside all is comforting, thanks to soft, warm furnishings, lots of varnished woodwork, leather, blazing fires and the owners' collection of contemporary British art from the likes of Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst and Lucien Freud.

A recently acquired walled garden and chicken coop bolster the kitchen's larder, while big-boned British dishes are the order of the day. Much attention focuses on the mighty Elk Room fire, where cuts of meat are dramatically cooked to order as you watch from your table – expect anything from Blythburgh pork chops, ribs of beef and herby Gunton venison sausages to flavoursome sirloin steak served with goose-fat roasties, sauces and rowan jelly. Rich, carefully seasoned pies are also something of a trademark (perhaps chicken, bacon and leek) and there’s fish from the coast too (sea trout with seashore vegetables and King’s Lynn shrimps, for example). For afters, a delicate Amedei chocolate mousse was the standout for one visitor, but there’s also comfort to be had from the vanilla cheesecake with rhubarb or the Bramley apple and almond tart.

Sunday brings roast Aberdeen Angus sirloin as well as roasted chickens, which are carved by skilled staff and served with veg from the walled garden, garlicky bread sauce and a spectacular gravy that elevates the whole feast to another level. Everyone praises the cheerful, prompt and ‘incredibly friendly’ service too. Norfolk ales are on tap in the bar and the short wine list offers a decent spread at fair prices.

Named after a brooding rocky promontory which is said to resemble the grotesque head of a gurnard, this gloriously remote clifftop inn is unmistakable, with its moniker emblazoned on the roof and its mustard-yellow exterior positively gleaming in the sunshine. Inside, all is cosily weatherproof, with open fires and comfy sofas for those who fancy a pint of real ale or cider in the bar. There’s an equally unfussy vibe in the dining room, where vivid primary colours, scrubbed-wood tables and paintings set the tone. Given the location, it’s no surprise that locally landed seafood is a mainstay of the menu – and that includes the ugly old gurnard from time to time. More likely are dishes such as cod paired with braised beef short rib, roasted shallot and gremolata or hake jazzed up with a global grab-bag of vada pav, aubergine pickle, dukkah and coriander. Otherwise, home in on duck leg with wild garlic and goat’s cheese orzo or roast broccoli with nettle and Stilton purée. Desserts are the heart-warming, comforting kind – perhaps sticky toffee pudding topped with a dollop of Cornish clotted cream for good measure. The owners’ slogan is ‘eat, drink, sleep’, so expect some idiosyncratic libations and guest rooms for those wanting to stay over.

Dating from 1810, this Victorian pub in Maida Vale is a real looker, restored to something like its heritage glory by the team behind the Pelican in Notting Hill. Timber frames and emerald-green tiling abound, and the place now operates across three levels (including an intimate private dining room at the very top). On the ground floor is a proper local complete with chesterfields, real ales and a menu of heroically British pub classics – we’re talking about lamb ribs, cheese toasties, cod cheeks, Barnsley chops, fish pie, roast chicken and other simple but satisfying staples.  

Up on the first floor, the self-styled Grill Room is a very different prospect. We felt as if we had been upgraded to business class as we admired the high corniced ceilings, sash windows, natural oak panelling and leather banquettes, while the arrival of warm brioche with creamy salted butter added to the feel-good vibe – as did the sharp, jaunty service.

The menu focuses on special cuts of meat and fish cooked over an open fire: lightly charred lamb’s sweetbreads came with a silky lobster gravy enriched with clotted cream, while a centrepiece dish of well-timed monkfish on the bone arrived atop a pile of finely sliced runner beans with a scattering of salty capers. To finish, keep it traditional with lemon tart or Eton mess. A cracking little wine list has been tailored to suit most budgets, with just about everything available by the glass.

The village of Kilpeck is now famous for two things: it boasts 'England's most perfect Norman church' (according to Simon Jenkins) and is also home to this hostelry with rooms, once a fairly grand cottage fashioned with stones from the destruction of a nearby castle during the Civil War. The cottage became an inn some 250 years ago, and now refreshes the weary traveller in ways the Georgians could scarcely have guessed. Chef Ross Williams works with the grain of fine seasonal materials, partnering Wye Valley asparagus with a 'houmous' of white beans and a drizzle of hazelnut pesto. Textural and temperature counterpoints add gloss to a serving of scallops and cauliflower with black pudding and dabs of apple purée. Classic European technique can be impressive, as in a pitch-perfect rendition of risotto primavera, while thoroughbred meats might include pork tenderloin rustically stuffed with nettles and sage, served with fondant potato, summer kale and a regionally unimpeachable cider jus. For a fish dish such as sea bream, the supporting roles might be taken by monk's beard and wild garlic gremolata. Nor will you be disappointed if you've come to the pub expecting a burger: there's a half-pounder in a brioche bun with bacon, cheese, apple and fennel slaw, plus rosemary-salted chips. An aromatic theme runs through desserts ranging from gooseberry and elderflower crumble with lemon and elderflower sorbet to raspberry and thyme crème brûlée. Sunday lunchers are happily regaled with beef topsides, pork bellies and chicken suprêmes. The drinks offer is as stimulating as the food, with local ales and ciders, Welsh whisky, Gun Dog gin, and a small but good choice of wines.

The sign outside this whitewashed 17th-century inn – and its logo – reference the local custom of curling on the frozen waters of nearby Loch Kilconquhar, although most attention focuses on the output of the pub's kitchen these days. This part of Fife feels fairly remote, but chef/co-owner James Ferguson is plugged into local supply lines – not least from the Balcaskie Estate, which oversees 2,000 acres of mainly coastal farmland hereabouts.

Menus change daily, depending on what produce arrives at the kitchen door, so expect anything from refined seafood dishes such as steamed razor clams in oloroso to a starter of Shetland lamb offal, fired with pickled chilli and served with yoghurt flatbread. Line-caught mackerel might take its place among mains, grilled and served with horseradish-infused baby beetroot, while russet Tamworths provide the pork chops that are cooked with fennel, onions and sage.

When it comes to finishers, homemade ice creams with oaty shortbread are hard to beat, or look further afield for a sorbet of Amalfi lemons soused in Polish vodka. Drinks include craft beers and cider, plus a short but enterprising wine selection.

There are tables outside for the balmy seasons, and an air of simple rusticity within (complete with candlelight in the evenings) – thanks to co-owner Alethea Palmer, who runs the place with appreciable cheer and a breadth of welcome that extends to pre-advised dogs in the bar area.

Slaggyford's finest, the Kirkstyle, has been a watering hole since the 19th century, although it did service as the local rectory for many centuries before that. In ravishing open moorland near the Cumbrian border, it capitalises on its rugged location by bringing in pedigree produce from across the county of Northumberland. Pasture-raised sheep and cattle, together with seasonal game and fish, adorn Connor Wilson's enterprising menus, and the immaculate presentational style is full of contemporary chic, although it doesn't occlude the essentially straightforward approach to its distinguished ingredients.

A party who undertook an intrepid three-hour drive weren't disappointed, but instead sang the praises of a pigeon pie starter in cherry gravy, as well as the concluding Darling Blue (cheese) panna cotta with plums and walnuts ('a work of alchemy'). Lucky locals also take full advantage of this 'fantastic community hub'. Diners might kick off with a scallop alongside mushroom and spelt ragoût and hollandaise, while mains pump up the volume for pork collar and crispy jowl with carrot and fermented hispi, or pollock and mussels with celeriac and kale. There are, of course, crowd-pulling Sunday roasts, and if you're after something offbeat to finish, look to madeleine with blackberries and woodruff.

The magnificent wine list wouldn't let the side down at a Mayfair boutique, albeit at mark-ups that Mayfair hasn't seen in half a century. French classics lead the charge, but are followed by a Brazilian Chardonnay, a German Pinot, Swiss Dôle, Uruguayan Tannat – it's all good.

An East End boozer from Victorian times, the Marksman exudes the wood-panelled dignity of yesteryear alongside the accoutrements that east Londoners expect to see in today's pub. Ground-floor snackers huddle round candles, nursing fig-leaf and strawberry daiquiris rather than mild ale these days, while the full menu (available upstairs) puts an enterprising kitchen through its paces.

Limber up your taste buds with Porthilly oysters and mignonette dressing (with the Tabasco bottle on hand) or a curried lamb bun with salt lime yoghurt, before a saunter through the day's options. Grilled goat chops with anchovy is the sort of starter you're not likely to find everywhere – best grab it while you can – or there may be duck and Tamworth pork terrine with burnt apple mustard. Anticipating the slap of hot spice, we found the devilled sardines a little on the angelic side, but there was nothing wrong with a handsomely puffed and browned chicken and girolle pie for sharing, served with mayonnaise-lashed chips. Fish possibilities have taken in a lively crew of cod, clams and sea beet, all blown in on a breeze of saffron, and there are (fairly pricey) side-orders of organic Sussex saladings in tarragon buttermilk dressing.

To end things on a nourishing note, try rhubarb frangipane or burnt cheesecake with mirabelles. Wines are served by the small glass, half-litre or bottle, roping in one of the rarer reds of Rías Baixas among a choice of house selections that also includes Provence Viognier and Cinsault rosé.

*Elly Wentworth (previously head chef at The Angel) has been appointed as executive chef overseeing The Millbrook Inn and Fowlescombe Farm from 1st July 2025.*

In 2021, new owners gave the Millbrook Inn a much-needed makeover, but thankfully the refit has been done with restrained taste and the place still retains its identity as a local pub in a pretty south Devon village. There's a spruced up outdoor terrace with parasols, a pair of new holiday cottages across the road for tranquil getaways, and an extra dining space on the upper floor, where spindly old rafters and a paper globe lantern set the tone. 

Better still, the menu is now buttressed with organically produced rare-breed meats from the family farmstead (Fowlescombe) and the cooking is now in the experienced hands of Tom Westerland (ex-Gilpin Hotel in Cumbria), who is nudging the Millbrook in the direction of destination dining. Look at the precision and quality in a starter of pickled and salted farm cucumber with miniature cucamelon, sheep's curd and mint, or the savoury indulgence of beef carpaccio adorned with truffled horseradish cream and crispy capers.

Dressed Salcombe crab is every bit as fresh and toothsome as is proper, although it could do with a little more of the gribiche and farm herbs that partner it, while the Manx Loaghton hogget (cut into thick chops) is sensational, its fatty fringe blistered, the interior rosy-pink, sauced with its own jus at the table and accompanied by surprisingly delicate charred spring onion and courgettes. The day's fish is done in the charcoal oven and presented with smoked potatoes and samphire in caper-strewn brown butter.

Afters might offer bitter chocolate tart with raspberry sorbet or buttermilk panna cotta with strawberries and elderflower, but the sticky toffee crowd isn't ignored. Fans also say that Tom Westerland's Sunday lunch is ‘absolute perfection’, with superb meat, copious quantities of veg and other traditional accompaniments. In the drinking stakes, South Devon beers and ciders are given a spotlight of their own, while the adventurous wine list reaches for the stars, with glasses starting at £6.80 for a light Lisboa red.

* Simon Bonwick (ex-Dew Drop Inn) is launching a solo chef's residency above the Oarsman from 5 September 2024.*

Think Marlow and two things spring to mind: rowing and restaurants. Despite its name, this large town-centre 'bistropub' eases down on the former but puts its back into the latter. Yes, there’s a little wooden dinghy by the side entrance and the odd vintage Boat Race advert, but more prominent are the prints devoted to drink: wine is important here, with a regularly updated, 300-strong list of mainly organic and biodynamic bottles; ciders (from Normandy and Herefordshire) and an eclectic range of spirits are notable too. Food is served in the roomy dark-hued bar, the cosier snug or the well-proportioned dining room with its large serving hatch and views of a little terrace. Scottish chef Scott Smith (ex-Arbutus and Wild Honey) works methodically, delivering an inviting, oft-changing menu that lists three courses plus ‘larder and bar snacks’ such as charcuterie. Starters are especially appealing. In early July, a refreshing salad of goat’s curd with broad beans and peas was made still more summery with fresh fennel leaves and chopped chives, while toasted hazelnuts added extra crunch; in winter, expect more robust offerings such as pig's trotters and bacon on beef-dripping toast. To follow, braised lamb neck with spring vegetables was a gloriously rich and tender piece of meat presented in an iron casserole with baby turnips, courgettes and lightly pickled onions, together with a jug of first-rate gravy and little mounds of puréed aubergine and garlicky parsley on the plate. After that, our Ecclefechan tart, a Borders speciality, was a rich, moist Christmas pud-like confection described by the affable waiter as ‘Scotland on a plate’ – though the accompanying slice of Bonnet goat’s cheese (itself a full-flavoured treat) was best eaten separately. Prices are Marlow-high but, unlike some local rivals, the Oarsman steers a true course through crowded waters – especially when it comes to wine. Arranged in imaginative style categories, such as 'Amber Revolution' for skin-contact tipples, as well as regional locations from more than 40 countries, it is a passionate exploration of today's global wine scene. A clutch of fine sherries is worth a look, but so is the fizz list, which includes Harrow & Hope Brut Reserve No 7, made right here in Marlow itself. 

Hayfield in the Peak District was the birthplace of Arthur Lowe, Dad's Army's Captain Mainwaring, and is a favoured rest-stop for those tramping the Derbyshire hills. At its heart, the stone-built Pack Horse aims to be more than just the standard village pub, with a conscientious ethos of sustainable supplies from local sources, ranging from meat butchered only four miles away to unimpeachable regional fresh produce.

Menus follow the rhythm of the seasons (as celebrated in the kitchen's own cookbook) and the food has the kind of contemporary appeal that makes the place a destination. Glazed High Peak lamb belly appears surprisingly in a starter with a leafy salad and yoghurt, while scallops in brown butter gain an edge from pickled apple and kohlrabi.

Fish is generally handled with assurance, producing a main course of charcoal-roasted halibut with mushroom and smoked bacon bourguignon and pommes Anna accompaniments, while similar inspiration from the French provincial cookbook informs a dish of pork belly with a cassoulet of trotter and beans plus a salsa verde dressing. The charcoal oven comes into its own on Wednesdays, when a special menu includes Barnsley chops and rump steak.

To finish, there might be blood-orange and olive-oil cake with whipped ricotta or salted-caramel custard tart and almond Chantilly. Quality growers abound on the inspiring wine list, which opens with small glasses at £5.70, before darting acquisitively around both hemispheres.

London’s 'tached and tattooed creatives have called it: the Plimsoll is cool. So eager are they to get into this tiny corner pub in residential Finsbury Park, they’ll squeeze into any unoccupied corner of the bar, jostle for a spot at one of the ledges outside, and book up to a month in advance for a table in the scruffy dining room.

The one-page menu changes regularly and is appealing. There’s no rule that says you have to order the Dexter cheeseburger but there’s barely a table that doesn’t. And it is a good burger, well-balanced, with flavoursome aged beef and a shiny brioche bun. Otherwise, there’s a faint Spanish accent to the plates coming out of the open kitchen, albeit less pronounced than at the Plimsoll’s nearby sibling, Tollingtons. Most of what we ate was just a whisker off excellent: ripe early-summer Vesuvio tomatoes with olive oil are perfectly good as they are – even the snowdrift of grated Tomme de Chèvre goat's cheese over the top is too much. The same goes for the oakheart lettuce; it just needs a lighter touch with the mustard vinaigrette. 

Presentation throughout is winningly simple; decorative details being limited to the vintage floral china. Whole plaice, a scrawny specimen, comes grilled and drenched in 'nduja butter, while lamb rump (juicy and pink) arrives in thick slices with mint and spiced yoghurt. Pudding is the highlight: a slice of strawberry jam tart with custard and cream. Drinks-wise, there is plenty of interest including orange wines, sparklers, apéros, ciders and, of course, Guinness.

In the relatively short time since the Rum Fox opened, its owners have 'immersed themselves in village life' and the place has become a much-appreciated local asset. Nestled in the lovely village of Grindleton in the Ribble Valley, against a backdrop of rolling Lancashire hills, this splendid double-fronted pub has been stylishly renovated and is now in fine fettle. You can eat in the traditional beamed bar area (presided over by the antique, red-coated M Reynard himself) or in a spacious, light-filled open-plan contemporary room with its flagged floors, solid ceramic tables, contemporary stoneware and open kitchen. Service from a band of genuinely lovely staff is confident and enthusiastic.

A good-value set menu culls dishes from the carte, perhaps taking them down a notch or so in terms of refinement – although you never feel short-changed. Our summer menu included a glossy pea, lettuce and mint soup served with one of the kitchen's now-legendary stuffed potato skins, followed by cod loin with salt-and-pepper Jersey Royals and chilli crab sauce (quality fish but over-spiced for our taste). For afters, never mind the weather, it has to be exemplary sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream.

The kitchen's seasonal endeavours have a kind of muscular style and ambition, although it's all very controlled and the chef knows his market – hence popular pies and suet puddings such as chicken and chorizo or ox cheek, onion and mushroom, not forgetting apple and rhubarb crumble to finish. There might also be a riff on venison – perhaps haunch, shoulder and cottage pie with artichoke, wild garlic and rowanberry sauce. Wines and beers do their job admirably.

Synonymous with ‘true Yorkshire hospitality’, Andrew Pern’s country inn sets the benchmark for hostelries hereabouts. Pristinely re-thatched and restored, it still hides more than seven centuries of history behind its thick stone walls, while its warren of beamed rooms is home to a collection of hand-crafted furniture from Yorkshire's Robert ‘Mousey’ Thompson.

All-comers receive the warmest of welcomes here – no wonder villagers still proudly use the place as their local, dropping by for pints of local ale and solid sustenance from a ‘pub menu’ that never loses sight of its Yorkshire roots (think peppered swede soup followed by calf’s liver with a fried egg). Sunday roasts are also ‘an absolute joy’ with their creative use of local ingredients. However, the serious culinary action takes place in the restaurant extension, where seasonal North Country produce reigns supreme. Here you will find ‘levain-fed’ bread, honey from Harome’s hives, moorland game, Swaledale lamb, seaweed from Robin Hood’s Bay, Whitby lobsters and the occasional interloper such as salt-cured skrei cod. 

The justly famous ‘rich man, poor man’ starter of pan-fried foie gras sandwiched between roundels of grilled black pudding is rightly renowned as a signature dish, although the carte and 10-course taster are stuffed with fulsome, richly flavoured delights and surprisingly creative combinations. Consider sticky braised ox cheek with Yorkshire blue cheese raviolo alongside Marmite-pickled radish and Lindisfarne oyster velouté or a seafood bonanza featuring North Sea turbot and a supporting cast of poached langoustine, crispy calamari, Shetland mussel ‘sauce matelote’ and fennel rouille. After that, carefully matured and truffled cheeses are arrayed on a bespoke ‘Mousey Thompson’ trolley, while desserts range from seasonal riffs on Yorkshire rhubarb to baked banana soufflé with Libations double-aged golden rum syrup and a dollop of Pontefract cake ice cream. 

Wine pairings have been thoughtfully chosen to match the food – an Austrian Beerenauslese, Domäne Wachau with that soufflé, for example – and the full list includes ample drinking by the glass.

About three miles outside Clitheroe, Mitton is hewn in two by the river Ribble, with the Three Fishes on the side to the north, properly glorified as Great Mitton. The pub itself can hardly be missed, sitting as it does on a junction in its coat of brilliant white. Nigel Haworth, king of Lancastrian cuisine, has taken the place a little further upmarket from its initial incarnation, but the vibe is ‘neither stuffy nor formal’, according to one local, with helpful and knowledgeable staff ensuring that everything runs without a hitch.

Local suppliers are front and centre on the menu, hardly more so than the pub's own kitchen garden, which you are welcome to explore. Readers' feedback emphasises the attention to detail that lifts a dish such as teriyaki scallops with sublime jalapeño-spiked tartare sauce out of the ordinary; likewise, popping-fresh broad beans add the final flourish to a summer risotto topped with samphire, pea purée and parsley pesto. Loin of venison benefits from slow cooking and a deeply flavoured ragoût, with a wedge of hispi cabbage and mushroom ketchup to carry it, while sea bass is crisp-skinned and delectable, perfectly served by tempura spring onion and dill butter.

To finish, a whimberry pie seemed 'a little cheffy' to one recipient (all feathery delicacy) but damson soufflé was ‘simply outstanding’, packed with deep, ripe flavour and beautifully risen. There's a traditional ‘chippy tea’ on Fridays (6-7pm), and Lancashire-style Sunday roasts are abidingly popular. Drinkers sup real ales in the flagstoned bar, while the wine list offers a decent spread tilted towards the Old World.

A roadside pub where superlative cooking, sharp service and stylish plates of food meet a dose of easy irreverence. The name’s a giveaway, as is the art that fills the walls, starting with a bronze pig’s derrière behind the bar, a new piece that’s part of a smart post-lockdown refurbishment. Have fun here, and eat seriously well too.

Come for the velvetiest of veloutés, perhaps leek and potato with the salty pep of smoked haddock and a garlicky crostino, or the pub’s ever-popular white onion soup accompanied by a savoury bonbon (perhaps ham hock or blue cheese). Snack on crisp arancini filled with gentle Taleggio and ‘nduja that’s fiery with Calabrian chillies. Pasta is made with silky finesse and, this being a broadly ‘Britalian’ kitchen, it’s given good billing: strands of tonnarelli might come with crab and freshening chilli, lime and spring onion; a raviolo could be packed with rabbit and a flavour-balancing gremolata; tubular paccheri could be served with a rich venison ragù.

Steak and chips – this is a pub after all – often gets the Italian treatment, so well-rested sirloin might be ‘tagliata’, served sliced across the grain. The accompanying Parmesan chips are criminally pinchable, the bone-marrow sauce deeply savoury. To finish, vanilla panna cotta fits the Italian bill, but go British with a rhubarb crumble, or choose a magnificent chocolate délice with a sweetness-tempering espresso sorbet. Sunday roasts are delivered with a touch of elegance and sophistication as well as a keen eye for provenance, while Europe leads the way when it comes to the notable wine list. Tapping into the expertise of the well-led front-of-house team yields delicious rewards, with monthly changing 125ml pours, in particular, enabling exploration.

It may look like just another brick-fronted village pub, but the Victoria is a hostelry endowed with unusual flair and character. Inside, it’s smart but not showy, with lots of wood and heritage shades, although the fact that the place is now helmed by Simon King (a big name in hospitality) and chef Matt Larcombe (formerly at the Crown at Bray) gives notice this is a serious operation. Expect a combination of excellent service and high-quality food based on local and seasonal produce. Matt injects vivid flavours into his cooking, offering a menu that runs from pub classics (superb fish and triple-cooked chips) to mushroom parfait with sweet-and-sour onions, Herdwick lamb rump with caramelised sweetbreads, morels and broad beans or slow-cooked cauliflower with goat’s curd and kale. To finish, look for updated staples such as apple pie soufflé or a ‘Victoria’ sponge made with Yorkshire rhubarb. Matching the food is a well-spread wine list with a very decent selection by the glass. Locals have embraced the place wholeheartedly, especially as drinkers are welcome to congregate in the bar for pints of ale and nibbles (perhaps crispy pig's head or devils on horseback). Children are happily accommodated too, and Sunday lunch is booked up weeks in advance.

At a time when so many pubs are closing down, it's heart-warming to see the revival of this riverside hostelry. The revamped Waterman's Arms now sets out its stall as a neighbourhood pub-cum-restaurant where exposed brick walls, wooden benches softened by claret-coloured velvet cushions, candlelight and views of the Thames across the way make it the perfect spot to unwind.

When we called in, a bluesy soundtrack added to the mood, making it so cosy that we were reluctant to leave. Eager young staff also gave the impression that they just wanted us to hang around and have a good time. The kitchen is headed by Sam Andrews (ex-Camberwell Arms and Soho's Ducksoup), who has created a concise seasonal menu with daily specials chalked up on a board – market fish with saffron, for example.

The cooking is direct, with few excesses, and the kitchen teases out maximum flavour with the minimum of fuss – as seen in our starter of gutsy, satisfying confit pork with white onion on toast. Mains are equally impressive, from big flakes of gurnard tangled with kohlrabi, coriander and a dash of yoghurt to juicy duck breast served with Provençal onions, olives and a blood-orange segment. After that, a wedge of mature Comté, accompanied by prunes and spelt digestives, paved the way for a pleasing sweet finale involving poached pear with dark chocolate and crème anglaise.

Weekday lunches on Thursdays and Fridays are great value, and Sunday brings a choice of roasts in addition to the usual repertoire. Like everything here, the choice of beers, cocktails and the diverse wines (from £28.50) has been put together with care.