The Best Pubs with Member Perks
Published 08 November 2025

Pause a moment outside this spruced-up village hostelry to view the ancient construction over the adjacent lane, featuring a huntsman, a pack of hounds and a fox whizzing towards the pub. Then do likewise – it’s worth it. Inside, a 2018 refurb has retained the pubby feel, keeping the venerable weathered beams and bare brick fireplaces, along with a bar where drinkers can (and do) enjoy pints of local ale while lounging in armchairs. The dining area features flagstone flooring, an open kitchen, a skylight and French windows looking onto a smart, partially covered beer garden.

Executive chef and owner Brett Barnes has an impressive history, having rattled the pans at Arbutus, Mark Hix, and stellar Swedish venue Fäviken. With his head chef, Charlie Harrison, he produces a well-thought-out, fairly priced menu that’s equally appealing for slap-up celebrations or midweek drop-ins (anyone for a native-breed brisket burger?) The commitment to seasonality is real but understated, so an autumn meal might start with an exemplary pig’s head croquette (crisp coating, luscious, fatty interior) served straight from the pan with celeriac rémoulade and a sweet dollop of crab apple jelly. This could be followed by a sizeable hake fillet, flaky and succulent, atop a milky and flavoursome chowder of chestnut, spinach, sweetcorn and tender surf clams. Puddings, ancient and modern, are equally enticing, whether a caramelised panna cotta with blackberry compôte or a fresh-from-the-oven Bakewell-like apple pie. 

Service from a young, eager team is well-turned-out yet unpretentious (rather like the place itself). Drinks, too, cover most options, from original cocktails to a catch-all wine list, where it’s worth upgrading from the routine house white (£24) to the more intriguing ‘cellar selection’. 

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.

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.

With forested hills sloping onto fields of grazing sheep and the Gothic remains of Byland Abbey towering over the entrance, this pub with rooms is a dream ticket – no wonder it was snapped up by chef Tommy Banks (the Black Swan at Oldstead is nearby). Inside, there’s a little bar with a snug for those wanting a drink, but the main action takes place in the three dining rooms, one of which is the former piggery – an expansive room with beams, giant flagstones and a double-facing log-burning stove, all illuminated by a conservatory-style skylight. The mood is relaxed and staff stay on top of their tasks, while cute details in the handsome finishes speak of Tommy Banks’ pedigree.

The food also makes a connection to the Banks family farm (without labouring the point), and chef Charlie Smith serves up a procession of seriously appealing, modern pub-style dishes – an incredibly original Dexter steak tartare, perhaps, cut into uniform nuggets resembling translucent rubies decorated with grated wild horseradish, fermented peppers and smoked bone marrow. Elsewhere, there might be a light, elegant plate of smoked Pablo beetroot with ewe’s curd, preserved Yorkshire rhubarb and linseed crackers for texture. Some of the meaty main courses such as a pork rib chop with fermented mushroom béarnaise could do with a little finessing, although fish dishes hit the spot – judging by a pitch-perfect serving of cod with a splendid mussel cream sauce and purple-red potatoes on the side.

Everything is executed with flair, professionalism and a deep respect for local ingredients – and that extends to the dazzling roasts served for Sunday lunch (check out the rare-breed Berkshire pork and Herdwick lamb from the family farm, just two miles away). If you're looking for real value, however, order the mighty Dexter cheeseburger with fries, plus a pint of Yorkshire-brewed ale and a shared dessert – say a soft-serve sundae topped with Douglas fir, blackcurrant and white chocolate. Aside from real ale, drinks include seasonal cocktails, homemade libations and a short but decent selection of wines with plenty by the glass.

If it's worth finding a perfectly pristine English village – and it always is – it's also worth hoping that the local pub will be a forward-thinking ancient inn serving adventurous modern British food. Welcome to the Barrington Boar, located somewhere between Taunton and Yeovil. A slate-floored bar opens onto a crimson-walled dining room with a stone-built fireplace, and there's a clutch of guest rooms where the old skittle alley once was.

Alasdair Clifford and Victoria Collins have made the place a haven of West Country hospitality, with Alasdair's kitchen as its nerve centre and a culinary repertoire built around supremely confident, exquisitely presented regional cooking. 'Real innovation without silliness,' is how one reader summarised the style, having in mind such dishes as a starter of barbecued lamb shoulder glazed in rose harissa with smoked aubergine and pistachio dukkah – or, perhaps, a Japanese-inspired tartare of kelp-cured trout with soy and rhubarb ponzu, adorned with shiso and winter radish.

Wye Valley asparagus in season forms the centrepiece of a veggie main with confit new potatoes, baby turnips and sprouting broccoli in herb vinaigrette, while fish could be roast cod with smoked cod croquettes and spring cabbage in a creamy white wine velouté. Gold-standard meats take in everything from 50-day aged Devon Red sirloin, its accoutrements including a mushroom stuffed with bone marrow and parsley butter, to local lamb rump with its caramelised sweetbreads.

Finish with Yorkshire rhubarb cheesecake and matching sorbet, or a picture-perfect pear frangipane tart with clotted cream. A luscious cocktail offering includes a 'Dam-Good Negroni' made with damson gin (our arm is duly twisted), while the expertly curated wine list opens with a comprehensive suite of selections in two glass sizes and half-litre carafes.

Terry Laybourne's self-styled ‘proper pub’ stands not far from the north bank of the Tyne. It looks the part too, with a polished oak bar furnished with high stools, a plain wood floor and inviting banquettes. The dining goes on upstairs, in an equally convivial setting of sturdy wood tables, where cheery staff dispense the kind of food you thought city pubs didn't do any more. There are raised pork pies, Scotch eggs, potted shrimps – and not a leaf of amaranth to be seen.

A serving of Dorset crab with kohlrabi, celery and fennel is about as foofy as it gets. Otherwise, enjoy the sight of bubble and squeak with a fried egg and HP sauce, calf's liver and bacon with crispy onions or smoked haddock fishcakes with proper tartare sauce. As you would imagine, it's food to fortify yourself against the northern chill (whatever time of year) and it's probably best accompanied by one of the cannily chosen seasonal beers.

Sunday roasts are every bit as satisfying as you would expect, complete with mint sauce to daub on the shoulder of lamb, and there are sponge puddings of course – perhaps made with whisky marmalade and served with lashings of custard. Too full by now? Then take a lemon sorbet. Those who incline more to the grape than the grain will be grateful for a decent selection by the glass, starting with Castilian house wines.

The Bull describes itself as an 'organic, radical, ethical' pub, which is what it's about these days. Who doesn't love a radical pub? Just round the corner at the top end of Totnes' main drag, it's certainly a comfortable and welcoming place to enjoy good beers, adventurous wines, and some conscientiously sourced local produce that is treated with respect for its innate quality.

Johnny Tillbrook's blackboard menus offer a wealth of choice, turning Jersey-milk Ogleshield cheese, Jerusalem artichokes and leeks into a warming gratin topped with pangrattato, or curing monkfish in paprika, alongside electrifying accompaniments of blood-orange, fennel and chilli oil.

No lily feels over-gilded, and yet every dish has plenty to say for itself, through to sustaining mains such as sea bass in ajo blanco with spinach and roast courgette, or chicken breast with greens, turnip, onion, skordalia and green sauce. Basque cheesecake, perhaps with prunes soaked in Earl Grey, is a sweet stalwart. The small plates arrangement remains a good way to go for an enterprising group (how about venison koftas with cumin yoghurt, preserved lemon and pomegranate salad?). Wines are arranged by style, and (not surprisingly) embrace a healthy showing of biodynamic and natural specimens.

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.

Set in the picturesquely named Vale of White Horse, in a village not far from Wantage, this Greyhound is a thoroughbred if ever there was one. Its interior spaces have been fashioned in accord with best modern style, with plenty of light wood, walls in primary colour schemes and a dining room that boasts white-clothed tables. A couple who found the place bathed in unseasonal February sun after a fogbound 50-mile car journey had their spirits lifted – especially when presented with the ‘lunch for less’ menu, enjoying Camembert with black garlic aïoli, and then sensational roast guinea fowl from a three-course deal that comes in at under £35.

The principal menu deals in ambitious modern British food full of enticement from the get-go, with preliminary nibbles such as venison croquette with gribiche dressing and watercress to consider. For an opening salvo, mackerel might be soused and scorched, partnered with rillettes of its smoked version, and energised with a beef-fat crumpet and grated horseradish – a spectacular composition of flavours. The vegan main course is hardly lacking in imagination, either – think Crown Prince squash accompanied by dressings of hazelnut dukkah and pistou, along with Swiss chard, apple and pickled walnut. Otherwise, look to Cornish skate wing with smoked leeks, cockles and capers in beurre noisette, or harissa-fired pork tomahawk steak with Guinness-infused onion purée and pearl barley.

There are the almost-obligatory pub classics too (when only a plate of fish and chips will suffice), and proceedings conclude with, say, banana pain perdu, torched banana, peanut-butter ice cream and butterscotch. British and Irish cheeses are top-drawer selections served with spiced pear purée and boozy chutney. A wine list with helpful tasting notes adds to the cheer.

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.

The venerable Merry Harriers is to be found in the village of Hambledon (not the Hampshire one) near Godalming, a rural enclave set in a buffer of fields and woodland. It has been kitted out to suit the modern mood, with a soft green colour scheme and bentwood chairs at unclothed tables, plus candlelight in the evenings and fires in winter. A menu that exhaustively lists all the kitchen's and cellar's local suppliers inspires confidence, and the food is just what country-pub aficionados want to eat, with plenty of praise lavished on the Sunday lunch offer – a choice of ‘impeccably cooked’ roast platters, piled high and designed for two to share.

On the regular menu, lightly horseradished smoked mackerel pâté might compete with Trenchmore Farm beef tartare and plum ketchup, before mains take flight with some more adventurous ideas. Pork chop with sweetcorn, girolles and pickled walnuts delivered an impressive array of flavours when we visited, the superlative quality of the meat shining forth; a pheasant schnitzel with pickled red cabbage and pink firs was almost as good, although it needed a little more in the way of lubrication than an evanescent suggestion of beurre noisette. A fish option could be baked hake in bouillabaisse with saffron-scented fennel, while pumpkin and spelt risotto with hazelnuts, sage and chilli provides robust sustenance on the vegetable front. 

At the sticky end of things, everybody will feel spoilt by the likes of gingered-up sticky toffee pudding or a version of knickerbocker glory that finds room for chocolate mousse, candied orange and bits of homemade brownie. There's an impressive varietal spread on the carefully compiled wine list, ascending to the majesty of a mature classed-growth St-Émilion at a fraction of what you would pay in the not-too-distant capital.

For decades, the Milbrook has defended its reputation as a reliable source of decent pub food in the South Hams but since Caitlin Owens took on ownership in 2021, it has found a new stride. Elegant restoration has amplified the cosy low-ceilinged hostelry into a sophisticated destination, whether you’re staying in the rooms across the road, or rocking up sandy-footed from the beach, ready for a pint of Salcombe Brewery Ocean Cider by the babbling brook at the back.

Beyond good looks, the menu is bolstered by its connection to Fowlescombe – a luxury rural retreat and working regenerative farm – and by Elly Wentworth, who works as executive chef across both sites, balancing prime ingredients with an approachable menu. Brixham crab and fresh corn chowder made for a swoon-worthy opener on our most recent visit, while a Toulouse sausage was packed with flavour and the triple-cooked chips were as good as you’d hope.

Sunday lunches and seasonal desserts such as Fowlescombe farm honey and fig trifle with roasted hazelnuts complete the package, while on dark nights the fireside beckons for a pre- or post-prandial trip through the adventurous wine list, which uses the Coravin system to offer maximum interest by the glass. Service can fluctuate with the seasons but it always supports a convivial hubbub of happy diners.

A pubby success story if ever there was one, this handsome stone hostelry was gifted to Clipsham by a local squire in 1890 and rescued from extinction by three friends in 1999. Since then, it has become a shining star on the Rutland scene with its open-minded community spirit and forward-thinking approach to food and drink. The Olive Branch was an early adopter of local sourcing and still name-checks its ever-growing list of suppliers, as well as topping up its larder with home-grown produce from an increasingly productive ‘pub paddock’.

The kitchen caters for all appetites and predilections – whether your preference is for haddock and chips, courgette and sage tagliatelle or venison haunch with braised onion, roast beetroot and chocolate tortellini. Starters are equally creative, ranging from cockle-warming leek velouté bolstered by Westcomb Cheddar dumplings, miso leeks and croûtons to trendy cured salmon with nori, yuzu, pickled tapioca and buttermilk sauce, while dessert might bring tonka-bean panna cotta, mulled poached figs or an Eccles cake with Barkham Blue cheese.

Sunday lunch also ‘delivers on every level’, with locally sourced beef sirloin or roast pork loin supplemented by a ‘full house of veggies’ and rich, dark gravy. On the drinks front, top-notch regional ales and an ever-changing list of good-value wines receive equal billing, with Coravin selections signalling the owners’ serious intent in this field. Readers are also keen to praise the pub's relaxing, homely vibe and the top-drawer service from polite, attentive staff who are happy to ‘go that extra mile’. Accommodation is available at Beech House, across the road. 

Independently owned and independently run by chef Brett Newman and his wife Nadia, this cheery, ‘incredibly welcoming’ hostelry ticks all the boxes as a genuine community-minded village local. It hosts quizzes and open-mic nights, stages summer BBQs in its expansive garden, raises money for the local primary school and is cherished by the residents of North Marston and beyond. Food-wise, the owners buy what’s local and seasonal for a repertoire that runs from tapas plates to Sunday roasts, all big on flavour and generosity. Menu formats vary with the seasons, but sharing is normally the name of the game, whether you’re into mac ‘n’ cheese, devilled mushrooms or hispi cabbage with smoked almonds, crème fraîche and Berkswell cheese. Bigger plates could bring sriracha-glazed chicken thighs studded with sesame seeds or line-caught pollack with creamed corn and chipotle chilli. Rare-breed steaks and burgers satisfy too, while desserts might usher in calorific old dependables such as treacle tart, lemon posset or chocolate truffle cake with clotted cream and praline. Locals drinking real ales in the bar can also eat from a reduced menu of similar items, right down to bowls of chips and ketchup. Proper draught cider and a refreshingly priced, varied wine list complete a thoroughly likeable local package.

On a rural stretch of road three miles from Rye, the Plough encapsulates many people’s idea of what a country pub should be like. A garden with ‘exceptional views’ beckons in fine weather and a convivial atmosphere prevails. Indeed, a complete lack of pretence is an undoubted plus, from the scuffed floorboards, plain tables and wood burners to an informal approach to eating – ‘delicious, seasonal and locally sourced,’ is how it appeared to one visitor.

The simple, good-value weekday lunch is well reported and is bolstered by a straightforward carte – a mix of pub classics (battered haddock and fries, Winchelsea lamb shoulder pie), and more complex combinations ranging from cured chalk stream trout pastrami with cornichons, cabbage and mustard crème fraîche to a ‘sensational’ main course of onion bhaji Scotch egg Madras with Bombay potatoes, mint yoghurt and greens.

Sunday roasts are reckoned to be ‘leaps and bounds better than anywhere else in the area’, with the Yorkshire puddings and cauliflower cheese (made with Sussex Charmer and Twineham Grange) singled out for special praise. To finish, the sticky toffee pudding has also impressed, as have the staff, whose warm welcome and good humour extends to small children and dogs. As for drinks, Harvey’s Sussex Best is on draught, while the compact wine list offers reasonably priced drinking from £27 a bottle. Accommodation is in 'the loft' – a self-contained flat above the pub.

Off the beaten track, and not an easy place to find, this 16th-century half-timbered building stands on the banks of the river Lugg, positioned by an old stone bridge on the Mortimer Trail (a 30-mile walking route from Ludlow to Kington). Inside, a warren of heavily beamed rooms with wonky floors and open fires provides nooks for a quiet tête-a-tête and separate spaces for louder crowds or those with their four-legged friends; the terraced garden comes into its own on fine days. Service is friendly and welcoming. In the kitchen, Andy Link and his team take sustainability, ethical sourcing and food miles seriously, seeking out the very best that the region has to offer from local farms and artisan suppliers, backed up by their own kitchen garden (and their own hens). We noticed that lunchtime regulars tended to favour the perfectly cooked rare-breed Herefordshire steak sandwich with truffle chips, but we enjoyed a light meal of crispy garlicky Herefordshire snails with truffle mayo, followed by eye-catching river trout cured in beetroot and local Chase gin, plus a delightful poached pear accompanied by a scoop of assertive blue-cheese ice cream to finish. Many other items have been singled out for praise, from a generous piece of grilled and lightly caramelised cod served on a pile of peas and mangetout with a lovely lovage sauce to a dish of chicken with courgettes, garden chard and wild herb pesto that 'had some body’. For afters, readers have endorsed the nettle cake and the rhubarb purée with 'custard mousse'. A good chunk of the decently priced wine list is vegan or vegetarian – though given the impressive ethos of the place, there are surprisingly few English offerings.

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.

As slices of English heritage go, Piers Baker’s 15th-century yellow-washed coaching inn right in the heart of Dedham is nigh-on perfect. The rear terrace looking onto the garden is a hidden gem, while inside there are atmospheric drinking areas, a split-level, heavily beamed dining room, clattering floorboards and real fires galore.

There’s a sense of seasonality, too, in menus that offer a winning mix of updated pub classics (a thick-cut ham bagel with Keen’s Cheddar, piccalilli and fries; a rare-breed burger) and more inventive, Italian-accented dishes built around prime seasonal ingredients.  Violetta artichoke bruschetta with green olive, confit tomato and Katherine goat’s cheese is a winning combination, but if pasta is your thing (always a strong suit here), spaghetti with clams, cream and samphire is equally accomplished. Aged British steaks get the proper treatment, or there could be a full-flavoured pork côtelette with anchovy, egg, green beans, beetroot and watercress. Comforting desserts such as burnt cheesecake or limoncello syrup cake with berries and mascarpone close the show.  And it’s worth noting that the weekday ‘house menu’ (lunch and early evening) is a steal.

While the Sun is an emphatically laid-back place, there’s no corner-cutting, and the attention to detail extends to an interesting wine list weighted towards the Old World, with plenty of fine options by the glass and carafe at refreshing prices.