Farnham, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: “So quirky and friendly”, “and the food is great too” at this smart pub-with-rooms geared up for huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’ in the Hampshire countryside. Top Tip: “Go for the scrumptious dessert of beer cake and apple ice cream”.

A “glamorous” outpost of Richard Caring’s ever-growing brasserie empire set across two floors, and with a particularly scenic patio overlooking the headline attraction announced in its name. As per its siblings, the menu hops from British classics to Asian-inspired dishes and veggie options, and there’s currently a two-course ‘£19.17 Menu’ revisiting classics from the original London restaurant, from their famed shepherd’s pie to frozen berries with white chocolate sauce; also as with its siblings, not everyone is convinced by the food (“nothing to rave about”) but it remains one of the more commented-upon venues in these parts.

“Wow, Wow, Wow! Surpassed all expectations… loved every moment” – all reports this year are a hymn of praise to this sumptuous dining room, which has won numerous accolades over the years and where Steve Smith has been at the stoves for five years now. “Imaginative food is presented with real style” in a six-course ‘discovery’ menu for £175 per person that’s “consistently very good”. Top Menu Top – “desserts are particularly good: for example, the rhubarb and truffle chocolate is unusual, delicious and a great ending to a meal”.

2021 Review: “Upmarket pub” with a dozen bedrooms, handy for Ascot Racecourse, which was taken over by new owners (Barons Pub Company) in late 2018. Not all reporters are happy with the new ownership, but upbeat feedback praises its “well-rounded menu, relaxed style and pleasant service”. Reflecting the up-and-down reports, we’ve left a rating till the next Diners Poll.

Set on a 400-acre estate, this converted 18th-century manor house is nowadays a 45-room hotel and promotes its commitment to sustainability, complete with its own biodynamic farm. Skye Gyngell (of London’s Spring) oversees the dining room, which receives a very mixed rep in our annual diners’ poll. Many are wowed or find the cuisine “tasty but playing it a bit safe”, while others settle for “OK, but thought it would be better”, and nobody says it’s terrible. Views diverge on the interior, too – “soulless” to some but an “exceptional” highlight to others.

The second link in the growing Brucan Pubs group, set up by James Lyon Shaw and Jamie Dobbin, who met during their days at the famous Ivy. By all accounts the three-year-old venture is “surprisingly good for a somewhat unprepossessing area”, and with “good-value set menus” to boot. Top Menu Tip – “in my experience the best dishes are the slow-cooked ones”.

“A very well-run and vast pub/restaurant which has managed to balance itself between the two”. Between the “reliable and fresh” British grub, “well-kept beers” and “friendly and efficient team” (plus a lovely garden) it’s “always a delight to visit”.

2021 Review: “Fabulous country food” (hefty and satisfying) is the order of the day at chef-patron Simon Goodman’s hillside sixteenth century boozer, which these days profits from a proper dining area and, as ever, an “amazing garden” overlooking Leith Hill, the highest point in Surrey.

“Set in a charming cottage” in an “attractive Surrey Hills village setting”, this red-brick restaurant is “a class act from the off”, beginning with the “warm welcome” from Jack Forrest Foster, who purchased the restaurant alongside chef Mohssine El Faddi in 2019 (the venue having been in existence for over three decades). “The modern British food has a North African influence which adds to the interest and taste” and invariably “draws you back”.

This comfortably decorated national chain feels akin to dining in a hotel, but minus the bedrooms; and its two London branches – near the Tower and in Putney – benefit from attractive Thames-side locations, where “it’s lovely to sit outside on a warm day by the river, or year-round in one of their igloo pods”. “There’s a warm fire inside with cosy armchairs”, too, which make the venues “fine for coffee or snacks”, although for more substantial meals “the food is only OK”.

A former courthouse with exposed beams plays host to this rustic and tiny European restaurant run by chef Nathan Marshall and FOH wife Evi, a “lovely lady” whose Hungarian roots sometimes inspire the fine-dining on the menu. On limited feedback this year, there were reports of some “delicious” dishes and as we went to press, demand for a table was so high that they were already fully booked for 2024! Top Tip – to circumvent the need to book way ahead, keep an eye on their Instagram account (@n.marshall_chef), where they sometimes advertise last-minute cancellations.