Speen, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“Despite losing its Michelin star, standards at the Woodspeen remain very high” according to practically all of the many reports on this restored pub in West Berkshire, which was transformed in 2013 by top catering CEO, Alastair Storey (and which is one of the top-50 most commented-on destinations outside London in our annual diners’ poll). There is a variety of menus, including a sensibly priced à la carte option all served in a stylish setting (which includes a striking, high-ceilinged contemporary space added onto the original building). “I have been dining at The Woodspeen since it opened. I have seen the team develop over the years. It’s an excellently run restaurant with great food. May have lost its Michelin star but it is as great as it always has been in my view”. Top Tip – “good value for money, especially for the set lunch”.

“Excellent pub with rooms with a superb restaurant, serving delicious food” that “shows influences from the Mediterranean to the Middle East and beyond”. “They’re the bunch who have taken over the nearby Pot Kiln gastropub, so we were bumped into the hotel… but it was a pleasant bump – great food, reasonably priced and welcoming service/surroundings”.

Jason King & Simon Page met in Hong Kong before coming back to these shores to take over this “quintessential country inn” on the Hampshire/Berkshire border in 2005. While the odd diner feels that “prices are on the high side”, all agree the kitchen hits “consistently high standards”, with herbs plucked from the “beautiful gardens”, and staff “doing their best to cope” amid a “pleasantly chaotic” ambience.

2022 Review: “This superb gastropub” – an eighteenth-century inn “two minutes from the Thames and convenient for London day-trippers” – serves “interesting food with some high gastronomy”: “all produce is locally sourced, and bread made and butter churned in-house”. Husband-and-wife patrons Nick & Mary Galer (both ex-Fat Duck Group) “clearly care about what they do and look after their diners”. Ratings dropped a notch this year amid reports of “the odd off note” – possibly they “need a bit more practice after lockdown”.

“A lovely setting on the river” (the stretch of the Thames commemorated in ‘Wind of the Willows’, and best admired from the terrace) elevates a visit to this former boathouse, last used for the ferry in 1967. Happily, the “charming modern interior still retains some of the character of this long-established venue”, despite a more pub-like refurb in recent years, and there was praise this year for some “tasty and filling” cuisine (and at a “very reasonable” price tag too).

Fka the Star Inn, this 1720 village pub-with-rooms down a no-through road near the Uffington White Horse was subject to a “very clean modern makeover” two years ago. Although not all regulars have welcomed the switchover, others rate it very well.

2023 Review: After months of restoration, this 17th century Georgian building near Newbury re-opened in January 2022 and now boasts a traditional pub, very attractive pitched-roof dining room in contemporary style and 30-bed coaching inn, as well as a covered garden terrace. No feedback as yet in our annual diners’ poll – reports please!

2023 Review: Complete with a riverside terrace, this privately owned pub near Newbury receives a good rep in our annual diners’ poll for its 40-seat dining room overlooking the river Lambourn, where chef Sam Cary aims to deliver ‘refined modern British pub food’. In an April 2022 visit, Tatler’s Fay Maschler declared it “a rare jewel of a country pub” offering “everything you want a welcome to be”.

2023 Review: “Always reliable, serving exceptional food for a village pub”, say fans of Dave Watts’s rural inn, where classic pub dishes jostle on the menu with somewhat more ambitious fare. Top Tip – “the plat du jour is unbelievable value!”