Stoke Poges, International Restaurant Guide

“You feel like royalty” at this “amazing property” owned by the National Trust, which dates back to 1666, but was transformed into the Italianate mansion that you see today by Sir Charles Barry in the 1850s; Cliveden has welcomed a Who’s Who of 20th-century history, and was once owned by America’s richest man, William Waldorf Astor, as well as providing the backdrop to the notorious Profumo Affair. While the modern European cooking doesn’t always outshine that epic backstory, few places offer a more “amazing ‘Arvo’ tea”: “a truly wonderful retrospective experience of grand living in the 1920’s, with first class cakes and savouries and superlative views of the gardens”. One savory is ‘Winston Churchill Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding’, namechecking just one of the many famous former guests here.

2022 Review: This ultra-stylish boutique hotel reopened in late 2016 after a multi-million-pound, two-year renovation. Its “lovely food choices” run the whole gamut from Japanese dishes through to sourdough pizzas, and a large garden contributes to what's “an ideal spot on the way to Henley”.

A well-located venue on the Thames at Teddington, where “wonderful views of the lock” remain a standout feature, whether you opt for the glass-fronted restaurant or (better) the riverside terrace. On the menu, competent modern Euro cooking – shellfish platters, steaks, plus afternoon teas – abetted by regular jazz nights.

A “charming” atmosphere and “Laura Ashley decor” set the tone at this brunch-and-cocktails spot, which has clocked up 25 years in Strand-on-the-Green. The global menu “may not set the pulse racing”, but seldom attracts much in the way of criticism. Founder Lorraine Angliss also operates the Little Bird and Rock & Rose venues in southwest London.

“Wonderful fine dining but with the feel of a small local eatery” is both the blessing and the challenge for this Chiswick destination which is “trying very hard to be great, succeeding, and so much better than the location makes you think”. Chef Nathan Cornwell was recruited in 2023 to up the ante here, and his “carefully thought-out” cuisine is “just getting better and better”: it’s a serious rival to nearby Trompette in terms of its “exceptional” quality, with “a fabulous tasting menu which gets it just right and doesn’t overwhelm you”. But while its reputation is generating ever-more feedback in our poll as a “classy” and also a “romantic” destination, it is ever-so slightly constrained by its (albeit posh) “caff-like” premises on the High Street, with the least kind view that you are “crammed in, while the waiters try to deliver to you a fine-dining experience”.

Proximity to Richmond Park – a large terrace for sunny days – and a comfortable, attractive interior help justify the ongoing inclusion of this eighteenth-century Fuller’s pub, near Sheen Gate. In other respects, its ratings remain resolutely ordinary.

“Beautiful, quintessential country pub” (the description has barely changed since Jerome K Jerome described it as “the veritable picture of an old country inn” in his 1889 classic ‘Three Men in a Boat’) with a “cosy, relaxed interior” and “reliably good food”. These days the pretty village has a reputation as an A-lister hotspot (George & Amal Clooney, Jimmy Page, Theresa May), but you’re still welcome in the Bull’s bar in a pair of shorts with a dog in tow for some “reliable” traditional fare.

Limited but highly positive feedback again on this neighbourhood outpost in East Sheen, where chef Leonard Kola presides over an eclectic menu that mixes steaks and burgers with blackened miso cod and seafood curry.