Donnington Restaurant Guide

“I was expecting rather standard Home Counties fare, but instead I found delicious cooking and charming service all in an attractive barn-style setting”: this successful ten-year-old – a restored ‘run-down pub’ in West Berkshire countryside – boasts a “very lovely”, high-ceilinged contemporary dining extension and has become one of the most commented-on restaurants in our annual diners’ poll. Run by Alastair Storey (a top catering CEO), reporters are “delighted and frankly a bit surprised by the excellence of the experience” and – unusually for a rural venue – its “ambience and level of quiet formality make it a place in which you’d be happy to do business”. Its scores slipped a fraction this year though, on the back of some incidents of “mechanical” service (“in the old-style, fancy-restaurant way)” or the odd “ordinary” meal (“we have had better here”).

Kate Middleton’s favourite pub, apparently (Raymond Blanc is a fan too) is this rural inn deep in the Berkshire countryside, where noise from the nearby M4 doesn’t impinge on its tranquility. Much-expanded in recent years with the addition of a cookery school, it’s nowadays run by Kate Robinson and her partner, musician Rocky Rockliff (Kate’s ex-husband, game expert Mike Robinson, is no longer involved). Though still popular with our reporters too, there’s a feeling that “the menu has been scaled back in recent times” with meals that are increasingly “good but not special”.

2021 Review: “Really healthy food” (be it gluten-free, veggie, vegan or even more specific – think raw vegan) is the calling card of this bright “cafeteria-style” outfit, which spawned a Sunningdale spin-off in 2017.

“Every village should have one” – a “really pretty pub (with rooms) and a beautiful garden” in the “lovely” setting of the Wellington Estate. Chef Jason King does not trade on its location, as his elevated pub-style classics (featuring produce plucked from the garden) are “imaginative” and “cooked to perfection” too. Top Tip – they sell their own bread and gin over the bar.

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”.

2021 Review: A “high-quality gastropub (with rooms) not too far from Andover”, winning increasingly favourable reports for its “interesting food, varied flavours and unusual takes on traditional fare”. Add in “obliging service and not too outrageously expensive” prices.

2023 Review: “A brilliant location” – on a picture-perfect stretch of lush Thames riverbank – is the justification for maintaining the listing of this Thames Valley veteran, on the fringe of Goring. On a sunny day, there are few nicer places to be. Its “classic Italian menu”? Not much commented on (nor, to be fair, criticised) and not the main point.

“It’s in such an amazing spot” – a “romantic setting by the Thames” on a stretch of riverbank immortalised in the ‘Wind in the Willows’: this riverside inn (which housed a ferry until 1967) has had its looks updated in recent years, and is nowadays more pub-like that it once was. Some old-timers say it’s “not as good as before”, but for others it’s “very good” and everyone agrees that on a sunny day few places are nicer than its outside terrace.

2021 Review: It might not look like much from the road – an out-of-town bathroom showroom might be on the mark – and the location on the A4 doesn’t help, but brave the underwhelming façade of this outfit and you’ll find a “swanky” restaurant turning out “inventive Indian cuisine”.

Dating from 1720, this “pub in a lovely village near Wantage” (“highly rural in the Lambourn valley”) offers a “warm welcome and superb food, backed up by a beefy wine list and high-quality service”. With a strong gastro history, it was taken over and renovated two years ago by the team behind Newbury’s highly rated Woodspeen and fans say “it has great potential”.

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!”