Alton, 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”.

2022 Review: “Have a lovely walk to work up an appetite” before visiting this laidback brick-walled boozer on the River Meon, handy for the South Downs Way, and with a “very nice little garden down by the brook”. To make sure of enjoying its “great” pubby staples “you need to book – even midweek – as it’s very popular”.

Aussie chef Skye Gyngell’s “ambitious establishment” – a Georgian country house dining room in a “beautiful location” overlooking a lake and parkland. They are “very conscious of their environmental responsibility”, with “almost all ingredients locally grown or reared” and served in pared-back style. But while it received strong ratings all-round for its luxury hotel setting, a couple of reports did note “a feeling one has to be on one’s best behaviour!”

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.

A “great little spot” in what was once a courthouse – though it’s not necessarily evident from the façade or the rustic interior either; the “husband-and-wife team (Nathan and Evi Marshall) work well together”, and the modern European food “continues to improve”, making it “a welcome addition to an area surprisingly thin on exceptional restaurants”.

“Sat in an outdoor pod with the family, drinking mimosas and with lovely views of the river” is a key feature of London’s two outposts of these comfy venues (part of a national chain), both of which have riverside terraces featuring all-weather igloos for year-round fun. The Italian-ish food in the dining rooms is “unexceptional”, but “their lounge areas are cosy and just the place for morning coffee or afternoon tea”.