Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Godalming
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Godalming restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 35 restaurants in Godalming and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Godalming restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Godalming Restaurants
1. Lickfold Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Lickfold
Highstead Ln - GU28
2021 Review: It’s all change again at this out-of-the-way old country pub, north of Petworth. DJ Chris Evans owned it about five years ago, then Tom Sellers ran it, but that came to an end last year, and as of August 30 2019, it has a new management team and a less ‘fine dining’ approach than under the chef of London’s Restaurant Story. Reports please!
2. The Anchor
British, Modern restaurant in Ripley
High Street - GU23
“The food is always fantastic” – “especially for the price” – at this dining pub owned and run for five years now by chefs Mike Wall-Palmer and Dave Adams, who met working at top chef Steve Drake’s former venue in the village.
3. E Street Bar & Grill
British, Modern restaurant in Petworth
New Street - GU28
“Looks can deceive at this understated venue” – a stylish haunt with numerous characterful spaces, whose rather metropolitan style is somewhat at odds with this antique-dealer-infested town. The upscale brasserie menu majors in seafood selections and steaks – fans tip the “well-priced three-course set lunch and affordable wine list”.
5. The Ivy Castle View
British, Modern restaurant in Guildford
Tunsgate Square, 98-100 High Street - GU1
“The view is unbeatable” (and what it overlooks is incorporated into the name) of this highly rated link in Richard Caring’s national chain; as for the rest, you can expect the usual “pretty” decor and a “decent menu selection” (“including healthy choices that don’t feel like a sacrifice”); “it isn’t cheap though, so save it for an occasion”.
6. The Thai Terrace
Thai restaurant in Guildford
Castle Car Pk, Sydenham Rd - GU1
2023 Review: A “stunning location… from a car park rooftop!” provides “amazing views over Guildford and the hills beyond” at this long-established fixture, known for its “wide selection of quality Thai dishes”.
7. Rumwong
Thai restaurant in Guildford
18-20 London Rd - GU1
This “reliable and busy Thai” has been a highlight of the local dining scene for over 45 years. The comfortable ‘Khan Tok’ dining room has been revamped, its cushions replaced by lounge seating – and is very popular.
8. Kinghams
British, Modern restaurant in Shere
Gomshall Ln - GU5
“Set in a delightful village” in the Surrey Hills, this 17th-century red-brick cottage now houses a “delightful restaurant” where the “mild Moroccan influence on modern British food makes for a superb dining experience” (“I live in London and go specially”). “The staff cannot do enough to make your meal enjoyable – and that includes the charming owner”, Jack Forrest Foster.
9. The Onslow Arms
British, Modern restaurant in West Clandon
The Street - GU4
This smart gastroboozer is “a jolly nice place to go, whether à deux, or as a large group”; its “outstanding” British menu sets the local “benchmark for fish ’n’ chips” and “the fact that it is always busy says it all (even we, as regulars, who always book way in advance, sometimes cannot get our first-choice table!”).
10. Hurtwood Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Peaslake
Walking Bottom - GU5
2021 Review: “Good Italian food in the Surrey Hills” is to be found in this substantial village pub, now operated by an Italian team that ran restaurants in Guildford for three decades. The bar menu of pizzas and pasta is complemented by a more formal menu in the restaurant.
11. The Drumming Snipe
British, Modern restaurant in Mayford
Guildford Road - GU22
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”.
12. Street Burger
Burgers, etc restaurant in Woking
57 Commercial Way - GU21
The “fancy burgers” usually hit the spot this year at TV chef Gordon Ramsay’s growing diffusion chain, with nine sites in the capital as of mid-2023 (and where the frozen chips are provided by another prominent chef now retired from front-line stove action: the venerable Pierre Koffmann). The odd “mixed experience” or “haphazard service” was still reported, but overall ratings were up.
13. The Inn West End
British, Modern restaurant in Woking
42 Guildford Rd - GU24
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.
14. The Half Moon
British, Modern restaurant in Kirdford
Glasshouse Lane - RH14
2021 Review: Celeb MasterChef contestant Jodie Kidd (better known as a 1990s supermodel) has proved the cynics wrong at this fifteenth century venue, which she relaunched in summer 2017; the worst anyone has to say is that it’s “nice enough but nothing to rush back for”, while fans had a “most enjoyable experience at this village pub”.
15. The Black Swan
British, Modern restaurant in Ockham
Old Ln - KT11
2023 Review: “Good solid food” and a “large outdoor space for eating” makes this country pub a handy refuelling spot for visitors to the RHS gardens at nearby Wisley.
16. The Duke Of Cumberland
British, Modern restaurant in Henley
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.
17. The Cricketers
French restaurant in Cobham
Downside Common - KT11
Given its attractive setting on Downside Common, this “lovely country pub” (part of Raymond Blanc’s White Brasserie chain) in the heart of plush stockbroker belt would likely be a local destination come what may. But it also goes the extra mile and – though it’s not particularly ‘gastro’ – wins consistently high acclaim for its “cheerful welcoming staff” and high quality of cooking. “It was done up over the winter; and although there is no longer a set menu, the prices are reasonable in the current climate”. Top Menu Tip – “well-prepared steak and very good tartiflette starter”.
18. Sorrel
British, Modern restaurant in Dorking
77 South Street - RH4
“Steve Drake is at the top of his game” and “continues to turn out beautifully prepared dishes, visit after visit” according to practically all reports on this much commented-on fixture: a “smart destination suited to a special occasion” in the centre of “lucky Dorking”. There’s “a very high level of professionalism in both kitchen and front-of-house” and the result is “a brilliantly devised, modulated and presented menu” full of “inventive and original flavours”; together with “an excellent choice of wines”. One caveat, though – “check your bank balance before booking!”
19. Latymer, Pennyhill Park Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Bagshot
London Road - GU19
“Steve Smith hits all the right notes” in this opulent dining room: “a real treat that’s expensive but worth it”. “While the hotel may feel a bit big and corporate, The Latymer just feels special. From the moment you walk in, to the time you leave. Each course is craft-fully mapped out with little cards explaining what it is and where it originated from”. On all accounts this year, its six-course menu – for which you should allow three hours – delivers an “outstanding” experience for £175 per person.
20. The Anchor Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Lower Froyle
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”.
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