West Clandon Restaurant Guide

“A very well-run and vast pub/restaurant which has managed to balance itself between the two”. Between the “reliable and fresh” British grub, “well-kept beers” and “friendly and efficient team” (plus a lovely garden) it’s “always a delight to visit”.

A veteran of Thai dining in the UK, this “bustling, fun old establishment” claims to have been the first Thai restaurant outside London when it opened in 1978 – and “never lets you down” with its “reliable and tasty” menu.

“The food just gets better and better” at this “delightful beamed restaurant” in a “quaint Surrey village” that is frequently used for film locations. Built as two labourers’ cottages circa 1620, the restaurant is divided into “cosy small rooms, with lovely outside seating in summer”, where Tante Claire-trained chef Mohssine El Fadi presents an “eclectic menu with good choice of dishes”; having joined the kitchen 20 years ago, he bought the business with general manager Jack Forrest Foster in 2019. Top Menu Tip – “the fish cooking is always spot-on”.

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”.

A “glamorous” outpost of Richard Caring’s ever-growing brasserie empire set across two floors, and with a particularly scenic patio overlooking the headline attraction announced in its name. As per its siblings, the menu hops from British classics to Asian-inspired dishes and veggie options, and there’s currently a two-course ‘£19.17 Menu’ revisiting classics from the original London restaurant, from their famed shepherd’s pie to frozen berries with white chocolate sauce; also as with its siblings, not everyone is convinced by the food (“nothing to rave about”) but it remains one of the more commented-upon venues in these parts.

2024 Review: 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”.

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.

Gordon Ramsay’s four-year-old fast-food chain – one of several diffusion brands from the TV chef – has half a dozen sites across the capital. Views on it have always been somewhat mixed and became even more polarised this year: between those who consider it “a great new discovery” and those who feel it’s “disappointing for an upmarket burger”.

“A really fun concept” – these “OTT” spin-offs from the core Ivy brand do have “real pizzazz” and are, ironically, “better than the original non-Asia versions”. In particular, they make a “super place for a celebration” thanks most especially to their “stunning” immersive interiors, complete with glowing, emerald-green floors, cherry blossom trees, Disney-esque pagodas, lavish lighting and gratuitous statuettes (and “the St Paul’s one has amazing view of the floodlit cathedral” to boot). And, on most accounts, the Pan-Asian menu is “delicious” too and provides “a great opportunity to mix and match dishes originating throughout the continent”. Even fans, though, can caution that it’s a case of “all good… until the bill arrives”. And then there is also a large minority of purists, who plain loath them: they find the decor “ridiculous” (“it doesn’t feel fun it feels fake!…”, “bling of the worst sort” and “very ‘Bridge & Tunnel’”); and they feel that the menu is “an overpriced mess – fine in itself but overall very definitely meh? (There are far better examples of Japanese, Chinese or fusion available without the look-at-me nonsense!!)”

On the A25, “a lovely old pub in the Surrey Hills” with the accent on the old – the building dates back to the eleventh century (says the Domesday Book) and was a mill as recently as the 1950s. Current owners, New Dawn Pubs, took over and refurbished the joint before re-opening in December 2022. The menu is of affordable pub grub, and there are “lots of outside tables with a small river running through the garden” (the latter equipped with a seasonal bar and grill).

“A well-deserved success for the RHS” – this large venue at their Wisley HQ provides a “glorious setting for lovely lunches”. The gardens are hugely popular all year round, so it’s “always advisable to book”. Top Tip – “don’t forget, you do need to pay to enter the gardens in order to eat at the restaurant” (about £20 per adult).