Camberley, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

Feedback has strengthened over the years regarding the much-accoladed, wood-panelled dining room in the oldest section of this plush Victorian pile in Surrey – nowadays a 124-room luxury hotel and spa – where chef Steve Smith has looked after the stoves since early 2020. It doesn’t attract huge volumes of reports, but its dedicated local fan-club regards it highly all-round. Dinner is a three-hour, seven-course affair at £175 per person, with four- and five-course options available at lunchtimes and on some evenings. The wine options here received particular praise this year.

“Smart pub/restaurant with a buzzy atmosphere” and “consistently good food from a large and varied menu” – built at the 19th-century height of the local brick industry, it’s a “great place to stop for lunch after a good walk in the countryside”, with “lovely log fires in the bar”.

“Exceptional attention to detail and exquisite food” lead to many best meals of the year being reported in this “elegant and classy” retreat – the dining room at the heart of the Dorchester Collection’s luxurious country house hotel and spa, near the borders of Virginia Water. A number of reports are “surprised it still has only one star from that ‘other’ guide” – “surely Adam Smith is knocking on the doors of two” given the “exquisite” food and “culinary theatre” delivered by the intricate succession of dishes for £185 per person. Despite its 2023 revamp, one or two critics still find its style too “oligarchy and international”, while still acknowledging that the food is “excellent”. Top Menu Tip – “turbot with caviar and two sauces… yes please!”

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”.

“A fabulous, thoughtful menu” dominated by “impressive game” from adjoining Windsor Great Park (red deer, muntjac, rabbit, pigeon and more) impresses guests at this “high-quality” venue dating from 1877 and styled as a hunting lodge, by the main gates to the park – hosts Steven & Ami Ellis lead an “attentive” service team, and there’s “an inviting drinks list”. Top Tip – “we enjoyed a fantastic Game Tasting Menu of seven courses which was amazing value for money at £80 per person… a fabulous selection of Charcuterie and Snacks including Rabbit Chorizo, Pigeon Salami, Rabbit Rilette with Cheese Sable and a heavenly Pigeon Sausage Roll along with a game consommé… Game Bird Liver Parfait… excellent Stuffed Pheasant Leg and Woodcock which was accompanied by an Offal Cottage Pie… the flavour was stunning”. BREAKING NEWS: As of October 2025, the venue is ‘temporarily closed’ as the team is ‘refreshing’.

The ‘live-fire’ option at this Hampshire spa hotel offers “excellent if expensive food from the marvellous Skye Gyngell”, making best use of “lovely locally grown ingredients” and of an informal setting in the old stable block – for some guests it’s their “favourite of the Heckfield Place restaurants”, in preference to the more formal dining room-based Marle.

A Georgian country house hotel packed with British post-war art and “within easy reach of London” for the mini-break set; Skye Gyngell of Petersham Nurseries Café fame oversees the two restaurants, with Marle being the fancier, orangery-style dining room with a Michelin Green Star reflecting the hotel’s focus on sustainability. As in previous years, not everyone is convinced by the pared-back dishes, with those who “enjoyed the occasion” counterbalanced by those who found it “somewhat lacking – expected more”. But even cynics concede it’s still “above average”.

With its tapestries, mullioned windows and Tudor fireplace – as part of a stately home that dates back hundreds of years and which has been a hotel since the 1930s – this intimate dining room (just seven tables) aims, and generally succeeds in providing “a real five star experience”. Foodwise this year, we have reports of "absolutely wonderful meals, truly unique in terms of food pairings, presentation and service” with no complaints, but our rating is an act of faith in continuity as Alex Payne left after our annual diners’ poll was completed in July 2025 (to Sorrel, see also) with Chef Stefano Di Giosia moving here from Kol. In the evening you can choose a four-course tasting menu for £125 per person or a ‘Signature’ selection for £155 per person. Weekday lunches provide a cheaper entry level option of four courses for £95 per person.

“So pleased we went… the food, service and table decor was excellent and we look forward to going again” – this traditional pub on the village green parted ways with Dominic Chapman in 2023 and its nowadays run as part of a growing genre of UK establishments as an Indian-in-a-pub, serving fish ’n’ chips with curry sauce, chicken tikka burger… and on Sunday it’s tandoori chicken roast.

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.

A “fun” and smartly turned-out country pub offering “consistently good food and service” at a “price point you’d expect for Windsor: fairly high”. Launched in 2018 by industry insiders Jamie Dobbin (an ex-Savoy, Ivy and Groucho Club chef) and James Lyon-Shaw (ex-ETM group manager), it’s now the flagship of their five-strong Brucan Pubs group.

“Top notch pub grub” wins votes for Adam Handling’s converted pub in Old Windsor, which will celebrate its fifth anniversary in 2026. A selection of funky small plates (like Yellowfin tuna, green chilli, ponzu or BBQ mackerel, grape salsa) zhoosh up a menu that’s fairly classic gastropub in its approach (steaks, burgers, fish ’n’ chips). The prices bug one or two fans though (“been several times, and the bill is now a bit silly”).

“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”.

2024 Review: This “stylish restaurant” near the bridge to Windsor has been run for almost 50 years by co-founder Lin Gilbey, who is responsible for its interior design. Her husband and business partner Bill (scion of the Gilbey’s Gin dynasty) sadly passed away in 2022, but Lin has pressed ahead with improvements, acquiring the premises next door to offer corporate entertainment and private dining facilities. Modern British cooking is generally felt to be “solid”.

“It has to be done… and at the price it’s possibly a never-to-be-repeated experience… but what an experience – theatrical, magical AND delicious!” – Heston Blumenthal’s famously wacky temple of weird molecular gastronomy is entering its 30th year, and most reports say it’s “still an unforgettable and amazingly inventive experience”. Perhaps sensitive to the odd accusation that it can “feel a bit dated and a bit behind the likes of Core, The Ledbury and Row on 5” nowadays the rate of innovation has stepped up this year. A cheaper à la carte option has been reintroduced after an absence of many years (three courses for £255 per person); and there’s now ‘Mindful’ and ‘Journey’ menus (including iconic dishes of the last 30 years) for £275 and £350 per person respectively. Bad vibes about its cost-levels abated somewhat in this year’s annual diners’ poll – only 1 in 6 now consider it “overpriced”.

This independently owned and run pub just off the Thames Path serves “first-class, chef-quality cooking at chain-pub prices, with a great menu for all occasions” – “you don’t find many pub-restaurants full on a Tuesday lunchtime, but this one is for good reason”. “They even make gravies from scratch for each Sunday roast and their own desserts!”