East Horsley Restaurant Guide

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.

“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”.

“Set in a charming cottage” in an “attractive Surrey Hills village setting”, this red-brick restaurant is “a class act from the off”, beginning with the “warm welcome” from Jack Forrest Foster, who purchased the restaurant alongside chef Mohssine El Faddi in 2019 (the venue having been in existence for over three decades). “The modern British food has a North African influence which adds to the interest and taste” and invariably “draws you back”.

There’s no doubting the “fantastic location” of this link in Raymond Blanc’s Heartwood Inns collection – a nook and cranny-filled boozer on pretty Downside Common with a heated outdoor tent and beer garden for added measure. Its victuals aren’t fancy but are “generally good” by common consensus, and continue to be of note for their moderate price tags (especially now they’ve relaunched their bargainous seasonal set menus).

2022 Review: In a village near Leatherhead, this well-established Indian (opened in 1983) – nowadays run by the son of the founder – is strongly applauded by its local fans.

This “popular gastropub stalwart” is “always busy, even if you were to go on a Tuesday lunchtime”. It occupies a listed 300-year-old former courthouse which featured in a Sherlock Holmes story, ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’. The food here is consistently well-rated and commented on as being “better than average”.

This Surrey branch of The Ivy’s stylish national brasserie offshoot is an “incredibly popular” sort of place, where the most appealing location to eat is the Orangery. From providing one reporter’s “worst dining experience of the year” to another’s “dazzling delight”, it continues to split opinion, but the majority verdict is that “the atmosphere and ambience (which “exude fun and enjoyment”) excel more than the food” (which is “acceptable but nothing special”).

This red-brick steak restaurant and bar is part of the carnivorous, three-strong Rare Breed Dining group, with its own in-house smokery and butcher overseeing prime cuts of meat (part of a trendy package that also includes on-site wreath- and candle-making classes); results from the menu (relayed via daily specials boards) are “tasty” and there’s a “lovely outdoor area for al-fresco dining in summer”.

This comfortably decorated national chain feels akin to dining in a hotel, but minus the bedrooms; and its two London branches – near the Tower and in Putney – benefit from attractive Thames-side locations, where “it’s lovely to sit outside on a warm day by the river, or year-round in one of their igloo pods”. “There’s a warm fire inside with cosy armchairs”, too, which make the venues “fine for coffee or snacks”, although for more substantial meals “the food is only OK”.

“Whilst the travails of hospitality in these challenging times have reduced the opening times and menu options (notably the previously excellent-value set lunch), absolutely no compromise has been made by chef-owner Steve Drake in the quality of the cuisine” at his smartly presented Surrey HQ, and all reports say “he continues to provide succulent and splendid culinary masterpieces with exemplary service”… “cutting-edge and well worth the investment”.

“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).

Originally slated for spring 2024, this exciting-sounding project was still in ‘watch this space’ territory six months later. On launch, it will mark the kitchen return of chef Ashley Palmer-Watts, for almost 20 years Heston Blumenthal’s no. 2 as head chef of the Fat Duck and launch chef at the Mandarin Oriental’s Dinner by Heston. It’s to be a multi-faceted project, incorporating a 35-seat restaurant, along with a bigger wine bar, café and bakery (and, eventually, accommodation).