West Meon, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

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”.

This “beautifully renovated” 17th-century free house “in a wonderful position on the South Downs” has been “transformed from a run-down pub to a welcoming local with fantastic food” under the ownership of Clive & Tanith Cummings (whose previous project, an abbey in France that they ran for 17 years, was the subject of Channel 4 property show ‘Escape to the Chateau DIY’). “The historic building is now thriving again, with a roaring fire to welcome customers on winter days, and a restaurant of design and character” that serves “proper, seriously lovely food, not gastropub fare”, from a “tapas-style menu”. It’s a family business, with son Lewis managing the bar and daughter Georgia the wine list.