The Cock
47 High Street, Hemingford Grey, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 9BJ
(01480 463609; www.cambscuisine.com)
Oliver Thain and Richard Bradley are young, entrepreneurial, unafraid to experiment. Yet at this, the first of their pub ventures (their second being the Crown and Punchbowl, Horningsea) they have gone back to basics, stripping the lovely 17th-century village pub right back to its original simplicity. It's cosy and attractive with bare floorboards, a low-beamed ceiling and traditional settles at which you sup award-winning East Anglian ales.The menu is strong on classics and the chef makes his own sausages. Fish and game dishes reveal a refreshing, modern view, with a seasonal choice chalked up on a changing menu.
Meals: 12pm-2.30pm; 6.45pm-9.30pm. No food on Sunday evenings. Closed: 3pm-6pm. Main courses £8.95-£17.95; set menu £8.95 and £11.95 (lunch)
The Halzephron
Gunwalloe, Helston, Cornwall, TR12 7QB
(01326 240406)
An opera singer running a remote smuggler's inn - irresistible! The white-washed inn has been taking in guests (and smugglers: there's an underground passage) for 500 years. Exuberant and charming, Angela has created some delightful eating areas around the bar. Food is freshly cooked and carefully presented: Mrs Kearsley's crab salad platter, seafood chowder with aïoli, and roasted John Dory or chorizo with red wine sauce. Blow away the cobwebs on the cliff-top walk and return to cosy bedrooms with patchwork quilts, fresh fruit and coffee.
Meals: 12pm-2pm; 7pm-9pm. Main courses £7-£17.
Trengilly Wartha Inn
Nancenoy, Constantine, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 5RP
(01326 340332; www.trengilly.co.uk)
Hard to navigate a car down the lanes to this rural hidey-hole near the Helford River - but worth it. Locals come for the honourable ales, real ciders, quality wines and good meals. Enjoy seasonal, modern British cooking (crab, scallops, Cornish fillet steak) in the pastel restaurant. There are pool and bar games, a small sitting room with an open fire and books, and in summer, the six-acre garden fills with a happy throng.
Meals: 12pm-2.15pm (2pm Sundays); 6.30pm-9.30pm (7pm Sundays). No food Christmas Day. Main courses £5-£15; set dinner £21.50 and £27.
The Drunken Duck Inn
Barngates, Ambleside, Cumbria, LA22 0NG
(015394 36347; www.drunkenduckinn.co.uk)
At an isolated crossroads stands this old inn, enfolded by high peaks and craggy tree-covered fells. The Duck has long been a popular watering hole for walkers and real ale enthusiasts, with home-brewed Barngates beers on handpump, and Cracker Ale. There are also 20 wines available by the glass. Simple lunchtime menus may include bread with Cumbrian cheeses, or Holker Hall venison pie; the more elaborate evening menu may include ginger-marinated fillet of pork with garlic jus, or baked red snapper with fig and lemon confit. The impeccable bedrooms all have views.
Meals: 12pm-2.30pm; 6pm-9pm. Main courses £11.95-£18.75.
Dartmoor Inn
Lydford, Devon, EX20 4AY
(01822 820221; info@dartmoorinn.co.uk
Karen and Philip Burgess are self-confessed foodies and their imposing dining pub turns out some seriously good dishes. Everywhere there are updates on coming events: a Parisian bistro supper or a hot Brazilian jazz night. Menus match the occasion and are seasonal. In June you might start with a faultless asparagus soup with nutmeg cream then dive into a mixed fish grill with lemon and herb butter and courgette flower fritters, finished with peach melba. Walkers and their dogs stridein from the moors for Dartmoor Best Bitter and organic cider.
Meals: 12pm-2.15pm; 6.30pm-9.15pm. Closed: Sunday evenings & Mondays. Main courses £8-£16; set menu from £11.75 (lunch)
The Museum Inn
Farnham, Blandford Forum, Dorset, DT11 8DE
(01725 516261; www.museuminn.co.uk)
Owing its name to the 'father of archaeology', General Augustus Lane Fox Pitt Rivers, this place originally fed and bedded people who came for his museum. Now Vicky, Mark and their mostly Aussie staff have created a blissfully warm and happy place to stay and chef Mark Treasure is as good as his name suggests. Impeccable bedrooms and breakfast worth getting up for.
Meals: 12pm-2pm; 7pm-9.30pm. Closed: 3pm-6pm Mon-Fri (7pm Sun). Main courses £14.
Trouble House Inn
Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8SG
(01666 502206; www.troublehouse.co.uk)
Busy road, another pub: but you would miss a Michelin star if you drove past this one. Chef-patron Michael Bedford is another young cook who has swapped city glamour for a country pub, spoiling visitors for choice with menus of seasonal modern British food and a serious yet accessible wine list. For a snack, try crab thermidor with mixed leaves and fragrant homemade bread... and finish with orange and rosemary syrup cake.
Meals: 12pm-2pm; 7pm-9.30pm (9pm Sundays). No food Sunday evenings October-May. Closed: Mondays. Main courses £12.50-£16.
The King's Arms
Market Square, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, GL54 1AF
(01451 830364; www.kingsarms-stowonthewold.co.uk)
Peter was head chef at the chic Hotel Tresanton in Cornwall, until he and Louise moved to this 500-year-old stone inn overlooking Stow's market square, and the King's Arms was soon jam-packed. The fish travels from Cornwall every day, and the local produce is as fresh as can be. The wine list is long, the ale is real (Greene King and Hook Norton), and the upstairs dining room - all damson walls and wonky polished floorboards - overlooks the town. Thanks to Louise, the old coaching inn, once frequented by Charles II, is a stylish, comfy place to stay.
Meals: 12pm-2.30pm; 6pm-9.30pm (10pm Sat); 7pm-9pm Sundays. Main courses £8-£13.
The Greyhound
31 The High Street, Stockbridge, Hampshire, SO20 6EY
(01264 810833)
Thanks to the clear-running waters of the Test, civilised, one-street Stockbridge is England's fly-fishing capital. But you'll find more polo-necks than fishermen propping up the bar of the colour-washed Greyhound. With its blend of rusticity and sophistication, the 15th-century coaching inn has been remodelled and is very much a dapper, food-and-wine-centred affair. Chef-patron Darren Bunn worked at the Criterion Grill in the West End and used to buy wine for Marco Pierre White. Now his modern, brasserie-style dishes have netted him a Michelin star. Be won over by his pressed terrine of corn-fed chicken, scallops, risotto, sea bream with linguine and fishcakes with a chive beurre blanc.
Meals: 12pm-2.30pm; 7pm-9.30pm. No food Sunday evenings. Main courses £5-£25.
The Stagg Inn
Titley, Kington, Herefordshire, HR5 3RL
(01544 230221; www.thestagg.co.uk)
It took some courage, six years ago, for Steve Reynolds to take on a tiny village pub in the back of beyond and, defying all odds, become a Herefordshire hero. What strikes you is the attention to detail on the daily boards: cheeses from the Marches are listed by the dozen and most of the produce is organic. (It fully deserves its Michelin star - the first for a British pub.) Try seared scallops on parsnip purée with black pepper oil, traditional roast grouse with game chips and bread sauce, and puddings to die for: three crème brûlées of vanilla, coffee and cardamom; roast plums with vanilla panna cotta. And you can stay the night.
Meals: 12pm-2pm; 6.30pm-10pm. Bar snacks not available Saturday evenings. Closed: Sunday evenings & Mondays. Main courses (bar) £7.50-£8.50. A la carte up to £16.90.
The Alford Arms
Frithsden, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP1 3DD
(01442 864480; www.alford.arms.co.uk)
It isn't easy to find but David and Becky Salisbury's gastropub is worth any amount of missed turns. Inside is a rabbit warren of interlinked rooms, bright, airy, with soft colours and fresh flowers. Food is taken seriously and the no-nonsense menu includes pan-roast lamb rump with puy lentils and roasted root veg, Nettleden honey-roast duck breast with rosemary dauphinoise potatoes, rhubarb and elderflower crumble. This is skilled cooking, and wine drinkers can pick from a short but judiciously chosen list.
Meals: 12pm-2.30pm (3pm Sundays); 7pm-10pm. Main courses £9.25-£12.75.
The Sportsman
Faversham Road, Seasalter, Kent, CT5 4BP
(01227 273370)
On your way to Whitstable, slip off to Seasalter for a meal you won't forget. Brothers Phil and Steven Harris's pub is a gastronomic haven in the most unlikely setting, amid wastes of marshland with the North Sea somewhere behind. In defiance of its bleak surroundings, the Sportsman is one of the most exciting dining spots in Kent. Happy eaters fill the three large, light rooms, spreading across the pine floors, wheelback chairs, chunky wooden tables and winter log fire. The seasonal blackboard menu is short and sweet, with a big emphasis on fish. This fantastic food at reasonable prices is 'haute cuisine stripped bare'. Thornback ray and balsamic vinaigrette, new-season lamb with pommes Anna, roast baby pineapple and coconut sorbet only hint at the skill, dedication and astonishing flavour combinations. On handpump are Shepherd Neame beers.
Meals: 12pm-2pm; 7pm-9pm. No food Mondays. Main courses £11-£17.
The White Swan
108 Fetter Lane, Holborn, London, EC4A 1ES
(020 7242 9696; www.thewhiteswanlondon.com)
It had spent the previous 20 years as the Mucky Duck - and had become very mucky indeed. In 2003, brothers Tom and Ed Martin restored the original name and created a cool, new swan. The bar evokes a classic, city pub feel. At plain tables on fashionably unpolished boards, City traders quaff real ales (there are four) and fine wines. Upstairs is a mezzanine level, a stylish banquette-seated restaurant with a mirrored ceiling and some unusually good modern European cooking. Dishes are an enticing, flavoursome mix of robust (rump of lamb with crushed olive-oil potato and salad niçoise; gnocchi with pear, sherry and blue cheese) and subtle (fricassée of monkfish with fennel, chervil and truffle oil). Cheese and wine lists are encyclopaedic, vegetables and side dishes expensively 'extra'. Uniquely, there are lockers for regulars in which to store bottles of unfinished wine. The bar menu veers from sourdough sandwiches to dishes that change with seasons... with a bit of luck you'll find seared rabbit with roast tomatoes, chorizo, basil and crème fraîche on yours.
Meals: 12pm-3pm; 6pm-10.00pm. Closed: Weekends; 3pm-6pm. Main courses (bar) £9; set menus £18-£22.
The House
63-69 Canonbury Road, Islington, London, N1 2DG
(020 7704 7410; www.inthehouse.biz)
There's been a transformation here. The old Belinda Castle has become The House, and every day brings another accolade. One slice of the wedge-shaped building is given over to white-clothed tables, candles and twinkly lights, the other is a chic and charming bar, with a real fire. The chef is a Marco Pierre White protegée - people travel far for the gutsy modern cooking: try courgette and aubergine fritters, roast bream with trompette mushrooms, braised lentils and basil coulis, or good old shepherd's pie. Save space for afters ... treacle pud, crème brûlée, chocolate parfait. It's Islington-cool and far from hushed, but you could relax with anyone here - or just pop in for a pint of handpumped ale. A treasure.
Meals: 12pm-2.30pm (3.30pm weekends); 5.30pm-10.30pm (6.30pm Saturdays; 9.30pm Sundays). Closed: Monday lunchtimes. Main courses £9.50-£22.50; set menu £12.95 & £14.95.
Anchor & Hope
36 The Cut, Southwark, London, SE1 8LP
(020 7928 9898)
It's been going for less than a year but has already been heaped with praise. Come for some of the plainest yet gutsiest food in London; chefs Jonathan Jones and Harry Lester will be names to watch in the years to come. Harry describes the cooking as 'English bistro' and, give or take the odd exception (a chorizo broth, a melting crème caramel), it is just that. The menu is striking in its simplicity: cockles, Bath chap and pickled onion, devilled kidneys and potato cake or plaice with leeks and herbs. Beer comes from the exemplary Charles Wells brewery, the wine list has 18 by the glass. Staff are eager and youthful; décor, in keeping with the 1930s architecture, is sober and understated. The restaurant glows by candlelight and, at the far corner of the bar is the tiny theatre kitchen where you can watch the stars at work. It is seriously busy and you can't book - avoid peak times!
Meals: 12pm-2.30pm; 6pm-10.30pm. Bar meals served all day. No food Mondays. Closed: Sundays. Main courses from £10.
Wildebeest Arms
82-86 Norwich Road, Stoke Holy Cross, Norwich, Norfolk, NR14 8QJ
(01508 492497)
In the 1990s Henry Watt decided to introduce good food to his country inn - a rarity in the days of starchy pub grub. A decade on, The Wildebeest is one of the most popular dining pubs in Norfolk. The 19th-century building may be no great shakes from the outside, but there's a special atmosphere within. Sympathetically modernised, the central bar is dominated by a cheerful log fire and an African theme matches the pub's name. (A former partner was known variously as 'wild man' and 'beast' ... it's a long story.) Ales include Adnams, there's a good choice of wines by the glass and an interesting list, and the menu is fresh and up-to-the-minute. Who could resist pot-roast duck breast with cocotte potatoes, roasted butternut squash, crispy Alsace lardon and sautéed cabbage with redcurrant jus? Chef Daniel Smith may enjoy a bit of leonine bravura, but he is just as at home with good old favourites like sausage and mash and sticky toffee pudding.
Meals: 12pm-2pm; 7pm-10pm. Closed: 25-26 December. Bookings essential. Main courses £9.95-£18.50; set menu £14.95 (lunch).
The Mole Inn
Toot Baldon, Oxfordshire, OX44 9NG
(01865 340001)
The drunken mole logo reflects the celebratory mood that's been in the air since chef-patron Gary took over. Money and love have been lavished on the old boozer and chalkboard fish specials and daily dishes point to a menu that trawls the globe for inspiration, from Asian salmon fishcakes with aïoli and herbs, to perfect Oxford bangers and mash. Scrumptious puddings, British cheeses, great wines, local Hook Norton ale and happy staff complete the picture. Ten new bedrooms are eagerly awaited.
Meals: 12pm-2.30pm; 7pm-9.30pm; 12pm-9pm Sundays. Main courses £7.95-£17.50.
Olive Branch
Main Street, Clipsham, Rutland, LE15 7PW
(01780 410355; www.theolivebranchpub.com)
There are so many blackboards here that you could be forgiven for thinking that Sean Hope, Ben Jones and Marcus Welford were ex-school teachers, unable to let go. But it is, simply, the most immediate way to list the rare and speciality wines, the cigars and the daily-changing lunches. The Olive Branch is no ordinary pub, for it is one of a tiny handful to be awarded a Michelin star without abandoning its cheerfully relaxed pub personality. The food is not dressy, and the casual mood - derived from a ragbag of bar furniture, closely arranged tables and log-burning fires - is fully intended. Though the menu seems to borrow from every nation, British cooking is still a strong point. Fish and chips, roast rib of beef, cottage pie, potted shrimps, Scotch egg with whisky mayonnaise, egg custard tart - all are revealed in a new and con temporary light. Real ales are taken seriously and the wines are exceptional. There's a sheltered and attractive patio for use in the summer.
Meals: 12pm-2pm (3pm Sundays); 7pm-9.30pm. No food Sunday evenings. Closed: Sunday evenings; December 25-26. Main courses £7.75-£15.95; set menu (lunch) £12.50 & £15.
The Bear & Swan
13 South Parade, Chew Magna, Somerset, BS40 8SL
(01275 331100; www.chewmagna.co.uk)
The area just to the south-west of Bristol is a gastronomic desert, with this pub one of the few oases. It is a Victorian pub in the middle of a pretty, busy village. The Pushman family rescued it from dereliction in 1999 and have created a roomy and airy bar with a damned good restaurant. The floorboards were reclaimed and the stone de-plastered; bay windows hang low and a big log fire blazes in the bar, where it's hard to resist a swift half before eating. Choose from chicken liver parfait with apricot chutney, grilled goat's cheese on smoked salmon, mussel chowder - these are generous, and just the starters. Puddings are delicious: baked Alaska, Chocolate Royale, fruit crumbles with their own jugs of custard. The menu changes daily, food is locally sourced and cooked to order, and there's lots of fresh fish. Caroline Pushman is a delightful hostess, and her staff are very helpful.
Meals: 12pm-2pm; 7pm-10pm. Closed: Sunday evenings. Main courses £4-£17.
The George
The Green, Cavendish, Suffolk, CO10 8BA
(01787 280248; www.georgecavendish.co.uk)
Take an ancient inn on a perfect Suffolk green, decorate in neutral colours, add a dash of art, five delightful bedrooms and a talented chef and you have somewhere 'worth a detour'. The ground floor has a smart country-restaurant feel, with plenty of quiet corners in which to enjoy a pint of Woodforde's Wherry or Nethergate's Augustinian. The bar area leads onto a terrace with heated canopies and more dining tables. Jonathan (once head chef at Conran's Bluebird in Chelsea) and his team can be seen in the open kitchen whipping up modern dishes - tortellini of lobster and truffle, Moroccan spiced lamb rump with stuffed pimento. Service is charming, the wine list soars above most pub efforts, and the bedrooms have pretty views.
Meals: 12pm-3pm; 6pm-10pm; 6.30pm-9.30pm Sun. Closed: Mon January-April. Main courses £4.75-£19.85; set menus £13, £16.50 & £20.
The Jolly Sportsman
Chapel Lane, East Chiltington, Sussex, BN7 3BA
(01273 890400; www.thejollysportsman.com)
Who would imagine, deep in the Sussex countryside, a little place with so much passion for its food and drink? In the stylish restaurant, with its seagrass floor, Venetian blinds and oak tables decorated with flowers and candles, visitors chatter over plates of game pté with onion mar malade or Cornish lobster with salad and potatoes and puddings including spiced pear and almond tart. Pull up a chair in front of the bar's open fire and enjoy winter snifters from an impressive whisky collection or a fine wine from a selected small grower. Outside, ancient trees give shade to rustic tables, and the idyllic garden has a play area for children.
Meals: 12pm-2pm (3pm Sun), 6pm-9.15pm (10pm Fri & Sat). Closed: Sun evenings; Mon; 2.30pm-6pm. Main courses £8.95-£15.85.
The Tollgate Inn
Ham Green, Holt, Nr Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, BA14 6PX
(01225 782326; www.tollgateholt.co.uk)
There's an exceptionally warm, relaxed and convivial atmosphere here, with comfy sofas on rugged quarry tiles and a log-burning stove. Newspapers, magazines and homely touches encourage you to linger over a handpumped pint of Exmoor or a glass of chilled sauvignon. The two dining areas have distinct personalities; downstairs has a traditional appeal, while upstairs, in the former chapel of the weavers who once worked below, is the restaurant with high rafters, a large open fire, the original chapel windows, country furniture and an eclectic décor. Chef Alexander Venables's pedigree shines through in dishes that make the most of top-quality local produce and daily fish from Brixham. The bedrooms, overlooking either the paddock or the weavers' cottages on the village green.
Meals: 12pm-2pm; 7pm-9pm. Closed: Sunday evenings & Mondays. Main courses £10.75-£16.50; set menu £9.95.
Shibden Mill Inn
Shibden Mill, Halifax, Yorkshire, HX3 7UL
(01422 365840; www.shibdenmillinn.com)
There's still a pubby feel to this rambling old inn - although a strong relationship with local suppliers has transformed the place into a first-class brasserie and restaurant. It may be known for its food, but John Smiths, Theakstons and changing guest ales manage to keep real ale fans happy. In summer, the valley setting beside the brook is a beautiful summer drinking spot. Unstuffy integrity lies behind it all, from the front-of-house warmth to Adrian's unpretentious approach in the kitchen. You can sample his take on the traditional - shepherd's pie tart with gravy and peas, aged fillet of beef on the bone - and the modern - warm red mullet and crayfish tails with saffron mayonnaise, or slow-roast pork shank with chorizo sausage, cabbage and potato. The hot cinder toffee soufflé with treacle sauce will make sweet-tooths swoon. Dressing-gowns in the bedrooms, a video library in reception and superb treacle bread, jams and chutneys on sale make this a high-class act.
Meals: 12pm-2pm; 6pm-9.30pm; 12pm-7.30pm Sundays. Closed: 2.30pm-5.30pm Monday-Saturday. Main courses £5.95-£14.50.
The Star Inn Harome, Helmsley, Yorkshire, YO62 5JE
(01439 770397; www.thestaratharome.co.uk)
Andrew and Jacquie arrived in 1996, baby daughters Daisy and Tilly not long after, and the Michelin star in 2002. It's been a formidable turnaround given that the 14th-century inn had an 'iffy' local reputation when they arrived. Andrew's food is rooted in Yorkshire tradition, refined with French flair and written in plain English on ever-changing menus: try fresh Whitby crab and plum tomato salad, tail fillet of beef with braised shin, baked ginger parkin, British cheeses. There's a bar with a log fire and a Sunday papers-and-pint feel. Bedrooms are a stroll away; the largest has its own snooker table. There's also the Mousey Thompson bar, a roof mural, an organic deli and an enchanting loft in the eaves to which you may retreat for after-dinner coffee.
Meals: 11.30pm-2pm; 6.30pm-9.30pm. No food Sunday & Monday evenings. Closed: Monday lunchtimes. Main courses (bar) £8.95-£16.95.
Harbourmaster Hotel
Pen Cei, Aberaeron, Ceredigion, SA46 0BA
(01545 570755; www.harbour-master.com)
Like a butterfly from a chrysalis, an old spit-and-sawdust pub has metamorphosed into a smart hotel with bar and restaurant. The accolades that have followed are entirely justified: Glyn and Menna Heulyn's dedication to all that is best about Wales shines forth. Among the jolly Georgian frontages on the bay, the Harbourmaster's is an unmissable blue. Inside you find a space that's cosy but cool: soft shades, a curving bar, an open fire, solid blocked-oak tables. In the restaurant, daily menus are studded with the best local produce: Carmarthan ham, Shirgar butter, Talybont jams, free-range eggs, organic leaves, oceans of fish. The young chef is a dab hand at chargrilled Welsh Black beef with square-cut chips and watercress sauce, perfect grilled trout, raspberry and yogurt bavarois and passion fruit coulis. Then up the listed spiral stair to bedrooms with harbour views and cosy minimalism where you have all you need, from powerful showers to CDs. Come for lobster boats at lunch, twinkling harbour lights at dinner, real ale, well-chosen wines and dazzling service. Splendid coastal walks are at the door, there are dolphins in the bay and beaches a short drive away.
Meals: 12pm-2pm; 6-30pm-9pm. Closed: Sunday evenings; Monday lunchtimes. Main courses £9.50-£16.50.
Penhelig Arms Hotel
Aberdyfi,Gwynedd, LL35 0LT
(01654 767215; www.penheligarms.com)
You may fall in love with the Penhelig and wake up in the dead of night wishing you were there. The magnificent Dyfi estuary can inspire awe in the fiercest storm or lie like a millpond under the full moon. It's a place to share with someone special, such is the hospitality shown by the Hughes family and their staff. In front is the tiniest harbour, whence you can still set sail for Anglesey, while along the quay come the fishermen, butchers, bakers and various smallholders who deliver their daily produce to Jane's kitchen. Her seemingly inexhaustible menus are updated every session to reflect what's wettest and freshest that day. At white-clothed tables you may feast on mediterranean fish soup, plaice with a buttery prawn velouté sauce, chargrilled leg of Welsh lamb steak with roast vegetables, panna cotta with fresh fruit. Soup and sandwiches are the staples of the pub bar, extra-cosy with its central log fire; on sunnier days they'll serve you at your chosen spot astride the harbour wall. Robert is in charge 'of the ales and wines only' - but all are impeccably chosen and in the right spirit. And the bedrooms have sea views.
Meals: 12pm-2pm; 7pm-9pm. Main courses £2.75-£22.
· This is an extract from Alastair Sawday's brilliant new pub guide. To order Alastair Sawday's Pubs & Inns of England & Wales (£13.99) for £11.99 plus p&p, call the Observer Book Service on 0870 836 0885
