Category Archive: Pubs

Dining pubs, gastropubs

Review: The Beacon, Tunbridge Wells

Not everything about our three courses at The Beacon was perfect, or likely to be particularly memorable. But I’m not too bothered because it was an absolute bloody pleasure to sit by the open fire and just soak up the (completely concocted and utterly brilliant) atmosphere of this majestic Victorian pub on the outskirts of …

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Review: The Hare & Billet, Blackheath

Chicken is almost always at the bottom of my menu choices. It’s just… chicken. I sometimes get the feeling chefs put it on the menu with a big implicit label: “For Nervous Diners! The Safe Option!” because it tends to get put on a plate with some fairly boring accompaniments too. Then of course sometimes …

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Review: The Drunken Duck, Ambleside

The Lake District is bloody glorious. It’s without doubt the most beautiful corner of England (and I’ve been to all the corners) and more and more it’s also got plenty of fantastic places to eat. But food aside, you need to get up into the fells. You can head up onto mighty Helvellyn or Scafell …

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Review: The Milestone, Sheffield

Sheffield. Medium-big industrial city on the edge of the Peak District. I can report that the middle of Sheffield is really quite handsome, worthy of a few hours wandering. And that a twenty minute drive will have you among some of the most beautiful hills in England. Where it seems to fall a tad short …

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Review: Horse and Groom, Bourton-on-the-Hill

The Cotswolds are positively awash with gastropubs. You’re surely no more than fifteen minutes drive from a Harden’s entry no matter where you are around here. Having not had a Sunday lunch out for a while, we decided to check out yet another one; the Horse and Groom, perched up in Bourton-on-the-Hill. It’s certainly a …

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