Brown and Forrest

Brown and Forrest is in a converted cider barn and a very good conversion it makes. The smokery part of the operation continues, and it would be a hard man who did not fall to the charms of the smoked eels, exposed over a smoking bed of beech and apple wood, with a rich, indulgent taste. More recently a simple restaurant has been included in the complex, so as often as not the eels come still slightly warm from the smokehouse.

The menu is simple, about three choices per course, and it changes daily. A typical day could include smoked eel on rye bread, smoked salmon pate, home made carrot and orange soup, or Parma ham with figs, followed by hot smoked salmon steak, smoked chicken mango, smoked loin of pork or smoked eel.

The golden syrup bread and butter pudding is renowned, or there's tropical pavlova, strawberry freeze, lemon and ginger tart, or cheese and biscuits, sadly none of it smoked - yet.

The local brew appears to be a concoction made from apple juice and cider brandy, called Kingston Black, which at 18% needs to be treated with discretion.