Canbury Arms, The

Alan Sherlock (24 July 2009)

Have you seen the new breakfast menu at The Canbury Arms? When you purchase a drink, free toast, butter, jam and honey are yours! There is even a toaster so you can produce the exact shade of incinerate you require. There are always newspapers available and whilst you sip your coffee and your toast is cooking, the aromas of gently grilled bacon will drift towards you, just one element of a full English breakfast, veggie option available. Perfect poached eggs will pass you on their way to another table and you will look again at the menu and start choosing, there is no going back now. The coffee is hitting the spot; you have already grumbled at least two items in the paper, when suddenly that magic word shatters your peace, service! Lay your paper down and enjoy your choice. Even the toaster bleeps so you will not have to jump up and down to monitor its progress. All this in a quiet, spacious, comfortable hideaway that is even open at weekends. Can it get any better? Just don't tell anyone.

Jonathan Fresco (30 April 2008)

I heard good things about the food at The Canbury Arms, but was pleasantly surprised at how good it actually was. The tables are ranged around the bar, which creates an intimate feel. The fresh flowers, muted modern decor and smiling staff add to the chilled out ambience. I was entertaining a colleague, a food lover, and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the menu and wine list. We plumped for a Lebanese mezze plate and courgette blossom pea, and Manchego risotto to start. The service was brisk, the ingredients were fresh, and the food was beautifully prepared. My colleague declared the risotto as 'melt-in-the-mouth delicious'. For the main course, I had the salmon, pollock and dill fish cakes with chips, and he chose the Scotch ribeye, onion rings and peppercorn butter. Both the dishes looked and tasted amazing. The fishcakes were huge and although it broke my heart, I just couldn't finish them. We finished with a bottle of Shiraz-Malbec from the well thought-out wine list. The bill was reasonable, well below London prices and the whole experience exceeded my expectations.