A lively small country hotel with a dining room that must pull them in from a wide area. Dishes derive from the classic French to modern English. Watching the sun set over Downside Abbey you could ponder the relative attractions of a warm salad of black pudding and sauté potatoes topped with truffle dressing and poached egg or a forest mushroom and smoked bacon pastry tower served with brandy cream sauce. The local beef comes into play with pan fried fillet cooked as you like it and napped with a rich sauce of smoked oysters and basil, or take a broader view and enjoy the Ring o' Roses mixed grill, truly a medley of meat.

The choice of desserts after the sort of meal one you are likely to enjoy before you reach that point is, to put it mildly, daunting. Combine that with the selection which confronts lovers of cheese and there really is no contest - Dorset blue vinney and Welsh Harleth to name but two. Formality is minimal but you may find yourself at a better table if you are wearing jacket and tie. House wine is £9.25.