Rose and Crown, The

After a heady, but alas! all too brief an entry into the new Millennium when the place was receiving rave reviews, the Rose and Crown became threatened with development. Enter Martin Burgess, ironically a property developer who, out of pure self interest (he says), decided he could not bear to lose his local and transformed it into a gastropub. If that description sits ill with some people rest assured that it has been done well and its renaissance seems to meet with general approval. The décor verges on the sensuous and for those who loathe the clickerty-clack of heels the oak floors are not welcome news.

The menu changes monthly and could include a ballotine of duck with kumquat chutney, a fillet of seabass with pea veloute or a button mushroom risotto. Puddings perhaps do not have quite the same degree of flair but they meet the need and could be a banana tarte tatin, a duo of crème brûlées or a fruit salad in a Pimms syrup with mango sorbet. Service is of a very high standard, somebody has clearly gone to the trouble of really training people who take a pride in what they do.