Snooty Fox, The

First the sad news, the former Landlord went to jail when health inspectors allegedly found a piece of mouldy ham in his kitchen, and, as a result of ill health, he had to sell the Snooty Fox.

Now the good news, Clive Dixon, who also owns Tavern on the Green, has bought it and wrought some real improvements mainly to the culinary side without spoiling the slightly old fashioned, but comfortably so, look of the place.

Tracey MacLeod of The Independent enjoyed her lunch there: "The main courses were faultless. A generous span of impeccably moist skate-wing came roasted to a crisp, golden finish. Barnsley chop - a double lamb chop served on the bone - was an outstandingly full-flavoured piece of meat, pink inside and topped with a little crown of its own fat. We weren't so sure, though, about the "fat chips" they sounded great, but in practice, had a disappointing ratio of flabby interior to surface crunch.

There's no such thing as a bad hot chocolate fondant, and when Hoppy declared that the Snooty Fox version reminded her of our school chocolate pudding, I knew she could offer no higher praise. My lemon polenta cake was a warm and springy delight. "IT'S FROM SALLY CLARKE!" yelled a voice from the kitchen area as I tucked in. One of the chefs, apparently giddy with excitement at the end of his shift, had decided to make his presence felt."