Thatched Tavern, The

In amongst all the moneyed splendour of a very well heeled area is this 17th century, semi-thatched building with stone-flagged floors, glowing fires and low beams, redolent of a bucolic past. Even in the 1700s it was a well known landmark and it is said that Queen Victoria's Royal Carriage was sometimes seen outside, while John Brown was fortifying himself inside before his onward journey to Windsor Castle!

The cuisine is straight down the line, offered at affordable prices with cheerfulness and efficiency. Dishes such as homemade beef stew and dumplings, sausages and mash, and steak and kidney pudding appear on tables in the bar while in the restaurant you could find smoked ham, chorizo and chicken terrine wrapped in bacon, baked fillet of salmon with creamed leeks, and oven roasted rack of venison with crushed potatoes and a cherry kirsch sauce.

The Tavern regularly hosts wine tastings and gourmet evenings.