Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

One of the more depressing aspects of reviewing restaurants is that when you stumble across a hitherto undetected winner, you know that you are slitting your own throat as, in the course of duty you expose its virtues to the world at large. Lest this seem presumptuous, believe me it happens.

Completely unassuming, the Three Crowns has to be one of the finds of the year. Run by chef, Brent Castle and his wife, you know instinctively as you enter the understated interior that they have it right. Money has been spent where it matters, on the production of good food, and a tureen of artichoke soup with wild mushrooms, or a terrine of ham knuckle and foie gras that comes with a quenelle of pease pudding set the scene with quiet emphasis.

Local game and produce makes regular appearances and the venison is presented with braised cabbage and chestnut and bacon and pear tart. Black pudding hash cake may have escaped your culinary adventuring until now, but think hash brown and you won't be far away. It could, like its sibling, go with most anything, but here it accompanies a pork chop, nicely complimented with a creamy mustard sauce. Fish is by no means absent, for example the brill is united with local cider in the oven and served with a mussel and mushroom sauce.

The set lunch will cost you all of £12.95 for two courses and a decent, well-proportioned, three-course dinner around £30. Wine from the very adequate list starts with house at £14. This really is a place to make a date with before the tide engulfs.

Tucked away on the Homend and a short walk from Ledbury's grand old Market House is The Seven Stars, originally built in the 16th century and reputedly the oldest inn in town. After a serious fire largely destroyed it in 2001, the Grade II listed coaching inn was painstakingly brought back to its original glory and once again offers guests a true taste of English hospitality.

The interior that has been updated to make diners feel comfortable still exudes an unmistakable traditional charm that helps it hold hands with the building's half-timbered cream exterior and red-tiled roof.

Owners Paul and Nikki Baker offer simple, homemade British dishes that are created from prime local produce and rare-breed meats. Both locals and visitors enjoy the food and relax over a range of beers, cider, wines and spirits.

Three oak beamed ensuite bedrooms at The Seven Stars, which include a double and two family rooms, offer guests a chance to stay a night or two in Ledbury.

Tucked away in the heart of rural Herefordshire, Verzon House is a charming refuge that made a humble beginning as a farmhouse in 1790. The world has changed much in more than two-hundred-years of the hotel's existence but the views it offers over an unspoilt country landscape stretching as far as the Malvern Hills are as pretty as they were years before.

Features such as original cornices, an inlaid staircase and open fireplaces appear alongside modern ensuite bedrooms that are refurbished to a high standard. The hotel's Brasserie welcomes guests with its magnificent Victorian fireplace and earthy colours. Noteworthy is the fact that everything from the bread to the rosemary roasted nuts is made in house. European and modern British dishes all created from locally sourced produce could consist of ravioli of salmon, crab and lobster with tarragon and chive sauce, and a rack of Peter's pork spare ribs roasted in his special sauce with pilau rice and shrimp.

Stop by at The Mulberry Bar for an enjoyable pint of Wye Valley Ale or a light lunch.

A fully licensed Farmhouse Restaurant and Bar set in a traditional 400 year old barn at the foot of the Black Mountains; it is run by Pauline and Philip Goodwin and the rest of their family, who all live and work on the farm, so they always guarantee to give a warm welcome to every one of their visitors.

They use naturally reared meats from their working family farm and the freshest of local vegetables, with these they prepare delicious farmhouse recipes. What a wonderful way to enjoy the stunning landscape and scenery in the comfort of their restaurant with a good meal, a decent glass of wine and excellent service.

Mains include home produced meats such as their pork chop with local cider sauce and rosemary lamb chops, while locals enjoy their Haywood beef and onion pie, starters and puddings are all homemade as well.