White Hart, The

The White Hart was once a country pub - does this sound familiar - but now the great gastro has hit it, and it fairly buzzes with activity. It is no use bemoaning the loss of old traditional pubs to the gastro movement - "it's the economy, stupid", but a twinge of regret is in order. Far better to make the best of what the gastro movement is doing to improve old run-down or redundant premises, and enjoy them.

The White Hart has certainly been re-invented and the familiar sort of menu that used to belong mostly to brasseries has been installed. The menu divides into five sections, starters, divine salads, divine classics, side dishes and puddings and most of the usual suspects are there. Staffing is good and there is a business like wine list.

I find that one of the less admirable features of gastropubs is their ability to seamlessly extract larger quantities of money from the pockets of their customers than those same customers had expected to have extracted, often exceeding the amounts they would pay for a similarly construed meal in a more traditional restaurant. The White Hart is no exception to this trend and produces good quality food that can be really enjoyed.