It may be owned by TV chef Mike Robinson, but this ancient, brick-built hostelry’s biggest draw is the foraged, shot & home-grown produce drawn from the surrounding countryside. Chef Jonathan Taylor has revitalised the cooking: venison (shot by Mike himself) might come as pavé with an intense little ‘shooter’s’ pie or as blood-red carpaccio on toast slathered with bone marrow, alongside a gooey-centred venison Scotch egg. The famous wood pigeon salad now includes salt-baked Jerusalem artichokes & pickled mushrooms, partridge benefits from smoked cauliflower & garden plums, while the likes of tarte Tatin with hazelnut parfait ensure similar standards come dessert. In all, it’s pretty creative stuff. Chirpy staff keep things rolling along efficiently, & the rumbustious locals’ bar prevents any descent into all-out gastropub excess – especially when there’s Berkshire ale to be had, brewed barely a country lane away.