Kings Arms Litton

A garden by a stream provides produce for the kitchen, & the interior is a hymn to the pleasures of the country pub. It’s all there – great ales, bare floors, beamed ceilings & the smell of wood-smoke from real fires. But that’s only half the story. Tucked behind the rambling bars is a classy restaurant, its pale walls hung with monochrome photographs. The cooking, too, is traditional-with-class: expect one foot in the 21st century, the other in Mrs Beeton. Rustic home-baked breads are arrayed on a farmhouse table, & starters might be a plate of smoked fish or melting goats’ cheese with roasted peppers & balsamic. After that, maybe a helping of linguine with Cornish crab & chilli or sirloin steak with excellent chips, punchy peppercorn sauce & mushrooms oozing savoury juices. Desserts such as pink rhubarb trifle topped with ginger ice-cream have a comforting whiff of nostalgia.