Queen’s Arms Hotel

This stylishly remodelled inn (with boutique-style bedrooms) set in the Lambourn Valley draws locals & out-of-towners with its populist roster of straightforward modern British dishes. Expect classics such as fish & chips or Donald Russell rib-eye steak (served with the usual trimmings of roast tomato, mushroom, hand-cut chips & béarnaise), or roast cod accompanied by samphire & a tomato & herb butter sauce. Desserts such as banana split or rhubarb fool are very much in the comfort zone. Though it’s a thoroughly modern opened-up space, there are traditional trappings thanks to a plethora of old prints & period furniture. Stable mate to Hampshire’s Peat Spade Inn near Stockbridge & The Anchor Inn at Lower Froyle.