Guy Awford made his name at the Inside bistro (now closed) before decamping to this likeable three-storey pub with its sunken garden, wedge-shaped bar and dapper first-floor dining room. ‘Downstairs’ is handy for real ales and pub grub (pulled pork buns, sausage and mash, Sunday roasts), but ‘Upstairs’ is the place if you’re after “consummate cooking” delivered by a “polished, professional” team. Awford has devised a stonking menu (Wed-Sat D only) that shows real invention, creativity and a feel for the seasons: one reader was bowled over by a “wonderfully balanced” baked potato broth with pheasant, but the line-up might run from crab with charred hispi cabbage, seashore leaves and bergamot-pickled dulse (seaweed) to guinea fowl with parsnip, wild greens and Pennypot cider. Puddings such as a combo of pear, Douglas fir, buttermilk and meringue also set out to “amaze”. Very friendly, knowledgeable staff get the nod too.