Here’s a gastropub to put Bedford on the culinary map. Choose a table near the fireplace on a cold winter evening, or outside on the terrace when the sun shines – the food and drink offering at this notable pub will be likeable either way. The menu touts a familiar array of gastro standards: steaks, bangers and mash, fish and chips, but portions are hearty and the cooking’s excellent. Each dish is matched with wine from the list, but the more adventurous may choose the craft beer pairing, which suggests Banana Bread Beer with baked camembert, Burning Gold with sautéed tiger prawns and Double Chocolate Stout with pickled peach salad. If the drinks list leads you astray, you can always spend the night in one of the boutique-style bedrooms upstairs.