This pleasant looking 400-year-old, rural inn overlooking the village green is a well-known bolthole within the region, and for good reason. It all comes together seamlessly: a perfect, prettily planted garden for summer alfresco while within there’s flagstone floors, beams, inglenook, chunky wooden tables, blackboard menus, & ale brewed in the nextdoor village on handpump. Add in amazing food, charming but professional service & an excellent wine list covering classic as well as on-trend grapes and regions (with many modestly priced bottles), and you have a winner. As far as the cooking is concerned, everything is in the execution, the freshness, the flavour, with much emphasis put upon local supplies. When you see goat’s cheese Welsh rarebit that’s exactly what you get, the beef, ale & mustard pie is a classic, or you could have chargrilled 8oz ribeye with mustard & chive butter, or venison stew with horseradish dumplings.
On our latest visit, whitebait or spiced kofta for starters, and roast pork loin and crackling, and a butternut squash, chickpea and courgette tagine with bulgur wheat were all cooked to the highest standard, while battered haddock and chips was equally delicious (with the lightest of fresh batter).
The three bedrooms upstairs offer quality and value for money that knocks the spots off nearby country house hotels. Add in some magical local walks around Ilmington, with views stretching as far as Birmingham, and it's no wonder Sunday lunches are booked months in advance.