The Victoria Oxshott
(Picture: Lateef Photography)What’s better than a day trip out of London? A day trip out of London that involves slap-up pub grub is what.
Luckily, we’re spoiled for choice with top-notch foodie pubs within easy reach of the capital — two hours or less from to be exact.
So we’ve searched and eaten our way around town to bring you a comprehensive list of the very best.
The Sportsman, Whitstable
Unassuming from the outside this “grotty boozer by the sea” (as chef-patron Stephen Harris once termed it) has become a top destination for foodies. The pub, whose previous menus have included delights such as braised brill fillet with mussel and bacon tartare, has been crowned first place on the Top 50 Gastropubs list in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2021 as well as having a Michelin star. It only offers one menu — a five-course tasting menu — which is put together day to day and has an emphasis on local ingredients and seasonal dishes. Puddings include the likes of Bramley Apple Soufflé with Vanilla Ice Cream - yum.
Price: £70 per person for tasting menu
Sussex Pass, Wadhurst, East Sussex
Only 52 mins from London Bridge, this gem of a pub also champions local produce including delicious Sussex sparkling wine and local gin. Menu highlights include starters of smoked cheddar and leek chowder, a chicken croquette with apple and bacon and for main LongHorn sharing steaks with pink peppercorn sauce and daily changing market fish.
Price: £80 for two with wine
The Three Horseshoes, Thursley, Surrey
An hour from London, this beautiful country pub in the Surrey Hills boasts some banging wood-fired oven pizzas and incredible roasts with locally reared meats. It also has a huge garden that sits right on the border of the Thursley Nature Reserve, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty so there are stunning views.
Price: £70 for two with wine
Hind’s Head, Bray
Heston Blumenthal’s Michelin-starred pub in Bray is just over an hour from Paddington station. Expect classic Heston nostalgia such as his take on Quavers for a snack and then enjoy mains such as mushroom macaroni, Cornish rack of lamb and Hereford beef with bone marrow sauce. For pud, the pineapple cheesecake with cream cheese mousse, basil and caramelised pineapple is a winner.
Price: £150 for two with wine
Fordwich Arms, Canterbury
Located in Fordwich, the smallest town in Britain, is this sensational Michelin-starred restaurant which is number seven in the Top 50 Gastropub list. Chef-patron Daniel Smith was voted The Observer’s Young Chef of the Year 2016 and sources local Kentish ingredients from nearby farms and producers. To begin, enjoy some Maldon rock oysters or pigs cheeks with lardo, cracked what and prune and for main the roast lamb saddle with confit breast and nettle and purple sprouting broccoli. There is also not one but two vegetarian menus which is pretty cool.
Price: £140 for two with wine
Galvin Green Man, Chelmsford
This Bib Gourmand British pub from the brothers behind London’s Galvin Bistrot de Luxe and Galvin La Chapelle is set in a gorgeous building dating back to 1341 in the luscious Essex countryside. Tuck into elevated classics such as Great Garnetts scotch egg, pickled apple, parsley & mustard emulsion to start and Wood roasted breast of Suffolk chicken, buttered leeks, trompettes, pommes anna & madeira jus for main.
Price: £100 for two with wine
Bottle & Glass Inn, Henley-on-Thames
A proper pub with a thatched roof just a short drive out of Henley, the Bottle and Glass Inn offers hearty dishes such as Fallow deer venison haunch, chorizo and cabbage puree, potato terrine, roasted artichoke & red wine jus or half grilled lobster with garlic butter, caesar salad side and skinny fries. For dessert of course there’s an Eton mess (with sumac roasted strawberries) and a classic sticky toffee pudding with medjool date, toffee sauce and honeycomb ice cream.
Price: £90 for two with wine
The Hand & Flowers, Marlow, Buckinghamshire
The king of all foodie pubs, Tom Kerridge’s Hand and Flowers in Marlow has a huge waiting list and two Michelin stars for a reason. Mains change regularly but include showstopper dishes such as “Fish du Jour” Cooked in Lobster Oil with Lobster, Dill & Artichoke Tart, Sweet Lemon Purée and Shellfish Bisque or West Country Chicken, Mushroom & Pistachio "Pie" with Girolles, Broad Beans and Sauce Vin Jaune and incredible puddings such as The Hand & Flowers Chocolate & Ale Cake with Pedro Ximenez and Rebellion Beer Ice Cream. A la carte isn’t cheap but there is a very reasonable set lunch for £46.50 for three courses.
Price: £250 for two with wine
The Drumming Snipe, Woking
Having met working at The Ivy in London chefs James Lyon and Jamie Dobbin decided to leave the big city to open up this brilliant British pub in the picturesque village of Mayford. There’s lots of British fish on the menu such as Fowey Bay mussels, white wine, garlic and cream, triple cooked chips and Chalkstream trout, cabbage and shrimp slaw, seaweed butter and crispy shallots. For a classic pud try the apple tarte tatin for two with mead custard.
Price: £85 for two with wine
The Swan Inn, Esher, Surrey
Didn’t know José Pizarro had a gastropub in the charming Surrey town of Esher? Well you do now and it’s worth a visit. Unlike his traditional tapas bar in Bermondsey you can also have a Spanish brunch with cava and a Sunday roast with a twist - roast Spanish duroc loin of pork with Yorkshire pudding, honey and pimentón, cabbage with donostiarra and chard with orange.
Price: Brunch £18.95 per person
The Victoria Oxshott, Leatherhead, Surrey
Run by Matt Larcombe, former head chef of Heston’s gastropub The Crown at Bray, this charming pub has some seriously tasty food on the menu. It recently received a glowing review by restaurant critic Grace Dent who said the beef wellington was ‘almost certainly the finest I will eat in this lifetime’. For pudding the ‘Marathon bar’ with aerated chocolate and roasted peanuts is widely raved about.
Price: £100 for two with wine
The Rose Inn, Canterbury
Formerly of St John, chef Billy Stock is all about creating a ‘no-nonsense, rustic and simple’ menu that lets the produce shine through. Example dishes (the menu changes daily) include caponata on olive toast to start; skate, monksbeard & blood orange for main and turon rice pudding & pistachio ice cream for pudding.
Price: £85 for two with wine
The Wild Rabbit, Kingham, Oxfordshire
In the picturesque (and posh) town of Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds is The Wild Rabbit, an off-shoot of Daylesford Organic that boasts a menu full of produce from the brand such as the Daylesford Blue panna cotta, broccoli velouté, candied walnut and bitter leaves to start and the herb crusted Daylesford Organic lamb saddle, wet garlic, chervil glazed carrot, glazed shoulder and pecorino salad for main. Of course, it’s in a gorgeous Cotswold stone building and there are nice rooms you can stay in too.
Price: £140 for two with wine
The Kentish Hare, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Currently number 12 on the Top 50 Gastropubs list, The Kentish Hare in Kent is from brothers Chris and James Tanner who’ve been in the restaurant business for more than 20 years. Drawing on fresh, seasonal and local ingredients dishes have included courgette and pea risotto with ricotta, toasted hazelnuts and Côte de boeuf with beef supplied from the award-winning Philip Warren butchers Launceston.
Price: £100 for two with wine
The Bell Inn, Langford, Oxfordshire
Near the beautiful Cotswold town of Burford, this pub by Peter Creed and Tom Noest focuses on ‘good simple pub food with a straightforward wine list, spirits and beer selection’. There are classic dishes like chicken Milanese and steak frites and rice pudding with plum jam for pud. There’s also a wood-fired pizza oven and a delicious sounding pizza menu including toppings such as chilli and fennel sausage, turnip tops and mozzarella.
Price: £75 for two with wine
The Dog at Wingham, Wingham, Kent
Head chef Samuel McClurkin was named Best Young Pub Chef of the Year at the Great British Pub Awards 2021 and competed on MasterChef the Professionals and at The Dog in Kent is especially celebrated for his lobster raviolo served with buttered leeks and bisque espuma. Other menu highlights have included pan fried cod with buttered beans, watercress, lemon verbena and basil beurre blanc.
Price: £100 for two with wine
The Withies Inn, Compton, Surrey
Proper, unfussy cooking with lots of seafood on the menu, The Withies Inn is a hit with the locals and people travelling from further afield. Highlights include a classic prawn cocktail to start, the crab and salmon fishcakes with homemade tartare sauce to follow or a good, hearty steak, kidney and mushroom pie.
Price: £75 for two with wine
