Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire is heroically lovely, but it does have about it a heavy whiff of the Hot Fuzz. It’s a market town with a nearby model village, while the “best things to do” section on TripAdvisor highlights the cemetery or a trip to the former residence of writer GK Chesterton. If all that fails to thrill, you could just go for lunch at the pub – although be aware that the Greyhound isn’t anything as simple as a plain old gastropub. Heck no, that would be something completely different: more shabbily chic, more carbohydrates on the menu, fewer staff calling you “Madam” while you’re en route to the loo and not even a hint of white peach granita on your burrata starter.
Rather, this is a charming, pale-fronted pub in a grade II 17th-century former coaching inn that also boasts a decidedly fancy and swanky restaurant that steers well away from muddy wellies and sticky toffee pudding, and instead pitches its tent in the land of wood pigeon with white beetroot and lavender, Norfolk chicken pressé with pickled girolles and sweetcorn, and ajo blanco with grapes, cantaloupe melon and nasturtium. And, to be fair, it might well not be for everyone. Gourmands, birthday treats and special occasions, perhaps, but picky children and Aunty Pam who just wants toad-in-the-hole might find the semi-formality a bit testing.
