Midlands Restaurant Guide

Conveniently placed for a visit to Chatsworth House, this enchanting hotel is set in ten acres of beautifully landscaped grounds and gardens by the banks of the River Derwent, with glorious views of the Derbyshire countryside all around.

Rowsley, Rowsley, Derbyshire

A top-class refurb of a has-been country boozer, the Greene Oak was named after its location - a clearing in Windsor Forest that marks the site of an ancient Saxon battlefield.

Oakley Green, Windsor, Berkshire

In rolling countryside between Loughborough and Melton Mowbray, Hammer & Pincers is a seriously updated village pub that's making a strong impact with its good looks and fine food.

5 East Road, Wymeswold, Leicestershire

Originally a pair of eighteenth-century brick-and-flint cottages down a country lane and later a drinker's den, the Bricklayers Arms at Flaunden is now a fully-fledged pub/restaurant that attracts crowds from far and wide.

Hogpits Bottom, Flaunden, Hertfordshire

Billed as a 'village pub and dining room', the Tilbury is the latest offering from Paul Bloxham – a well known figure on the Hertfordshire restaurant scene who puts his faith in local and regional produce.

Watton Road, Datchworth, Hertfordshire

Built during the sixteenth century, The Black Boy Inn is a gem of a country pub nestling on the edge of the village of Milton, next to the local church.

Milton, Banbury, Oxfordshire

Once the Georgian country seat of Lord Mountbatten, Sopwell House is now an auspicious hotel, business venue and spa set in 12 acres of delightful gardens not far from St Albans.

Cottonmill Lane, St Albans, Hertfordshire

Arguably Bedfordshire's most auspicious building, Moggerhanger Park is a meticulously renovated Grade I-listed Georgian mansion set in 33 acres of parkland originally landscaped by Humphrey Repton.

Park Road, Moggerhanger, Bedfordshire

A village hideaway in the heart of Goring on Thames, The Miller of Mansfield, a sixteenth-century, creeper-clad hostelry is now reaping the benefits of a serious makeover and what was once a local coaching inn has been transformed into a contemporary bar restaurant with stylish, individually designed bedrooms.

High Street, Goring on Thames, Oxfordshire

The 'Cliveden experience' is etched with heritage and history, beginning when this most aristocratic of country houses was built in 1666.

Cliveden House, Cliveden, Berkshire