Hinds Head

Heston Blumenthal is famous for his questing mind, always looking restlessly around for culinary enlightenment, and while his Fat Duck next door is celebrated for its futuristic take on gastronomy, the Hinds Head travels back in time in a search for Britain's culinary roots. As far as settings go, you couldn't ask for a more heritage feel than the Tudor oak panelling and beams in the 15th-century royal hunting lodge, which combine with real fires and comfy leather seats in a perfect pub setting. Top-class ingredients are the basis of no-nonsense, gutsy dishes, kicking off with the likes of ham hock and foie gras terrine with piccalilli, before moving on to mains that smack of Old England: oxtail and kidney pudding, shepherd's pie with lamb breast and sweetbreads, or steaks with bone marrow sauce and Heston's renowned triple-cooked chips. Pedigree puddings could bring on rhubarb trifle or banana Eton mess.