Hare & Hounds

You shouldn't haven any trouble finding the Hare & Hounds, standing as it does beside the old Fosse Way, close to the Roman town of Cirencester. Built of mellow Cotswold stone, the inn comes complete with flagstone floors and original fireplaces with built-in bread ovens. You can eat in one of the interconnecting dining rooms with their rustic-chic feel, or in the lovely orangery or the garden. Chef-proprietor Gerry Ragosa makes everything on the modern British menu himself, including the bread and ice cream. Start with pan-fried medallions of monkfish served with lemongrass, garlic, lime and chill dressing, before setting about a main course of fillet of Gloucestershire Old Spot pork on a bed of spring onion and garlic mash with an apricot and white wine sauce. Dessert could be damson and frangipane tart with vanilla custard.