Our inspectors had a ‘quick, easy, helpful’ check-in at this ‘smart and immaculate’ honeyed-stone gastropub with rooms, and were shown to a ‘decent-sized’, pink-painted room with a super-king-size bed, a small shower room. ‘Care had gone into the decoration. The bedhead fabric was embroidered with giant roses and butterflies, matching the curtains.' A four-poster suite has a large, pretty bathroom with roll-top bath and walk-in power shower. In the busy restaurant ‘dinner was delightful’, with special praise for ‘succulent garlic cream mussels'; seared guinea fowl with pea and asparagus risotto, Parma ham crisp, tarragon jus. Desserts were ‘even better than anticipated’. In the breakfast room with log burner, owner Alex Morbey ‘very cheerfully’ served pastries and a full vegetarian with 'excellent sausages'. A gravelled front terrace and lawned garden make inviting spaces for outdoor drinking.