Category Archives: gastro pub

Duke of Wellington East Horsley

A re-imagined gastro pub with a creative menu and wine list, fantastic service and stylish décor, just a ten minute drive from Guildford. Expect delicious food, regular events such as live music, themed dinners and local socials for neighbours.

When I was invited to try the menu at this pub, which is part of the Peach Group I didn’t hesitate. With just two pubs in their growing collection in Surrey their portfolio includes another eighteen (many of them recently acquired) and all in market towns such as Oxford, Warwick and Birmingham. The other Surrey location is The Richard Onslow in Cranleigh, and it’s a favourite of mine .

Since I have lived in Guildford this pub had been crying out for new lease of life. It was a pretty run down and then it was reinvented with a BBQ themed menu. Poor reviews and a very American BBQ menu kept most of us away. Then in 2016 Peach took over. This is a business with a solid understanding of what ingredients you need to make a pub successful. They set to work and with a refurbished interior, creative menu with a mix of traditional and contemporary dishes on the seasonal menu and customers started to roll back in. Add to this a mix of local and imported beers, wines, spirits and real ales and the customer magnet has been switched back on.

What really sets this business aside is the staff, welcoming, helpful and professional its a totally refreshing element of the on site experience. In addition they all seem to really enjoy their jobs in an industry that is well known for long hours and low pay. Its no surprise that out of the ten awards on their website that five are for their employment practices. The Sunday Times ranked them at forty-five in their top 100 companies to work for last year.

The food here is fresh, beautifully presented from ingredients sourced locally and nationally. Head Chef Nic Baba embraces the seasons and although I ate from the spring menu the current summer menu ticks all the boxes too. They share the same core values of healthy eating (an important ethos on the menu) so expect to find plenty of fresh vegetables with your meal too. Sharing boards, hearty salads, extras to add to customise your plate and daily specials form the menu style here. Meat is from top butchers Aubrey Allen who also supply free-range chicken, Cornish lamb and free-range pork from Jimmy Butler. Known as the butcher to the stars you know that poultry, beef and pork here is going to be top notch.

We kicked off our meal with a modern take on a retro prawn cocktail and some ham croquettes served with a spiced tomato chutney. The cocktail was layered for effect and the combination of guacamole, prawns, tomato salsa and crunchy lettuce paired with some crunchy tortilla was delicious (an idea I have since copied for entertaining). The croquettes arrived piping hot with a spicy tomato chutney and local Secretts salad leaves. Crunchy on the outside and creamy and smoky in the middle it was the perfect start to our meal. Mains included pan-fried sea bass on a generous stack of new potatoes and tender stem broccoli and a super food salad with a extra of poached salmon. The fish was fresh and crispy ( source from Brixham day boats) and the accompanying vegetables and sauce without fault. The salad had a deliciously lemony zingy dressing and the perfect balance of pulses, leaves and grated vegetables. No feeling there that you were a second rate diner by choosing a salad plate so this gets a high score in my book.

Deserts had to be the lemon tart, a staple on menus in the 1990’s and an intriguing apple panna cotta. The lemon tart had a caramelised top, which gave way to an intensely lemony creamy filling on a light short buttery pastry – stunning. The panna cotta was really unusual with an apple jelly layer on top of the cream element. Freshly poached apple was served as a garnish. It felt lighter and good for you than I would have expected which is always a plus. We ended with fresh mint tea.

The food here is excellent and a credit to the Peach Group for creating another venue in Surrey that should be on your go to list.

01483 282 312

Guildford RD, East Horsley, Leatherhead, KT24 6AA

www.dukeofwellingtoneasthorsley.co.uk

 

The Richard Onslow

The Richard Onslow, 113-117 High St, Cranleigh, GU6 8AU

An established dining room with a seriously creative menu from independent pub group Peach.

The upside: A gastro-pub with a outstanding unique menu which wanders outside the norm!

The downside: Struggling here….

The flipside: Top marks for energetic creative management!

When I was contacted by the PR company representing the Richard Onslow asking if I would like sample their new summer menu I immediately agreed. My review policy is one I stick to but I had already given the thumbs up to this pub in 2013 so a return visit was long overdue.

I had heard that founding manager John Taylor who is credited with putting this pub firmly on Surrey’s culinary map was leaving for pastures new. What a legacy he has left behind; management team that looked after me on the day I visited were high energy, well informed, slick and personable. Having studied the Peach Pubs website before I visited it seemed that they were exactly what they say they are, professional, dedicated, fun loving and food-centric.

mike scott chef richard onslowTerri the Manager told me that each of the 18 pubs in this group are allowed to keep their individual personalities and each chef has menu autonomy aside from five classics that each pub menu carries. They are careful to keep the ethos of each venue in keeping with their location make sure that passing trade and locals are catered for with equal attention. The new menu I was there to sample was a collaboration of the in house chefs and development chef Mike Scott.

I had been invited to review the new summer menu and at the time of writing I feel guilty that a month has passed since visiting. The menu will run until September and I am sure that after my delightful experience the replacement will be just as good. My plus one was my teenage son (aged 15) who was doing one of his work experience weeks with me. He told me the other day that he preferred the week he did with the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre (not surprisingly) but that lunch at the Richard Onslow had been a highlight of his week with me.

The Richard Onslow in Cranleigh, Surrey.

On arrival we were seated in their delightful dining room, which has a mixture of comfy sofas, dining chairs, round, square and oblong tables. This I like, as depending on the size of your party, you can choose a format that suits you. It’s a stylish light room with subtle decor a contemporary edge and a relaxed vibe.

dining room richard onslow

The summer menu has some really interesting plates. It’s a refreshing compilation featuring summery seasonal ingredients and current food trends. For starters we chose free-range ham and cheddar croquettes with garlic aioli and Secretts watercress £7.25 and a spring onion and pea Scotch egg with pesto mayonnaise (£6.75). My son devoured his croquettes, which were crunchy, rich and cheesy. Dipping the croquettes into the aioli with a fork of watercress gave a perfect balance of flavours. My Scotch egg had a high scoring soft centre. The Scotch egg on its own was well seasoned but adding the pesto mayonnaise lifted the flavour profile from great to gorgeous. The chef was keen for us to sample his favourite starter from the menu, which was a stunner. Pan-fried scallops and monkfish with Bombay potatoes and Indian salad (£9.75 starter/£19.95 main) was a riot of ingredients. Plump fresh succulent scallops and monkfish with a backdrop of a Bhel Poori house style salad from London’s famous Drummond Street; if you have never been there do! Its a London institution. This was actually one of the most innovative dishes I have had in a while and it worked so well. I like risky cooking and this was a great example.

richard onslow starter trio

Onto the mains my teenage companion predictably chose sausages and mash from the specials board whilst I went for sea bass with saffron potatoes, mussels and clam chowder (£17.00). My son wolfed his dinner down and I savoured my dish. Crispy skin fish twinned with a creamy seafood chowder which was comforting but not overly rich. The fish and seafood were super fresh too suggesting a hint of the Mediterranean in Cranleigh (indulge me it was a sunny day). We ordered a dish of peas, courgette and beans which were sautéed in butter and simply gorgeous and a generous portion too. It was lunchtime and I was driving but I did notice that the wine list is comprehensive and priced to satisfy any budget with a few local English wines listed too.

mians richard onlsow trio

The dessert menu included a vegan peanut butter and chocolate brownie made with Valrhona chocolate which can be served with sorbet if requested (£5.75) My chocoholic son had his with Jude’s vanilla ice-cream. The brownie was not oversweet (as is often the case) so a perfect partner to ice-cream. Served warm it was light in texture with an intense chocolate note and a nutty finish. My choice in complete contrast was grilled peach served with biscotti and Chantilly cream. I felt the biscotti here were a little large but this may have been because the portions here are generous and we had eaten really well. The Chantilly cream was delicious and the plate looked and tasted fantastic.

desserts trio

I finished with a pot of mint tea and development Chef Mike Scott came for a chat. Full of enthusiasm and clearly enjoying his job he echoed the ethos of Peach pubs which had been so eloquently described by his colleague Terri. We had had a terrific lunch served by energetic, well-informed and happy staff so I wasn’t surprised to discover that the company had won Best Employer in the 2015 Hospitality Awards.

They seem to have it all here and its delightful to find that this venue seems to have improved since my last review visit (its often the reverse). I also like the fact that they have a good mix of buying local where they can (bread from the craft baker across the road ) and salad leaves from Secretts in Milford, plan menus to the seasons and really care about the provenance too.

I am already planning a return visit and feel justified in giving this venue a big thumbs up.

Tel 01483 274922

www.therichardonslow.co.uk