Ockham Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: “Good solid food” and a “large outdoor space for eating” makes this country pub a handy refuelling spot for visitors to the RHS gardens at nearby Wisley.

There’s no doubting the “fantastic location” of this link in Raymond Blanc’s Heartwood Inns collection – a nook and cranny-filled boozer on pretty Downside Common with a heated outdoor tent and beer garden for added measure. Its victuals aren’t fancy but are “generally good” by common consensus, and continue to be of note for their moderate price tags (especially now they’ve relaunched their bargainous seasonal set menus).

“A very well-run and vast pub/restaurant which has managed to balance itself between the two”. Between the “reliable and fresh” British grub, “well-kept beers” and “friendly and efficient team” (plus a lovely garden) it’s “always a delight to visit”.

Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan was – as of mid 2025 – rumoured to be on the verge of buying a £1 billion stake in Richard Caring’s restaurant empire, of which this famous brasserie chain is the crown jewel. Presumably, he’s more interested in ‘rolling out’ the brand in The Gulf and beyond rather than dropping by for a Salmon Fishcake and ‘Ivy Chocolate Bombe’, but if he’d asked the opinion of our annual diners’ poll, we’re not sure that he’d sign on the dotted line. “How can a restaurant with this heritage produce such uninspired, tick-box food?” is a question merited by its poor ratings, ditto what explains the “very slow and disinterested service”? The answer may be that “you don’t come here for the food, obviously” but for the “gorgeous” interior design and “picturesque” locations that continue to underpin their appeal. Let’s hope for the Sheikh’s sake that the middle classes of the Arab World are as undiscerning as those from the UK!

This steakhouse/gastropub cross is notable for its in-house butchery, with standout menu items including a 1kg tomahawk for two to share, or a steak platter comprising ribeye, fillet, bavette and smoked sirloin for four. There’s also a “lovely Sunday lunch combo”, and it’s “best in summer as there’s a delightful outside-eating area”. Top Tip – butchery cuts are half price on Mondays.

“Love the ambience… no pressure to quit the table and nice to overlook the river” – such are the plus points of these flexible, comfortable and welcoming homes-from-home in the Home Counties and in London near Tower Bridge and in Putney. Celebration? Both locations also feature funky little Thames-side ‘igloos’ seating up to 8. Looking for great food too? Don’t bother! “Disappointment” is often registered regarding the salads, pizza and other very middle of the road fare – keep your celebrations as liquid as possible…

“Consistently good food” that is “more than just pub fare” ensures this “upmarket outfit in Stoke D’Abernon” is “very popular with the locals” – as well as green-fingered visitors to nearby RHS Wisley. Once a courthouse, it featured in a Sherlock Holmes story, ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’.

Gordon Ramsay’s four-year-old fast-food chain – one of several diffusion brands from the TV chef – has half a dozen sites across the capital. Views on it have always been somewhat mixed and became even more polarised this year: between those who consider it “a great new discovery” and those who feel it’s “disappointing for an upmarket burger”.

2024 Review: The second link in the growing Brucan Pubs group, set up by James Lyon Shaw and Jamie Dobbin, who met during their days at the famous Ivy. By all accounts the three-year-old venture is “surprisingly good for a somewhat unprepossessing area”, and with “good-value set menus” to boot. Top Menu Tip – “in my experience the best dishes are the slow-cooked ones”.

2022 Review: In a village near Leatherhead, this well-established Indian (opened in 1983) – nowadays run by the son of the founder – is strongly applauded by its local fans.

“A well-deserved success for the RHS” – this large venue at their Wisley HQ provides a “glorious setting for lovely lunches”. The gardens are hugely popular all year round, so it’s “always advisable to book”. Top Tip – “don’t forget, you do need to pay to enter the gardens in order to eat at the restaurant” (about £20 per adult).

“Excellent new arrival in this area”, with “consistently high-quality” modern European cooking, “warm and professional service” and “an attractive wine list” – “don’t be put off by the rather indifferent exterior on a fairly busy road; it’s beautiful inside, with two private dining rooms for larger parties and a nice outdoor space”. Formerly known as Sands at Bleak House, it is now run by Nick Levantis & Darryl Healey, the duo behind The Swan at West Malling in Kent. Interesting local fact – it’s on the edge of Horsell Common, where the first Martian invaders landed in H G Wells’s 1898 novel ‘The War of the Worlds’.

2022 Review: Having opened high street hit Osso Buco[s] in 2011, owner Elena Vahedi and her husband ventured into more trendy, casual eating territory in the same location with this equally popular Italian, born in 2018. “Top pizza” of the wood-fired variety (and wonderful pasta too) has earned it a real local following.