Hop Pole Inn — Restaurant in Great Britain

Tucked away in the heart of the village, this small community-owned, farm-to-table restaurant is a true gem of English hospitality. Walking through the door, there’s an immediate sense of warmth, not just from the cozy atmosphere but also from the staff, who greet you like family. It’s rare to find a place that so perfectly balances community spirit with culinary excellence, but this one does exactly that. The highlight of the visit had to be the Sunday roasts, which were nothing short of exceptional. Perfectly cooked meats carved generously, crisp yet fluffy roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables brimming with flavor, and rich gravy that tied everything together made it one of the best Sunday lunches I’ve had in years. Everything was homemade in the best possible way—comforting, hearty, and deeply satisfying. What sets this restaurant apart is the attention to detail. The pace is unhurried, allowing you to savor both the food and the company, and the locally sourced ingredients reflect the pride of a community investing back into itself. Portions are generous, prices are fair, and it’s clear the kitchen team cooks with passion. For anyone passing through or lucky enough to live nearby, this is exactly the kind of place you’ll want to return to again and again. Whether you come for the roasts, a midweek meal, or simply a pint and dessert, it’s a shining example of how food can bring...

Not a lot to say yet about interior deco, the garden, accommodation, beer or food.

So why 5 stars? Because it has become one of a growing number of 'Community Buy-out' establishment's where locals and other interested parties have 'crowd-funded' to keep it as a pub. Now being gutted, refurbished, redecorated, brought up to modern compliance and safety standards by a host of willing volunteers, all the above short comings will be addressed, to the benifit of the building, the local community and the general pub diaspora.

The pubs is an integral part of British culture. It is unique, they are places where people go to talk to each other, to find companionship, to gossip and catch up with news from near and far. The French have their cafés, Americans their bars, the English - and the British Isles in general - their pubs.  The British pub is a place with an important social function - a meeting place, somewhere to relax, a fairly egalitarian place where people drink, eat, talk and in more traditional establishments, play games like cards or darts or even billiards. Sociological surveys have shown that the pub is the only place where the English (particularly) willingly begin a conversation with a stranger.

To loose such institutions is to loose the character of the nation. Well done to all those who...

A huge weight of expectation for our first visit to the Hop Pole for Sunday lunch. A very long and expensive refurb meant that things needed to be very good from the start for this pub to have a chance of success. On entering, the space around the bar feels really generous and welcoming (a huge achievement in a compact listed building. Beers were all great, staff friendly, calm and attentive. We booked for Sunday lunch and could only get a 4pm spot. We expected food to be good but the roast was truly exceptional. Locally sourced beef sirloin was perfectly cooked and tender beyond belief. Portion size of the beef was more restaurant than pub grub (though still ample) but the huge array of vegetables more than covered any shortfall. They were also perfectly cooked and had definitely not been kept warm for hours; the kitchen were still taking huge pains to keep things perfect for us stragglers - a rare thing in any eatery, let alone one that has been opened for so short a time. Starters were good, mains were perfection. Didn’t have desserts as we were walking home though they looked great. Definitely worth a trip. Feel very blessed to be walking distance away and already planning a...