The Haven at Talysarn

Tucked away inside the luxurious Pennyhill Park Hotel is this little culinary oasis. The tasting menu comes in a surprise format, but you can expect top-notch produce like Brixham sea bass and Aynhoe deer to be on there. These fine ingredients are crafted into dishes that use classic combinations which have been refined and reworked in a creative modern style. Flavours, textures and temperatures show wonderful balance and there's nothing superfluous on the plate.

Situated within the splendid Great Fosters hotel – itself surrounded by beautiful formal gardens which you'd be wise to walk around – The Tudor Pass is an impressive, intimate restaurant that's right at home in such a charming and characterful setting. The surprise tasting menu comes in two lengths and you'll be glad you went for the longer one once you try the wonderful seasonal cooking. Excellent ingredients are elevated by their well-crafted accompaniments, such as fallow deer with an intense red wine sauce, fried girolles and a sharp blackberry purée that cuts through the richness.

There’s a degree of opulence to this popular restaurant housed inside a whitewashed building. The striking dark green interior features glitzy rose gold panelling and distinctive tiling, ensuring the dining room feels a little bit special. Modern European dishes make use of effective, well-judged flavour combinations and there’s an assured level of technique in the cooking. Sit in the main room overlooking the fire pit or in the airy conservatory, while the smooth service team look after you with aplomb.

Adam Handling’s country inn is named in honour of where he met his co-owner chefs: Scotland and Newcastle. The room has a characterful vintage style, and the terrace sits beside raised beds which supply herbs and vegetables for the attractively presented dishes. Among them are re-worked pub classics like the playful haggis Scotch egg or the mac and cheese 'our way'. For dessert, look out for the ever-present trifle, which changes with the seasons. Complete your visit with a stay in one of the luxuriously appointed bedrooms.

Hidden away down twisting country roads in an affluent part of Old Windsor, this charmingly run pub is a quirky, pretty operation where the food is given pride of place. The location – a tranquil spot on the edge of Windsor Great Park – is a hunting area, so expect plenty of local game on the menu in season, such as venison from the Park itself. The experienced chef crafts his ingredients into complex, attractively presented dishes, with the Bar Menu offering lighter and simpler options. Do look out for the cheese trolley, which is bursting with prime British options.

The Greene Oak’s modern bar has a pleasingly laid-back feel and the quirky horsebox tables on the terrace add something a little different. Menus use the best of the British larder and offer an appealing mix of dishes. The 45-day aged rare breed steaks are a speciality and the weekday lunch menu is a steal.