The Victoria

Find ‘good-value’ rooms, gastropubby meals and jugs of seasonal, home-made pear lemonade at this family-friendly spot, a ‘cheerful’ pub-with-rooms in a leafy residential neighbourhood. Owned by restaurateur Greg Bellamy and TV chef Paul Merrett, it is known in the area for its ‘imaginative’ menus featuring locally sourced and foraged ingredients. In the conservatory restaurant, or on the terrace in good weather, sample modern dishes such as leek and nettle soup, roasted pine nuts, smoked oil; chargrilled chicken, bhel puri salad, paratha. A list of 25 wines by the glass is fine accompaniment. Children have their own menu with pesto pasta, burgers, a bowl of greens; there is a play area in the courtyard. In winter, partake of a light supper menu; come summertime, gather around evening barbecues until the sun goes down. Smart bedrooms (some compact) are comfortably equipped with a digital radio and flat-screen TV; a hospitality corner with an espresso machine, bottled water and home-baked cookies. Breakfast on a ‘flowerpot’ muffin or streaky bacon bap with an elderflower spritzer, then walk it off in glorious Richmond Park, minutes away.