Russell’s

Andrew and Gaynor Riley’s ‘excellent’ restaurant-with-rooms is ‘unhesitatingly recommended’ by Guide readers who praise the ‘exceptional’ food, the ‘rather special’ rooms, and the staff ‘who take the trouble to please’. The honey-stone building is the former showroom of Arts and Crafts designer Gordon Russell; careful restoration has achieved a contemporary, stylish feel, with huge fireplaces, exposed beams, stone walls. Individually designed bedrooms vary in size. ‘Our two rooms were clean and excellently furnished. Room 4, which looks up the grassy climb to Broadway Tower, is a favourite, despite its sloping ceilings endangering the unwary. We were untroubled by traffic noise on the High Street.’ In the ‘busy’ dining room, tuck in to Neil Clarke’s much-praised modern British menu (including, perhaps, smoked pigeon breast, rhubarb crumble, fennel salad). Overnight guests may escape the activity of the popular restaurant in a residents’ lounge, and use the honesty bar on the landing. A ‘comprehensive’ breakfast is ‘cooked well (some diced fruit would have been welcomed)’. (T and SM, and others)