The Mash Inn Hotel

Horseshoe Road, Bennett End, Radnage, Buckinghamshire HP14 4EB

This newly opened restaurant with rooms is nestled in the cleavage of the Chiltern Hills and there is a real sense of cohesion with this bucolic landscape. All the cooking is done over a wood fire on a grill built by local craftsmen. Breakfast, served to guests in bed, is toast with foraged fruit jams. A significant proportion of the dinner menu is grown in the fledgling kitchen garden. Chef Jon Parry previously worked for Adam Byatt and as we settle ourselves at the large communal table, we’re delighted to see the perfectly salty whipped butter made famous by Byatt at Clapham’s Trinity has followed Parry to The Mash Inn. Rather than traditional menus, we take our pick off a freshly scribbled chalkboard. Subtle leek root tempura is given a smoky depth with hay mayonnaise (made with olive oil infused with baked hay), while dry-aged beef rib is accompanied by oysters and nettles. Unique and absolutely delicious. Built in 1745, the pub is full of cosy corners, perfect for lingering with the paper on a Sunday morning. The five bedrooms are tucked under the red tile roof; all have exceptionally comfortable king-sized Hypnos beds, free-standing baths, excellent toiletries, Roberts digital radios and views over the rolling hills.

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