One of the best pubs in Surrey for a country walk and a Sunday lunch
Surrey has some of Britain's finest pubs and most beautiful countryside, but how often do you successfully combine the two? In a new review series, Richard Davies sets out on a quest to find the perfect Sunday walk and lunch.
We were especially looking forward to trying the Sunday lunch at The Cyder House Inn, Shackleford, having heard nothing but good things about it. Landlord couple Shaun and Chelsey took over the lease five years ago and are steadily turning it into a homely pub with a friendly, welcoming atmosphere and a reputation for serving high-quality food and drink.
Finding the pub was surprisingly easy. It’s hard to believe that you’re less than five minutes from the A3 (Hurtmore exit) as you arrive in the rural delights of Peper Harow, perhaps best known for its annual Point to Point. The pub has a good-sized car park, which was already full when we arrived – a good sign, despite the inconvenience!
Our verdict
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Food 4
- Atmosphere 4
- Service 5
- Value for money 5
- Beer 5
- Dog friendly 5
- Local walks 5
First impressions
Deputy Manager James showed us to our table beside a delightful open fire and immediately won my approval by reciting all the pub’s ales and lagers, including alcohol content. Since becoming a free house, this has become a long list, and on the day we visited, it included an excellent Hogs Back TEA and Leveson Buck and Loxhill Biscuit. As befits the pub name, there are no less than four draught ciders and 16 bottled ciders available. A bar manager who takes pride in the ale and cellar management makes such a difference to a pub, but sadly, people like James are now rarer than hen teeth.
The menu
The range and variety of the menu is also highly impressive. Landlord Shaun and Head Chef Ashley are both South African and have introduced a well-travelled take on a standard pub menu. For starters, though tempted by the Boerewors sausage, we opted for the salt & pepper squid – tasty with a lime zing – and the smoked mackerel fritters, served with a watercress chowder so delicious I could eat it every day.
The selection of mains also contained a few exotic choices, such as Sri Lankan vegetable curry and battered banana blossom, with a good range of clearly identified vegetarian and vegan options. We chose the striploin of beef and roast beef & pork duo; both served with garlic and rosemary roast potatoes, giant crispy Yorkshire puddings, seasonal vegetables and unlimited gravy. The beef was lean, tasty and perfectly medium rare, while the pork was delicious if lacking in crackling. We also enjoyed the unusual vegetable selection (though not sure that sugar snap peas are ‘seasonal’ in the UK in November).
When eating a pub roast in such a homely setting, it’s hard to avoid comparing it with home-cooked fayre. Unfortunately, this test revealed some shortcomings: the roast potatoes were suspiciously pre-cooked, the Yorkshire puds lacked in taste what they boasted in size, and the gravy had only passing acquaintance with real meat juices. While appreciating that these are demanding standards, they are the things that, for us, differentiate pubs serving great food from ‘gastropubs’.
Although we certainly didn’t need pudding with the generous portions, we appreciated the excellent Cherry Bakewell Cheesecake served with Berry Compote and White Chocolate. But for a perfect way to round off a hearty meal, we highly recommend the Affogato, a salted caramel ice cream served with expresso coffee and homemade shortbread.
Final thoughts
The ambience of the pub is cosy, with real log fires and a homely feel, which has accumulated over time more than was designed. In some places, it could be improved by better lighting (on a wintry afternoon, it was a little gloomy) and some soft furnishings to dampen the bare floorboard acoustic. Landlady Chelsey explained they are doing it up one room at a time, and they have already created some very attractive spaces, including a large garden area. The pub is conveniently located next to the village’s swing park, and we noted that in various nooks and crannies of the pub, children were happily playing jenga and other games in an old-fashioned, ‘seen but not heard’ sort of way.
The pub is also super dog-friendly. A water bowl arrived without asking before we’d ordered our drinks, and there were help-yourself doggy biscuits. There’s even a special dog station selling up-market chews for discerning canines; our dog so prized her wild boar treat that she took it home to bury in the garden.
Nearby walks
Of course, you will want to take your dog or borrow someone else’s to enjoy the wonderful country walks in this part of Surrey, close to the River Wey and the Hogs Back. Full marks to the team for providing three guided walks with downloadable PDFs on the website, a two-mile stroll around the local village lanes or a three or five-mile hike around the local paths and tracks of the delightful 14th-century village of Shackleford, with its charming medieval buildings. Why don’t more country pubs do this kind of thing?
In summary, The Cyder House lived up to our expectations as a friendly, family-run pub with great food, and we will most certainly return to enjoy one of the most charming parts of Surrey.
What we ordered
Starter
- Salt & Pepper Squid with Smokey Ranch Dressing & Lime. £8
- Smoked Mackerel Fritters with Watercress Chowder £8
Main
- Sunday Roast, served with Roast Potatoes, Seasonal veg, Yorkshire Pudding and Unlimited Gravy
- Striploin of Beef £21
- Roast Beef and Pork Duo £23
Dessert
- Cherry Bakewell Cheesecake (V), topped with Almonds, served with Berry Compote & White Chocolate £8
- Affogato (VE), Salted Caramel Ice Cream, Expresso Coffee & Homemade Shortbread £6
TOTAL £74
