Marco Pierre White was the first British chef to acquire three Michelin stars and is seen by many as the original celebrity chef. This headline-grabbing master of culinary arts, a British institute in his own right, added The Yew Tree to his already impressive portfolio of restaurants in May 2005. The low beams, inglenook fireplace, myriad interconnecting rooms and frequently changing local ales ensure that in spite of its reinvention as a gastropub, The Yew Tree still retains the ambience of a homely country pub. Yet for all the preservation of its alluring traditional features, contemporary elements such as finest Egyptian cotton-draped tables and whitewashed walls adorned with Marco’s numerous sketches imported from his London eateries, implant an air of metropolitan sophistication in this corner of rural England.

As Marco Pierre White tends to treat The Yew Tree as a weekend country retreat, I was unable to experience his rugged charms first hand on the chilly Monday night of my visit. However I am pleased to report that the superlatives for which The Yew Tree is rightly renowned do not suffer in his absence. My starter of croustade of quails egg Maintenon with sauce hollandaise was followed by a main course of Pierre Koffman venison with chocolat amer, giving a pleasant oak flavour. This was complemented perfectly by a 2001 Bordeaux. Although quite full, I needed little persuasion to finish off with the signature raspberry soufflé dessert.

For all its sophistication, the food is reasonably priced, and the restaurant is reassuringly devoid of any rigidity or stuffiness; I witnessed this first-hand as the number of families with children present were made to feel as welcome as any of the celebrities who have been known to dine here. Substance and quality through and through.