For the last six years, The Richard Onslow has been run by The Peach Pub Company which likes to ensure all of its pubs are individually designed to suit their surroundings, respecting the integrity of buildings and their history, as well as sourcing ingredients from excellent producers around the UK.

This thriving local pub was almost full by the time we arrived for our meal on a Saturday night. It seemed THE place to be with tables packed with families, couples and friends.
The Richard Onslow’s dining room, coloured a gorgeous shade of aubergine, with grand chandeliers hanging from high ceilings, had a relaxed warm atmosphere. I’m not sure if the colour of the walls had any influence on my thoughts, but it immediately made me want to order red wine and settle down in this welcoming room.

The oft-changing, seasonal menu had a great selection of dishes from which to choose. To begin, we chose Brixham crab cakes, spring onion, chilli and coriander and pan fried Brixham scallops with chorizo, confit shallots and seashore vegetables. Crisp nuggets of crab were served with plenty of good chilli heat and the ubiquitous sweet chilli sauce.

The scallops were the biggest hit: cooked perfectly, utterly plump and fresh from the sea, they were the stars of the show.

Main choices consisted of braised halibut with salsify, olives, tomato and artichoke and 28 day dry-aged rib eye supplied by award-winning butchers Aubrey Allen. The steak came with chunky chips and a garnish of mushrooms, onion rings and grilled tomatoes, as well as our chosen extra: garlic herb butter.

The meaty, richly-flavoured halibut has always been one of my favourite fish to eat. I would have happily eaten it with just the salsify, artichokes, olives and tomato, but it also came with some buttery mash. Because of this, I felt the dish needed a sauce to bring it together: something simple to not detract from the fish itself.

The rib eye was as good as it gets: cooked and rested so that the rosy pink meat was a pleasure to eat. It had an intense rich flavour, was well seasoned and cut through with ease. It hardly needed the accompanying garlic butter – that ’s how good it was. Sides were fine, but surplus to requirement. A few chips to mop up the juices were more than enough. The only misjudgement was to serve chips below the steak, a pet hate of mine. I only like chips when they come in pots or cones so they have no chance of becoming soggy. The whole point of a chip is to stay crisp: perhaps something The Richard Onslow could look into? Also, I would have loved to see skinny fries on the menu. There is something a little dated about chunky steak chips, so it would be good to offer an alternative for us skinny fry lovers.

To finish the meal, a lemon posset with blackberry jelly, which was great in taste but it wasn’t set! I suspect the cream might not have been heated through sufficiently to set the lemon and the jelly would have worked better as a compote, but the buttery homemade shortbread was delightful. Along with the posset, we tried out the cheeseboard, a strategy in discovering an establishment’s commitment to placing as much emphasis on the quality of their cheeses as placed in all other aspects of the meal experience. This cheeseboard was a real winner: by far the best I’ve tasted.

Included were five cheeses, four of which were British, with the fifth French. The French option – a Camembert Gillot AOC – had too much of an aftertaste and a sour note to it. Included amongst the other four British cheeses were Pave Cobble (ash coated ewe’s milk cheese from Somerset), Quicke’s cloth bound goat’s milk Cheddar from Devon, Wyfe of Bath (organic cow’s milk cheese inspired by Gouda) and Cropwell Bishop organic Stilton from The Peak District. Each of the cheeses was served in prime condition and came with a spiced, sticky fig chutney and good quality crackers.

After speaking to the excellent and informative general manager, we discovered that The Richard Onslow and the other pubs (of which there are several) that form The Peach Pub Company place a huge amount of importance on sourcing their ingredients, especially supporting British produce. They source all fish from Brixham in Devon, grass-fed, dry-aged beef from the Queen’s butcher Aubrey Allen, Cornish lamb and free range chicken, eggs and pork. They also invest in great chefs who are allowed to put their own mark on seasonal menus.

The success of this pub is largely down to the regularity of the changing seasonal menus. Not only are there interesting, innovative meat and fish dishes, but vegetarian choices are streets ahead of many of its competitors with ideas such as roast cauliflower steak, puy lentils, hazelnut, raisin and caper and wild mushroom galette, truffled celeriac purée and balsamic dressing. The chefs are definitely aware of the importance of catering for all customers equally and creatively and food is priced competitively considering the quality of ingredients used.

The locals of Cranleigh seem to consider The Richard Onslow a safe bet for good food on a weekend night. If it’s anything like this during the week, competitors will have a fight on their hands attracting these customers away. Especially where steak is concerned.

essence info

The Richard Onslow
113-117 High Street, Cranleigh Village, Surrey GU6 8AU
Website: www.therichardonslow.co.uk
Telephone: 01483 274922
Laura Scott: www.howtocookgoodfood.co.uk