Openings

The Headley

The Common, Great Warley, Brentwood, Essex CM13 3HS 01277 216104

theheadley.co.uk

Top restaurant chefs - especially those with celebrity status - have been snapping up tired old boozers and transforming them into destination gastropubs for a few years now - Ramsay has done it with the Narrow in London, Novelli at the White Horse in Hertfordshire, and Blumenthal at the Hinds Head in gastro-heaven Bray in Berkshire.

My excitement about new pub openings by revered chefs was beginning to wane until I heard about the low-key launch of this revamped former Chef and Brewer pub close to the M25 in Essex. Yes, Essex - that's the first surprise, the second being the Headley's owner, East Anglia's only two-Michelin-starred chef Daniel Clifford, who owns Midsummer House in Cambridge. What's more, experienced gastropub chef Scott Wade (ex-the Gun in London Docklands) is at the stove - an intriguing combination, to say the least.

Clifford's choice of location is inspired: the Headley stands by the village green, just minutes from the M25 (Junctions 28 and 29), so it makes a classy pit-stop away from the jams and faceless services. Discerning diners from affluent villages around Brentwood have been beating a path to the door since it opened in February.

Appearances can be deceptive - from the outside, this rambling, modern-style building looks every inch a Chef & Brewer, but step inside and you'll find a swish interior kitted out in true gastropub style.

Set across two floors, the Headley is a big, informal place with deep leather sofas and low tables fronting log fires and the long downstairs bar, and acres of chunky wooden tables on tiled, boarded floors. The open-plan upstairs dining room can easily seat 180.

Unlike most dining pubs, where space is often at a premium, the Headley offers oodles of space for casual and pre-dinner drinkers, who can spill out onto the front terrace when the sun shines.

Distinctive design touches include a simple, rustic-farmhous look to tables and chairs (all with quirky carved-out cockerel shapes), fine stone fireplaces, and modern artwork on the walls, which all set the Headley apart from the current gastropub trend. The same also applies to the food and the way it is served, successfully blending the informality and simplicity of a pub with the refinement and attention to detail usually associated with a top-notch restaurant.

I ate in the cavernous, open-plan upstairs dining area, which had a surprisingly cosy, intimate feel inspired by the low, thick, black-painted beams, warm yellow-washed walls, and the cleverly laid-out tables, which are simply and informally set with cutlery, glasses and linen napkins. Finesse comes in the form of fine Reidel glassware and Villeroy and Boch plates.

Scott Wade's classy modern British cooking fits the setting perfectly, his changing lunch and dinner menus offering a good choice of classic dishes with a distinctive contemporary edge. Excellent use is made of local seasonal produce.

Presentation is elegant and pure

restaurant - my starter of smoked black pudding and ham chou farci with tomato sauce (£6.50), served in a deep white dish, was an excellent example. The intense flavours of the black pudding and ham were tightly encased in the cabbage leaves, while the sauce was smooth, rich and very more-ish.

My main of baked cod on Savoy cabbage, fennel seeds, cockles and bacon (£16.50) was equally impressive, the robust flavours of the bacon and cockles proving a successful accompaniment to the squeaky-fresh, beautifully cooked cod fillet.

I couldn't resist trying the triple-cooked fat chips, which were chunky, crisp and well salted, and arrived standing upright in their own container.

From my experience at the Headley, I would agree with their website statement that it's "a very special place." It certainly stands out among the high-profile crop of gastropub openings to date in 2007.

David Hancock

PubChef rating (out of 5): ****

The Rosendale

West Dulwich, London

0208 670 0812 ?therosendale.co.uk

Who: This is the second pub from Mark and Sharlyn van der Goot - the team behind the award-winning Greyhound in Battersea. Head chef is Matthew Foxon, who moves from the Greyhound.

Food: Foxon plans to incorporate produce from neighbouring Kent and Sussex farms into his menu, plus ingredients from the Rosendale's own organic kitchen garden.

On the menu: The dining-room menu is priced from £6 for starters and £14.50 for main courses. Dishes include starters of pig's head roulade with tomato and onion chutney and croutons, mains of wild Cornish sea bass with braised fennel, and buttermilk pannacotta with rhubarb and strawberry soup for dessert.

Style: The Rosendale will comprise an informal bar and grill area, a smarter restaurant space, an outside terrace and two private rooms on the first floor.

The Talbot

Ripley, Surrey

01483 225188

Who: Merchant Inns. The group plans to spend £3m on refurbishment and adding bedrooms.

Food: Executive chef Rob Clayton has designed a menu similar to the other Merchant outlets, with à la carte dishes as well as pub classics.

On the menu: Starters: pan-roasted Cornish scallops with pea and mint risotto (£7.95/£14.95) and trio of salmon - smoked, cured and poached with a baby herb salad (£6.95/£12.95).

Covers: 70

Style: 15th-century coaching inn.

Tilbury Pub & Dining Room

Datchworth, Hertfordshire

01438 815550 ?thetilbury.co.uk

Who: TV chef Paul Bloxham.

Food: Al-fresco dining is a strong focus, with barbecues and a main menu of dishes created from fresh, seasonal and locally-sourced ingredients.

On the menu: Starters include Caesar salad (£5.95) and sautéd wild mushroom on toast (£5.75). Mains include slow-cooked duck, wild mushroom, leek and Cognac risotto (£9.95) and the Tilbury's plate of Great Dunmow free-range pig with apples, sage and onion (13.95). Desserts feature honeyed pannacotta and rhubarb compote (£4.50).

Covers: 60

Style: Traditional pub with a welcoming bar and snug rooms with open fires, wooden tables and leather chairs.

Hemlock Stone

Wollaton, Nottinghamshire

0115 9284463

Who: Orchid Pub Company. The pub is its first contemporary dining pub.

Food: Fresh, seasonal produce using local ingredients wherever possible.

Menu: Baked natural-smoked haddock on roasted tomatoes, wilted spinach and topped with a Welsh rarebit glaze; leek and goats' cheese open ravioli; slow-cooked crispy belly of pork on fresh pesto mash. Desserts include home-made custard tart with rum and raisin compote and Eton mess.

Style: Traditional interior with a contemporary edge.

Queens Head

Erwarton, Ipswich, Suffolk

01473 787550

Who: Suffolk businessman and farmer James Buckle, whose interests include the Bildeston Crown and Boyton Hall Equine Centre, and the Red Rose at Lindsey. The pub is managed by Allyson Richardson while chef Louis Abbott heads up the kitchen.

Food: Freshly cooked using largely locally-sourced ingredients. Dishes include steak and kidney pie, Guinness-battered haddock, salmon fishcakes, chicken Caesar salad and locally-produced sausages served with mash.

On the menu: Starters include chef's home-made tomato and basil soup (£3.95); mains include rump steak with vine tomatoes, onion rings, mushrooms and chips (£10.95); and desserts include toffee banana with chocolate mousse (£4.50).

Covers: approx 65

Style: Local pub with plans for pub teams.

Pub facts

Owner: Daniel Clifford (Midsummer House Restaurants)

Most interesting dishes

Starters: nettle and hogweed soup (£5.50); foie gras parfait, grape chutney and toasted bagel (£6.50); local asparagus, smashed gull's egg, truffle vinaigrette (£9