Celebrated table

The Merry Harriers

Name: The Merry Harriers
Address: Hambledon Road, Hambledon, Surrey, GU8 4DR, Witley, GB
Telephone: 01428 682883

The Merry Harriers in Witley serves Modern British dishes like pheasant schnitzel and Sunday roast platters in a 16th-century pub awarded Very Good by the Good Food Guide.

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The story

The Merry Harriers Witley: Modern British Dining in a 16th-Century Surrey Inn

The kitchen and the farm

The Merry Harriers in Witley offers Modern British cooking rooted in the Surrey Hills, where the team behind Hilltop Kitchen has refreshed this 16th-century inn since 2023. The kitchen draws ingredients from its own farm to craft a daily changing menu that balances honest country fare with a refined approach. This focus on provenance underpins the Very Good rating from the Good Food Guide, which highlights how the exhaustive list of local suppliers builds immediate trust. Dishes such as Trenchmore Farm beef tartare with plum ketchup and lightly horseradished smoked mackerel pâté showcase this direct sourcing without pretension, defining the current direction of Modern British pub food.

Standout plates and Sunday roasts

The regular menu features adventurous twists alongside robust mains, including a pork chop served with sweetcorn and girolles, finished with pickled walnuts. A pheasant schnitzel pairs with pickled red cabbage and pink firs, while baked hake rests in a saffron-scented fennel bouillabaisse. Vegetarians can turn to a pumpkin and spelt risotto with hazelnuts and a touch of chilli. Sunday dining remains a highlight, with the guide praising the impeccably cooked roast platters designed for sharing. Gingered sticky toffee pudding and a knickerbocker glory version containing chocolate mousse and candied orange round out the meal.

Oak beams and the cellar

The building retains its historic character through original oak beams across the bar and dining areas, softened by a modern palette of soft green walls and bentwood chairs. Unclothed tables catch the glow of candlelight in the evenings, while wood fires provide warmth during colder months. This rural location in the Surrey Hills offers a warm atmosphere for Modern British cooking at its most accessible. The cellar complements the food with a varietal spread ranging from local vineyards to a mature classed-growth St-Émilion priced well below capital-city rates.

Recognition

Awards & accolades

2026

The Good Food Guide

Very Good

Details

At a glance

The Good Food Guide 2026 — Very Good

Cuisines Modern British

Services Accomedation, Bar, Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Outdoor Seating, Private Parties, Table Service, Takeaway, Wi-Fi

History

On the record

2026

The Good Food Guide — Very Good

The venerable Merry Harriers is to be found in the village of Hambledon (not the Hampshire one) near Godalming, a rural enclave set in a buffer of fields and woodland. It has been kitted out to suit the modern mood, with a soft green colour scheme and bentwood chairs at unclothed tables, plus candlelight in the evenings and fires in winter. A menu that exhaustively lists all the kitchen's and cellar's local suppliers inspires confidence, and the food is just what country-pub aficionados want to eat, with plenty of praise lavished on the Sunday lunch offer – a choice of ‘impeccably cooked’ roast platters, piled high and designed for two to share. On the regular menu, lightly horseradished smoked mackerel pâté might compete with Trenchmore Farm beef tartare and plum ketchup, before mains take flight with some more adventurous ideas. Pork chop with sweetcorn, girolles and pickled walnuts delivered an impressive array of flavours when we visited, the superlative quality of the meat shining forth; a pheasant schnitzel with pickled red cabbage and pink firs was almost as good, although it needed a little more in the way of lubrication than an evanescent suggestion of beurre noisette. A fish option could be baked hake in bouillabaisse with saffron-scented fennel, while pumpkin and spelt risotto with hazelnuts, sage and chilli provides robust sustenance on the vegetable front. At the sticky end of things, everybody will feel spoilt by the likes of gingered-up sticky toffee pudding or a version of knickerbocker glory that finds room for chocolate mousse, candied orange and bits of homemade brownie. There's an impressive varietal spread on the carefully compiled wine list, ascending to the majesty of a mature classed-growth St-Émilion at a fraction of what you would pay in the not-too-distant capital.

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Established

Location

Find us

Hambledon Road, Hambledon, Surrey, GU8 4DR
Witley, United Kingdom
01428 682883
enquiries@merryharriers.com
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