“A wine merchant and his fashionable interior decorator wife - émigrés from London - have transformed this Victorian pub, adding a wine shop (where you can buy more bottles like the one you enjoyed at dinner) and five bedrooms, each with a luxurious en-suite bathroom. The style is urbane and modern; you are more likely to sit next to a TV commercial director than a ploughman in the bar. The walls are decorated with large photographs of people enjoying field sports. The menu is (sensibly) quite limited to local meat, fish and game, cooked and presented to a very high standard. The little village of Tollard Royal has struck lucky; villagers now have a fine restaurant in their midst and a good place to put up extra visitors for shoots, weddings, etc.”

Written by  George Pownall

They say

“The King John Inn is situated in the idyllic village of Tollard Royal on the Wiltshire/Dorset border. Named after one of King John's hunting lodges, this Victorian building was opened in 1859. Rescued from near dereliction in 2008 the pub has been comprehensively refurbished. The modern country style interior features quarry tile flooring an open fire place and hand made solid oak bar complete with Belfast sink.

The menu offers a choice of delicious lunchtime and evening meals with daily changes. There is a fine selection of imported drafts and local beers available which change weekly. You can choose to eat in the open plan pub or in the informal restaurant. An extensive and detailed wine list offers an eclectic selection devoted largely to organic and biodynamic names. A wide range of wines and champagne are available by the glass and there is an interesting bin end list. All the wine on the list are available to purchase in the wine shop.”