Annette Nix dines on some mouthwatering fare in the newly revamped brasserie of a hotel that is steeped in history.

Reputedly one of the oldest inns in the country, the Bear Hotel, Hungerford, has been welcoming guests since the 13th century.

Situated on the A34 at 'the crossroads of England', it was once owned by Henry VIII, who gave it to Queen Anne of Cleves, and then Queen Catherine Parr.

During the Civil War in 1644, King Charles I made it his headquarters before the Battle of Newbury. Diarist Samuel Pepys also stayed, remarking on the high quality of the fish.

Overlooking the River Dunn, perhaps the hotel chef of the time caught his own?

Today, after a major, ongoing refurbishment which has already cost in the region of £1m, guests can instead relax in the stylish new brasserie and be truly spoiled for choice from the a la carte and specials menus.

We arrived to dine on a wet and windy Saturday evening in November and the hotel was already buzzing with guests attending a fancy dress party in the bar, and a black tie event in the separate private dining room.

We entered the stylish brasserie to a cheery welcome from our waitress for the evening. We chose a corner table and admired the decor - soft dove grey walls contrasting with the dark beams and pristine white linen on the tables.

The two menus were produced and I have never seen such a varied choice on a specials menu.

Settling down with a warming glass of Spanish Shiraz from a very well-balanced wine list, I opted for the prawn and crab cocktail with brown bread from the specials to start and my husband chose the warm wood pigeon and liver salad with roquefort and thyme creme brulée from the main menu. The prawn cocktail gave a nod to the 1970s favourite, updated 21st century-style with lovely chunks of fresh crab and a watercress dressing. I also begged a taste of the roquefort brulée, and it was delicious.

Our charming waitress had warned us there could be a wee wait between courses, due to the concurrent events at the hotel, but we hardly noticed any delay.

Meanwhile, the brasserie was filling up, resulting in a bright and convivial atmosphere.

The main courses we chose were new season pheasant with faggots and mash for me from the specials, and saddle of peppered venison with hotpot potatoes, cauliflower puree and onion bhajee for him, from the main menu.

I had been dithering over the roast monkfish with braised faggots, parma ham and red wine sauce, but was very happy with the pheasant. It was beautifully tender and the mash was creamy and moreish. The venison, cooked medium rare, also got an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

We ordered the panache of vegetables to share, which was really unnecessary, considering the generous portions.

Award-winning head chef Phil Wild certainly proved his mettle with both these tasty, hearty dishes - perfect for the season.

The only disappointment was dessert. We shared the chestnut and apple meringue with toffee sauce. The meringue lacked that home-made touch, and the apple was an uninteresting puree.

Perhaps we should have gone for the dark chocolate delice with orange knickerbocker glory, or plum tarte tatin instead. However, good coffee made up for this slight blip.

We were staying the night in one of the hotel's comfortable, recently refurbished contemporary-style rooms and, after a good night's sleep, we had breakfast to look forward to.

Again, there was a wonderful choice of full English, or buffet-style fare. I had chunky pork sausages and field mushrooms with black pudding and wonderfully creamy scrambled eggs, while husband, being a bit of a lightweight, claiming he was still full the previous night, could only manage porridge.

However, he was very impressed when it arrived with little jugs of honey, cream, and brown sugar.

The rain had stopped, so we wandered through the sheltered courtyard just off the new cocktail bar, towards the patio and terrace overlooking the river. In the grounds there is also the separate Bear House for business meetings and little Bear Island, approached over tiny wooden bridges.

It was quite easy to imagine how lovely the setting would be on a summer's day, and why the Bear Hotel, with its civil wedding licence, is a popular marriage venue.

There are lovely menus on offer in the run-up to Christmas, too. Check out the Bear's Christmas brochure online at www. thebearhotelhungerford. co. uk or call 01488 682512 for details.