As the days lengthen and the sunshine returns, it’s time to set aside the heartier dishes of winter and look ahead to the lighter, fresher tastes of Spring.
If you head over to The Duke of Wellington in East Horsley, you’ll find the best of the new season’s offerings served fresh daily, every day of the week, as well as a glorious garden where you can once again look forward to sitting outside with a plate of something delicious and a glass or two of something chilled.
The Duke of Wellington’s Head Chef Nic Baba has used the freshest and finest seasonal produce to create his new spring menu. That means the earliest and best Wye Valley asparagus, day-boat fish fresh from Brixham, Yorkshire rhubarb and superb farmhouse cheeses like Rosary goats’ cheese on the pub’s spring cheese selection.
Choose one of The Duke of Wellington’s mouth-watering starters to get any lunch or dinner off to the best possible start. There’s seared native scallops with melting Suffolk pork belly, a silky cauliflower purée and crispy shallots; free-range chicken, bacon and spring onion croquettes with a tangy tomato chutney or spring vegetable Carnaroli risotto with seeded Gran Moravia crisp, which comes as both a starter and main course dish.
Spring mains include feta, spinach and red pepper tart with carrot, orange and avocado salad or roasted salmon fillet Niçoise salad. Go for a lighter option of carrot, buckwheat, pomegranate and chickpea salad with crunchy toasted seeds and harissa dressing, adding your choice of chicken, grilled halloumi or poached salmon if you fancy.
For dessert, there’s a superb Yorkshire rhubarb and brandy snap fool; coconut pannacotta with pineapple and mango salsa and praline crumb and glazed lemon tart with a crisp raspberry coulis.
If you prefer savoury, have a smidgen of that divine Rosary Goats’ Cheese that’s made on the edge of the New Forest, with its light mousse texture, fresh lemony taste and an edible dusting of ash.
Or go for a full cheese board to share (or not), with Camembert Gillot AOC, Wookey Hole Cave Aged Cheddar and Organic Cropwell Bishop, all exceptional cheeses made by artisan cheese producers.
The pub’s also got an exciting programme of events coming up to see you through from spring into summer, starting with the perfect opportunity to blow away the cobwebs and enjoy a stroll through some lovely countryside on a Spring Bluebell Walk taking place on Saturday 14th April.
Put your walking boots on and meet at the pub at 9.30am for tea and coffee before heading off for the walk at 10am. The gentle, three mile circular route takes in the fine architecture of Horsley Place and 
the chalk downs in this leafy corner of Surrey, ending back at the pub at around 12 noon for a spot of well-deserved lunch if you fancy. It’s the perfect outing for all the family, pooches included. If you’d like to join the walk, please drop the pub an email or call 01483 282 312 so they can get an idea of how large a pot of tea to put on! If this date doesn’t suit, then here’s a link to the walk so you can pop along and stretch your legs any time.
On Thursday 17th May the pub will be serving up its very first 8 Mile Menu, a celebration of fantastic local produce from this part of the world. Head chef Nic will devise a special four course menu made entirely from ingredients grown and sourced within an eight mile radius of the pub. This delicious supper starts at 7pm. Tickets cost £50 per person and can be booked by calling 01483 282 312.
Sunday 17th June is Father’s Day and what better way to say thank you to Dad than by spending it at the pub over a delicious lunch or dinner? There will be a bottle of Hooky Beer on the Duke for all Dads that special day. Best to book early.
If you fancy a flutter, why not join the pub on Thursday 21st June for Royal Ascot Ladies Day and do it in style? After a regal Champagne breakfast at the pub, the party will travel to the racecourse for a fine day of racing in the Queen Anne Enclosure to witness the historic Gold Cup. Designer creations and millinery masterpieces will be taking centre stage that day so it’s the ideal opportunity to see and be seen. This exclusive package features everything for fabulous day out including Ascot ticket, transport with refreshments and a Champagne breakfast on arrival at the pub.
Make a bee-line for The Duke of Wellington this spring and enjoy the best of what this gorgeous gastropub has to offer. The pub’s easy to find in East Horsley, on the A246 between Leatherhead and Guildford, just across the road from the prominent former gatehouse to Horsley Towers, with its mock-medieval turrets.
Good, fresh food is served daily at The Duke of Wellington, which is open from 9.30am to 11pm on Monday to Thursday; from 9.30am to midnight on Friday and Saturday and from 9.30am to 11pm on Sunday.