West Sussex Pub Guide: The George & Dragon, Burpham

You know when you've reached The George & Dragon pub because the road rather gives up on you. In fact, you practically have to drive through the outdoor tables to get to the car park.

Once inside the front door, you have a choice of left or right turn. One way is white tablecloths and à la carte dining, the other is place mats and à la blackboard. One glance at the pub sign (arty black and white drawing) shows this is a food-dominant, restauranty sort of pub, an impression confirmed by there being six different menus (bar snacks, today's specials, à la carte, cheese board, pudding selection and light platters).

Instead of being anchored to the spot, then, the bar person frequently has to float around the room, delivering anything from a beef ploughman's (£8) to sea bass (£15.95), and from a delicate crab, coriander and parmesan tart (£7.95) to substantial scampi and chips (£9.95).

There aren't many ales, but the two they serve are delicious: light Mid-Summer Gold, from Mauldons Brewery, in Suffolk (4.0 per cent ABV) and thick, dark Old Knucker, made by Arundel Brewery, just two miles away. It turns out the knucker was a legendary dragon that used to stalk Sussex. After seeing it, you needed a drink as strong as this (5.5 per cent ABV).

Not many of the walkers using The George & Dragon have seen terrifying beasts, but those who have done the eight-mile round trip from the pub (with hills involved) arrive for their lunchtime pint looking distinctly more drained than those who have done the easier five- or two-mile versions. What's more, they arrive to find the tables taken by drinkers who have just had a short stroll around St Mary the Virgin church (20 yards from the pub), or a quick gaze across the lovely Arun Valley from the village green (50 yards away).

Mind you, a view can sometimes give you a really large appetite.

• The George & Dragon, The Main Street, Burpham, near Arundel, West Sussex (01903 883131).

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