Sun Inn, Romsey

The building dates from the eighteenth century, and appears from the outside to have two and a half storeys, although your surveyor was assured that it has the full three. It now stands beside the Romsey to Eastleigh rail line, adjacent to the eponymous arch, an infamously popular stopping point for inattentive drivers of high vehicles.

The interior, carpeted throughout, is a single space comprising the public area of the original building, and a single-storey extension. The whole provides three discrete areas from which to choose; those either side of the bar area are principally for diners’ use.

The garden sits at the foot of a railway embankment, and affords dramatic views of passing trains, both passenger and goods.

There is a large and varied food menu, and the seventies are evoked by the presence of basket meals. The weekly schedule of specials is: Monday curry, Tuesday burger, Wednesday pie and pint, Thursday steak, Friday fish and fizz, Sunday roast. Dogs' dinners are also available.

Two televisions silently draw the eye.

Stagecoach 66 (Romsey – Winchester) stops 90m east. Bluestar 4 (Romsey – Southampton) and 5 (Romsey – Eastleigh), and Salisbury Reds 35 (Romsey – Braishfield) stop 250m west. All services start and end at Romsey’s bus station, from which buses to Salisbury, Totton, Lockerley, and Nomansland also depart.