Mr D’s parents live on the Isle of Wight and for quite some time we’d noticed that their journey up to visit us in London was suddenly taking an inordinately long time. What, we wondered, could possibly be the reason?

After some investigation, we discovered the reason was a lunch stop en route at a beautiful village pub just off the A3 nar Goldalming; The Stag on The River.

After hearing such high praise about The Stag, we decided to meet them half way and have lunch together. I didn’t have any expectations in advance on the gluten free front so when I checked the menu online and discovered they had a whole gluten free menu, I was, er, staggered. Ahem.

We visited in March but you can see the currrent summer menu here – it’s quite similar.

Just look at the gluten free choicces! Plenty of choice in tasty pub food options.

Gluten free garlic and parmesan toast. I have never seen this on a menu before and despite the fact I didn’t need it, I felt it was my duty to try it. Plus I was sure the mini Ds might give it a try.

I went for the classic Stag burger on gluten free bun.

You’ll notice this comes with roast new potatoes.

On the one hand it’s a shame they can’t offer gluten free chips. But on the other, I’m glad they don’t take chances with cross contamination on the chips if they don’t have a separate dedicated fryer.

I didn’t have room for a pudding but if I did I suspect the Banoffee Pie would have my name on it.

The pub itself is located in a small village. It enjoys a lovely garden right next to the river. The only draw back for us was that there were no parking spaces either in the pub’s car park or on the village road side. Perhaps this was unusual – parking has not been a problem for my parents in law but just to highlight this as travel by car is the only way to reach the Stag.

Inside the pub the décor is country but with a modern feel. I could quite happily settle down with a glass of red and the Sunday papers in this window seat. Although not part of a chain, The Stag is part of a collection of pubs in the Surrey / Hampshire area. It’s worth looking at the list of other pubs here in case there’s one near to you. I understand they all have gluten free menus also.

In all, the quality of the food, the fantastic gluten free menu and the super friendly service make this a great pub to visit if you’re in the Surrey area.

Website: The Stag On The River
Location: Lower Eashing Lane, Eashing, Surrey, GU7 2QG
Would I go back?: I’m looking forward to a return visit soon.