to the landlord's London roots. Next there is room taking you on a trip back to elegant Tudor times, with sharp white walls, jet black masonry and a beautiful polished chest of drawers. Finally, there is the delightfully quirky end room which presents a sixties feel of radicalism and non-conformity. There are dark full-length curtains and a long burgundy-painted wall and decorated with big black and white pictures of icons from the age of psychedelia and revolt, including Robert Redford and Steve McQueen, The Beatles and Audrey Hepburn.

We were shown to this third room by the friendly landlady whose husband stands behinds the bar pulling pints for the regulars, one of whom has apparently been drinking here since 1948. It's easy to understand why. The long bar a nice choice of four, mainly local, real ales with Milton and Buntingford Breweries' prominently featuring and the wonderfully named Rusty Bucket.

Like the décor, the imaginative menu had the capacity to surprise. There were pigeon, quail and eel dishes for starters, while main courses reflected the food's local sourcing with confit of Somersham pork, Gressingham duck and Lincolnshire sirloins supplied by the Cambridge butcher of repute Andrew Northrop. The cooking here is by Brazilian chef Marcello da Silveira, who has previously has spells at Midsummer House and the equally famous Beach Blanket Babylon in Shoreditch.

We went for the Scottish scallops which came artistically presented, with individual portions of parsnip and vanilla purée , sautéed spinach, apple and black truffle. The taste was as delicate as the design. We also had the Portobello mushrooms which were a revelation, perfectly accompanied by the sweet and sour flavours of goat's cheese, onion chutney and roasted peppers. The Chilean Merlot we chose from a wine list of three reds and whites went well with these delightful starters.

The mains equally reflected the wonderful look and taste of Latin inspired nouvelle cuisine. The fried turbot and Brancaster mussels had a fairly powerful flavour, tempered nicely with citrus. The dish could have done with more vegetables than just wilted spinach though.

The Denham lamb, however, was perfect. It arrived immaculately served on a large white plate with creamy mashed potato and jus around the outside and three large slices of juicy lamb proudly took centre stage. The meat was well prepared so that it remained wonderfully tender and really expressed all of the deep flavours that lamb can offer, the jus adding a hint of extra richness.

We still had room for a desert, which was no bad thing with the selection on offer. The sticky toffee pudding was not short of compliments as the sweet gloopy filling oozed out and mixed with ice-cream. Despite being tempted by cheese from the Gog Magog hills, we went for the crème brulee, which was a real treat. Tangy vanilla pods neatly contrasted with the soothing cream and crispy glazed-sugar topping.

To finish off we had coffee on the comfy sofas of the bar, feeling very satisfied with our meal. The Black Horse succeeds combining different things - old and new dining areas, locally sourced ingredients with Latin inspired cooking techniques, fine food and an informal atmosphere. In doing so, it offers an impressive variety of food, drink and decor. We feel the future is bright for this out of the way jewel.