So, is it 1390, as it says on the wall? Or 16th century, or perhaps 15th as other records claim? Whichever – the Dog and Badger at Medmenham is a very old inn.

What would the country folk who lived here, and travellers who passed by over the centuries, think of it today?

An old friend, who retired to Wales, used to ask me about the Dog and Badger when we met up. “When I was working in Reading in my first job just before the war,” he would reminisce.

“I would go home to Penn each weekend on my motorbike and always stop at the Dog and Badger. And always have liver and onions.”

It’s not on the menu now. What is here is the latest trend in British/Mediterranean cuisine with a massive effort to meet today’s dietary concerns. 

The menu not only indicates which dishes are veggie, vegan and GMF, it also indicates which can be adapted on request, swapping standard bread, burger-buns and pasta for GM free, Gary vegan ‘cheese’ made from coconut oil, and omitting offending items.

And if you really want to check it all out, they will hand you their “free from and allergen” book which lists every single menu item along with its ingredients, and what chef can do to adapt it to your preferences. Amazing set-up.

Blessed with strong constitutions, we set about the main menu. It’s pages long with interesting notes about their passion for simple food, sustainably sourced, done well, and the farms that produce their ingredients.

They serve food from 7am so there are brunch treats as well as build-your-own salads, pastas, grills and homemade burgers (including beetroot falafel and halloumi and mushroom burgers), and home comfort dishes.

A choice must be made from this abundance. My starter of Gambas Pil Pil (‘gluten free available’) was as tasty a treatment of king prawns as I could wish, with an unusual but delicious bread.

My partner’s choice of Asparagus Tortelloni was a hit, declared to be light and summery served with peas and a hint of chilli, lemon and parsley.

I chose one of their most popular dishes, 12-hour Roasted Pork Belly cooked in cider, finished in the Josper oven, and served with mash, broccoli, crackling, set off by the most intense rich jus.

Our other choice was grilled seabass which came atop a goodly mound of grilled courgette and pepper, tomatoes, peas, salsa verde and trendy superfood grains. We loved both dishes – beautifully cooked with innovative touches.

From a list of 10 tempting desserts, my Summer Pudding was a winner, a tart medley of summer berries in a moist brioche case.

They trumpet the virtue of their Northern Bloc ice-cream, and it really was one of the best I’ve tasted. Passionfruit and Lemon Curd Meringue Mess with Sicilian lemon sorbet was another perfect summery pud, light but creamy and with fresh flavours, and both showed welcome restraint on the sugar front, leaving the fruits to sing.

The drinks menu is equally full of the unexpected. Alongside a good selection of wines, spirits and beers there are cocktails both classic and trendy, as well as innovative mocktails, smoothies and milkshakes.

So many surprises, and I haven’t even mentioned the whacky decor. There’s nothing quaint about the historic Dog and Badger these days, though its old beams and walls remain untouched.

But the bar is created from the shiny curve of a yacht, the walls are covered in quirky artwork, the loo wall is lined with ‘snake’ wallpaper, there’s a big brown bear in the snug.

And hidden round the back are six bedrooms in a beautiful cottage that is believed to have been an alehouse back in the 1300s.

Lots to explore at the Dog and Badger.