The Rose and Olive

The Rose and Olive sits in Virginia Water village, and it is a Mediterranean restaurant of the smarter sort — elegant interiors, a seasonal menu, and a wine list that the place is known for. That combination tells you a fair amount about the room before you walk into it. This is not a quick bite on the way home.

The price band is £££. In practical terms, that puts it above the local pub kitchen and below the sort of place you visit once a year for an anniversary. Expect to spend properly on a full meal with wine, and expect the surroundings and the service to be pitched accordingly. If you are weighing it against cheaper options nearby, the honest distinction is that you are paying partly for the setting and partly for the drinking — the wine selection is one of the things the restaurant is specifically known for, so a table here rewards people who intend to order a bottle rather than a glass of house red.

Long lunches are what it is best at. That is worth taking at face value. A restaurant that draws people for weekend lunches tends to be one where nobody is hurrying you out, where the room holds a conversation well, and where a second course and a coffee feel natural rather than indulgent. Sunday with friends, a birthday that wants a bit of occasion without a black-tie budget, a couple with a free afternoon and no particular plans afterwards — those are the bookings that suit it. It would also work for a business lunch where the point is to talk properly, though anyone on a tight clock should say so when booking.

Before you go, the thing to know is that the menu is seasonal. That means the dishes change, and it means there is no point arriving with a specific plate in mind. Check the current menu directly with the restaurant if there is something you need — a dietary requirement, a particular preference, a set lunch you are hoping for. The same goes for opening times and whether lunch runs every day of the week; we are not going to guess at those here.

Virginia Water is a village with a certain amount of money passing through it, and a restaurant at this price point is not out of place. The Rose and Olive reads as a village restaurant with a proper wine offer attached — the sort of address locals use when they want somewhere good without driving to Windsor or into London. Whether it justifies the spend will come down to what you order and how long you stay. Go when you have the afternoon.