The Stag on the River

The Stag on the River sits at Lower Eashing, a short way out from Godalming proper, on the banks of the River Wey. It is a gastropub rather than a pub that happens to serve food, British cooking, seasonal menus, and a riverside terrace that is plainly the main draw when the weather allows. The setting does a lot of the work here, and the place knows it.

The ££ price band is worth reading properly. It signals a step above standard pub prices without moving into occasion-dining territory. You are paying something for the location and the kitchen's ambitions, but not so much that a midweek dinner becomes a decision you have to justify. For most readers that puts it in the category of somewhere you can go without a reason, which is a useful thing for a pub to be.

Walkers are an obvious constituency. Eashing is close enough to the North Downs Way that a lunch here is a natural halt rather than a detour, and a riverside terrace after several miles on foot is a strong argument. If that is your plan, be sensible about it: a busy Sunday at a pub with a good outdoor space will fill, and turning up muddy and hopeful in high summer is a gamble. Book if you can.

It also works as a weekend lunch for people driving out from the surrounding towns, and as a slower Sunday where the point is to sit for a while rather than eat and go. Weeknight dinner is plausible at this price, though the riverside appeal is diminished once it is dark half the year. If the terrace is the reason you are going, go when you can use it.

A few practical things. The address is Lower Eashing, not Godalming town centre, so factor in the short journey and check parking arrangements before you set off rather than assuming. The menus are described as seasonal, which means what is available will shift through the year, check the current offering directly if you are travelling for something specific. We have no verified information on opening hours, service times or whether the kitchen runs all afternoon, so confirm with the pub rather than relying on assumption.

Godalming and the villages around it are not short of pubs, and a good many of them are pleasant. What separates this one is position: a river, a terrace, and proximity to walking country is a combination that cannot be manufactured. That means it is likely to be busy when conditions are good and quieter when they are not, which is a reasonable thing to plan around. Treat it as a place where the setting and the food are meant to work together, and go on a day when you can make use of both.