A handshake at the front door of The Stag & Hounds, beneath the nameboard

Our story

Kumar & Rani

We are Kumar and Rani, and for us, running a pub has always been about much more than serving food and drinks. It is about friendship, community and creating a place where everybody feels welcome.

From Mayfair to the country

Kumar began his career in the pub trade in London, since 2007, and managing a Greene King pub, the Coach and Horses on Bruton Street, Mayfair, from 2009 until 2015. Although we enjoyed our time in the city, we had always dreamed of a quieter country life and the chance to become part of a real village community.

In 2015, we left London and moved to Cambridgeshire, where we took on the lease of The Three Kings in Haddenham, near Ely. That experience strengthened our love for traditional country pubs and taught us how important a good village pub can be to the people living around it.

Our home in Leicestershire

In 2019, we moved to what we believe is one of the loveliest parts of the country: Wymondham in Leicestershire.

Since then, we have proudly run The Berkeley Arms. With the extraordinary support of the village, our guests and our wonderful team, we have grown the business while always protecting its character as a proper village pub.

Over the years, we have built friendships that mean far more to us than business alone. Local people have supported us, worked alongside us, shared their produce and helped make the pub what it is today. In return, we have always tried to make The Berkeley Arms a welcoming place at the heart of its community.

“Our approach is simple: a village pub should remain a village pub — a place for everyone, not just a few.”

Two chefs filling trays of homemade pastry cases in the pub kitchen — Made from scratch

Our philosophy

We are not interested in making food unnecessarily complicated or pretentious. We believe in honest, freshly prepared dishes made from scratch, combining much-loved pub classics with seasonal specials and the best ingredients we can find.

Wherever possible, we source from local farmers, growers, gamekeepers and independent suppliers. We enjoy putting locally reared meat, seasonal vegetables, village-grown fruit and other wonderful local produce onto our menus.

Supporting local people is central to everything we do. We recruit locally, buy locally and work with neighbouring businesses wherever possible. Every pound retained within the area helps strengthen the rural economy and the community surrounding the pub.

A new chapter at The Stag & Hounds

We may now have two pubs, but our values remain exactly the same. We are bringing everything we have learned at The Berkeley Arms to The Stag & Hounds: genuine hospitality, home-cooked food, carefully kept drinks, local employment and strong community involvement.

The Stag & Hounds has a proud history and a special place within Burrough on the Hill. We feel privileged to become part of its story, and we intend to preserve everything that makes it a true country pub while giving it the care and energy it deserves.

We want it to be somewhere walkers can rest after exploring Burrough Hill, where dogs are welcomed, families can eat together, friends can meet over a pint and villagers can always feel that the pub belongs to them.

This is not about changing what The Stag & Hounds represents. It is about protecting its history, supporting its community and beginning the next chapter together.