Harden's says
A "village within a village", Thyme is a collection of restored historic buildings with a hotel and restaurant (Ox Barn) as well as a cookery school, village pub, events centre in a tithe barn and a spa.
Harden's survey result
Summary
This five-year-old venue set in a huge stone-built former barn – part of a sprawling family-run project in the Cotswolds also incorporating a spa retreat, a pub and a beauty business – serves “reliably good food. Nothing fancy, just great local ingredients cooked to perfection. Yum”. Chef Charlie Hibbert trained under Jeremy Lee at Quo Vadis; his mother Caryn led the redevelopment of the estate. Top Tip – “if you have a meal here, make time to walk around the grounds and take in the great views”.
Summary
Opened in 2020 after a lavish conversion, the Hibbert family’s “stunning” former barn is “one of the most stylish and delicious places to eat in the Cotswolds”, serving “interesting and top-quality ingredients, beautifully presented” by Ballymaloe-trained chef Charlie, whose mother Caryn led the 18-year-long development project which also includes a cookery school, pub and beauty business.
Summary
“What a room! – a delightful space – where everything is satisfyingly well thought out and pleasing to the eye” (“reflecting the large amounts of money spent on them!”), at Caryn & Jerry Hibbert’s barn-conversion, which sits within a chocolate-box-pretty Cotswolds development, incorporating bar, pub, cookery school, spa and shopping. The food, in an easygoing vein, is “flavoursome” too – “we’d stay… if we didn't live around the corner”.
Summary
Caryn & Jerry Hibbert's “super-stylish and modern” barn-conversion is “surely one of the best restaurants in the Cotswolds” right now, and not only in terms of aesthetics… oldest son Charlie’s “tasty and light food focusing on interesting seasonal ingredients” is more than a match for the “great room and atmosphere”. The restaurant is a recent addition (c. 2020) to what amounts to Thyme's absurdly picturesque “village within a village” now spanning 31 bedrooms, a bar, pub, cookery school, spa and boutiques.
For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Ox Barn at Thyme?
Southrop Manor Estate, Southrop, GL7 3NX
Restaurant details
Ox Barn at Thyme Restaurant Diner Reviews
"Beautiful setting - poorly ran service …. Went on through for lunch gave our names and details - told to sit anywhere - which we did a lovely corner table - had sat there for 5-10 minutes then asked for our names again (already supplied) - then we were asked to move tables (from a table we we were offered and were comfortable with by your head waiter “Dan”” - I explained that we were happy here and didn’t want to move but he was insistant so, despite, ignoring my arguments and making us feel very uncomfortable moved to a less desirable table. The table we left was not utilised and had one person sitting at it at a restaurant at not full capacity. I tried to talk to “Dan” about this awful situation and lack of empathy, but really did fall on deaf ears! Again later tried talking later to Dan but he was dismissive and patronising - really not a good look or feel! Mostly all staff were fabulous - but his attitude and service is really unacceptable in such a beautiful environment. In hospitality I've learned that people will often forget what you said, what you eat and drink, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
"Considering the number of guests requiring food and drink, this is a splendid ‘not quite formal, not quite informal’ experience. Everyone is trying very hard to please and it shows - far from perfect and certainly not the most efficient service or the greatest of culinary experiences it does have that ‘local’ feel to everything and the setting is impressive. P.S. - Breakfast is, at best, described as chaotic but more honestly described as a disaster ….."
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch | £24.50 | £29.00 |  |
|
|
Traditional European menu
| Starter | Main | Veggies | Pudding |
|---|---|---|---|
| £14.00 | £32.00 | £6.00 | £0.00 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £30.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.00 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
Southrop Manor Estate, Southrop, GL7 3NX
Opening hours
| Monday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Sunday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
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