Banbury Restaurant Guide

The “beautifully cooked food” at this Cotswolds pub is “such a treat”, and “stood out clearly against just about everything else this year” – “if it was closer to home we’d be in there all the time”. The owner, veteran restaurateur Antony Griffith Harris, first worked with head chef Nick Anderson nearly 40 years ago. Top Menu Tip – “the cheese soufflé is exceptional”.

“Run by a delightful couple in a charming village pub” – Richard & Solanche Craven inspire a hymn of praise in reports on their “outstanding Michelin-starred pub” on the fringe of the Cotswolds, which provides the “best all-round gastronomic experience” this year to a couple of reporters. “The food ranks very highly by virtue of its originality and the excellence of its execution. The place still functions as a pub, with an open fire and a pool table, but it is also a proper restaurant”.

Since selling The Ebrington Arms a few years back, Jim & Claire Alexander have fully turned their focus to this historic pub in a picturesque Oxfordshire village, whose local and seasonal cooking is also overseen by ex-Ebrington chef Adam Brown. “After reading so many ‘outstanding’ reviews” (besides 3 AA Rosettes, ‘The Killy’ is on Estrella Damm’s Top 50 UK Gastropubs list), some reporters felt a little underwhelmed, but there was praise too for the “amazing” tasting menu and – if you opt for one of their nine bedrooms – the “breakfasts are super”.

“The menu has something for everybody (and tricky allergies are dealt with without demur)” at this renovated Cotswold village inn which is co-owned by property magnate Sir Tony Gallagher, a kingpin of the Chipping Norton set. “Had a very enjoyable lunch with a large group of pals – the private room was perfect, and not so private as to lose all sense of a pub atmosphere. We’ll happily be back”.

“It’s a lovely experience, sitting at the kitchen counter watching chef Mark Ramshaw (almost) single-handedly prepare dinner for the dozen covers in this tiny Cotswold dining room”. “The tasting menu is delicious” – nine courses for £85 per person – “full of flavours and great local produce, and frankly a bargain… definitely try and grab the kitchen counter”.

“Go mad for further adventures in veg” at Yotam Ottolenghi’s famous deli-cafés, whose Middle Eastern inspired menus are best known for their “creative” salads and meat-free dishes (bread and pastries are also “fabulous”) but there are also some meat and fish options. They are far from cheap, but “the spicing is interesting”, “the flavours are immense” and “the small-plates format allows you to try a number of options”. “A great spot for brunch” or “to drop in for cake and tea”. The Islington branch is most commented-on, and in December 2023 its newest sibling (also in north London) opened on Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead, while a branch in Richmond, in the leafy southwest, is scheduled for late 2024.

Part of Lady Carole Bamford’s Daylesford Organic empire, this newly converted 17th-century Cotswold pub has 12 bedrooms, and meals are served in the pub or the Barn, designed for weekend ‘feasting’ with food from the wood-fired grill. Giles Coren of The Times awarded a rave review here (“Best Pie and Pint of your Life”), even while acknowledging that it’s rather expensive. We’re awaiting more reports before assigning a rating: such as we have so far suggest “it was overpriced and a bit corporate and soulless; a building makeover does not make a good restaurant on its own”.