Banbury, British, Modern 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”.

“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”.