British, Modern Restaurants in Charlbury
1. Minster Mill
British, Modern restaurant in Minster Lovell
Old Minster - OX29
2023 Review: Limited but good all-round feedback on this handsome hotel on the fringe of the Cotswolds and a short drive from Oxford (part of Andrew Brownsword’s luxurious group), whose beautiful terrace borders the banks of the River Windrush. In the beamed, pitched-roof dining room, chef Joshua Brimmell holds a hard-to-win three AA rosettes.
2. Cherwell Boathouse
British, Modern restaurant in Oxford
Bardwell Road - OX2
“A table by the river on a summer day is idyllic” at this magical Oxford institution, where “lovely food is served in a romantic setting alongside the River Cherwell in a location where punts are still built and operated”. Run by two generations of the Verdin family for the past 55 years, it invariably has “great staff and a nice ambience” – although “food is not the main objective, but it’s still very good – we tend to visit for the wine-tasting nights” (the list is very good here).
3. The Swan Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Ascott-under-Wychwood
4 Shipton Road - OX7
2021 Review: The co-founders of group that owns The Chequers in the Cotswolds and The Talbot in North Yorkshire have added another historic venue to their collection – a 16th century inn, complete with a 100-cover dining room and seven guest bedrooms. No survey feedback as yet, but press reviews are very upbeat.
4. The Killingworth Castle
British, Modern restaurant in Wootton
Glympton Road - OX20
In 2021, after selling The Ebrington Arms near Chipping Campden, which they’d run for 15 years, Jim & Claire Alexander were able to fully focus their attentions on this seventeenth-century inn, handy for Blenheim Palace; chef Adam Brown (a Ramsay alum) oversees the locally sourced food, which inspired solid marks this year, if little in the way of commentary (other than to say that it’s “good again at last” – perhaps a result of the Alexanders’ renewed focus).
5. The Swan Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Burford
Swinbrook - OX18
2023 Review: “High-quality pub food” and a “lovely setting by the river” earn high ratings across the board for this traditional Cotswolds inn. “On a brilliant sunny bank holiday Saturday, The Swan was rammed but the amazing staff never missed a beat – the chef & kitchen churned out really delicious food, and nobody was less than delighted with their choices”. Top Tip – “the sticky toffee reaches new heights of orgasmic satisfaction”.
6. The Kingham Plough
British, Modern restaurant in Kingham
The Green - OX7
This high-profile Cotswold gastroboozer near Chipping Norton is “always worth a visit” for its “relaxed ambience” and “consistent and tasty” food, from an “interesting menu which uses great local produce”. Matt & Katie Beamish, who have worked for luminaries including Raymond Blanc and Fergus Henderson, took over a few years ago from Emily Watkins, who put the pub on the map – and have created a local group by snapping up The Hare at Milton under Wychwood and The Crown at Church Enstone, too.
7. The Wild Rabbit
British, Modern restaurant in Kingham
Church St - OX7
This fancy Cotswold gastropub is popular with the Chipping Norton set, being owned by Lady Bamford, the driving force of Daylesford Organic (who supply much of the produce). Chef Sam Bowser’s food elicited very solid marks this year, despite the occasional critic who feels it’s “overpriced, even for those of us used to London mark-ups”. Best way to do it? “Go for a country walk before or after and grab a room for the night”.
8. The Boxing Hare
British, Modern restaurant in Swerford
Banbury Road - OX7
This Cotswold local for the Chipping Norton set is a “very busy pub on a Sunday, with great beef choices” and meat – sourced from a farm just six miles away – and is a mainstay on weekdays too: “even if it’s expensive, it’s well worth while ordering the very best of the menu”. Owner Antony Griffith Harris and chef Nick Anderson first worked together more than 35 years ago before teaming up here in 2017.
9. The Mason Arms
British, Modern restaurant in South Leigh
Station Road - OX29
2021 Review: It’s the picture of a traditional thatched pub, but the “cosy” interior and “heartwarming” menu have been funked up at this rural inn, which was consistently highly rated last year.
10. Daylesford Organic Farm, Trough Café
British, Modern restaurant in Daylesford
Daylesford near Kingham - GL56
Lady Bamford’s two-decade-old farm shop and café may be “home to the Chipping Norton set” but it’s “delightful” nonetheless, especially “when the weather is pleasant enough to sit out under the brollies in the courtyard and people-watch while having something tasty for lunch”. Popularity doesn’t come cheap, but one reporter found it “very reasonably priced” this year, bucking the usual critiques.
11. The Feathered Nest Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Nether Westcote
“Sample Michelin-chef food” (that chef being Matt Weedon, who won the honour at Glenapp Castle and Lords of the Manor) at this ex-malthouse-turned-country-bolthole in a chocolate-box Cotswolds village. Not only is the setting “wonderful” – ideally placed between Burford and Stow-on-the-Wold, and with “great views” over the Evenlode Valley from the garden – Weedon’s locally sourced cooking (not least the six-course tasting menu) is “wonderful” too.
12. The Fox at Oddington
British, Modern restaurant in Lower Oddington
High Street - GL56
“The Fox has had a major makeover since the old days when it had the ambience of a venerable Cotswold pub” – as you’d expect since the July 2022 takeover by Lady Bamford and her Daylesford empire. Some old timers feel “the money lavished on its gentrification has not resulted in improvement”, although they concede the result is “very comfortable” and deliver a thumbs-up to its selection of posh pub grub (pizza, steak, burgers and Cornish fish for the most part). In early 2023, Giles Coren declared himself a fan too, even if there was nowhere close to park that wasn’t already taken by “gleaming Land Rovers and Porsches, piled three deep in the narrow lanes and stacked on pavements”.
13. The Fox at Oddington
British, Modern restaurant in Moreton-in-Marsh
Lower Oddington - GL56
2022 Review: In an attractive Cotswolds Hamlet, this ivy-covered sixteenth-century pub has been included in our guide for many years as somewhere that’s a cut above, with lovely courtyard garden, real ales and superior grub. With its 80 inside seats and 40 on the terrace, it was taken over in mid-2021 and given a refurb by Lady Carole Bamford, owner of nearby Daylesford Organic. Too few reports for a rating, but very early feedback says it’s “happily survived Covid and good all-round”.
14. The Bell
British, Modern restaurant in Hampton Poyle
11 Oxford Road - OX5
2021 Review: A “buzzy, busy pub” with nine rooms plus flagstone floors, oak beams and slouchable leather armchairs; while the food is perhaps good rather than stellar, they’re “trying hard” and it’s handily located if you’re en route in or out of Oxford.
15. The White Hart
British, Modern restaurant in Wytham
2023 Review: “A foodie gem”, this well-known eighteenth-century pub in a village on the outskirts of Oxford has been going through a period of flux, hence we’ve removed a rating for the time being. High-profile chef Jon Parry joined in summer 2022, after our annual diners’ poll had concluded, having made a name for himself cooking over an open fire at The Mash Inn in Buckinghamshire, and declared his ambition to ‘turn The White Hart into something really special’. Four months later, owner Baz Butcher announced his intention to sell up and retire to France.
16. The Slaughters Manor House
British, Modern restaurant in Lower Slaughter
Copsehill Rd - GL54
This archetypal Cotswolds manor house, just outside Bourton on the Water, occupies a seventeenth century property that’s nowadays part of Andrew Brownsword’s hotel group. The cuisine – under chef Nik Chappell – wins a consistent thumbs-up (“we do enjoy going here... results can be a bit hit and miss, but are mostly good! while service is very good and the dining room attractive”). As well as a fairly pricey à la carte (three courses for £80) there’s a relatively affordable all-day menu served in the bar and lounges (with dishes such as omelette Arnold Bennett, steak, posh sarnies, and so on).
17. Gee’s
British, Modern restaurant in Oxford
61 Banbury Rd - OX2
This “lovely greenhouse” – originally a late-Victorian florist’s – has been a landmark dining destination in north Oxford for almost 40 years, and benefited from a £1.5 million revamp a couple of years ago that boosted capacity to 220. It’s a delightful spot for a meal, although the Italian-leaning cooking is generally felt to be “hit and miss”; the appointment of new head chef Lee Parsons should improve matters.
18. The Five Alls
British, Modern restaurant in Lechlade
Filkins - GL7
2021 Review: “A real pleasure” – takeover by a chain (Cardiff’s Barkby Group, at the helm as of 2018) hasn’t led to a fall in fortunes for this eighteenth century village boozer; it continues to deliver “very enjoyable”, “well-sized and well-priced” grub (including the “perfect Sunday roast”) that’s “worth travelling some way for” – and, while it “gets pretty packed, it appears the kitchen is used to that and copes admirably”.
19. Parsonage Grill
British, Modern restaurant in Oxford
Old Parsonage Hotel, 1 Banbury Road - OX2
With its “log fire and paintings on the walls” and “pleasant terrace outside for better weather”, this small hotel in a 17th-century “former rectory in central Oxford” makes for an atmospheric bolthole in the ‘City of Dreaming Spires’ – and the perfect setting for a “generous set tea” or relaxing lunch.
20. The Punter
British, Modern restaurant in Oxford
7 South St - OX2
2023 Review: This “picturesque riverside venue” on Oxford’s Osney Island (which opened in 1871 as The Waterman) is notable for its “laid-back but beautifully presented vegetarian food, full of flavours from a varied and interesting menu”. “I’m not a vegetarian myself but most definitely hope to be back”. Top Tip – “the whipped goats’ cheese”.
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