Wallingford, Italian Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: “A brilliant location” – on a picture-perfect stretch of lush Thames riverbank – is the justification for maintaining the listing of this Thames Valley veteran, on the fringe of Goring. On a sunny day, there are few nicer places to be. Its “classic Italian menu”? Not much commented on (nor, to be fair, criticised) and not the main point.

This romantic, high-end dining room has brought a slice of Italy to Henley’s waterside since the mid-1990s; “the space is not large, but the extensive use of mirrors makes it feel airy” while the crowd-pleasing menu is always “reliably good”. Given its popularity, it can get “very noisy” – particularly during the local Regatta, which lends its name to one of their many specials (the latter “significantly more expensive than the standard menu offerings”, which are a bargain).

This big, buzzy millennium-born Jericho brasserie-plus-deli “continues to provide good-value, reliably cooked food” (with an Italian slant, but ranging further into the Med) and is accordingly “always busy”. The handsome interior (exposed-brick walls, parquet floor) is abetted by “ample outdoor space for the few sunny days”, though mysteriously they still haven’t launched the five bedrooms that have been touted for quite some time now.

Five-year-old French bistro in Summertown offering “a limited but well-executed menu”, alongside “delightful service and a warm and friendly ambience”. Chef-patron Pascal Wiedermann (ex-Racine, Terroirs and Six Portland Place), who runs it with his wife Laura, scatters his Gallic cuisine with touches from across Europe. Even fans, though, say “sometimes the food is excellent, but unfortunately it can be variable”. Top Tip – “look out for the early evening drink and snack offers”.

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.