Watlington Restaurant Guide

Julie Griffiths’ “atmospheric gastropub with lovely real ales and log fires” has been a feature of the Chilterns deep in countryside off the M40 south of Oxford for yonks and is, for its many fans, “an amazing institution that just keeps giving”. “Julie and her team look after you very well” and its unchanging attributes include “good if expensive” cooking and “a wonderful selection of wines”. (“A recent house move prompted the alarming thought that the first visit to the Napier was around 40 years ago. Since then we have visited dozens of times, celebrating special occasions and the everyday. What has never changed is the friendly and attentive welcome, the sense of ease settling by the fire in the bar or taking an aperitif in the beautiful garden. The menu always feels reassuring but upon closer inspection reveals constant fine- tuning in response to availability and season. Once installed in the eclectic dining area, the Napier remains an unchanging, unalloyed pleasure”.)

“Other restaurants in the vicinity attract more hype – and even have stars – seemingly because they have a ‘TV chef’, but they really aren’t as good and cost much more” than Michael Mcdonald’s high-quality fixture (one of the top-100 most commented-on spots outside London in our annual diners’ poll). Some compare the experience to being “like dining in a back living room” – not all together a surprise as it’s part of a house that was in fact once home to TS Eliot – but the main events here are the “beautiful precise flavours” of the “excellent and reasonably priced” food and “wonderful polite service”.

“Excellent pub food in Chilterns countryside” is to be had at this cosy seventeenth-century country pub in the hamlet of Roke, near Wallingford. The straightforward menu specialises in grills, and if you still have room for cheese afterwards there’s a notably good selection.

“The big ol’ Compleat Angler hotel might be thought a bit dated but I rather love it, right on the bank of the Thames at Marlow”. This “pretty dining room” is right over the water and is “one of Atul Kochhar’s finest” with “excellent customer service” and “delicate and finely cooked dishes”.

With its “idyllic setting on banks of river Cherwell, with trees and ducks and peace and quiet”, this restaurant in a working boathouse for punts is a true Oxford institution after 55 years in operation. By all accounts, “the food is a little hit-and-miss” – “but the wine list is great, with knowledgeable serving staff”. It’s at its best on a “sunny summer’s day” – but if weather forces everyone to squeeze inside, “it can be very noisy”.

Situated in the village of Little Milton outside of Oxford, this charming 16th Century thatched public house has been serving elevated British pub food since its reopening under new ownership from 2022.The kitchen, run by Michelin trained Head Chef Nat Berney, provides ...

Owner Ranka Lani began her career at Soho’s Bar Italia, and nowadays owns and runs this “relaxed” country pub in the Bucks countryside: a “high-quality” operation with numerous menu choices, from an à la carte brasserie-style menu to set Sunday lunch and tasting options.

This “thatched-roof, quintessentially English pub” on the Phillimore Estate wins raves for its “outstanding food” (not least a “stunning value” set menu) – perhaps no surprise given that it’s run by David Holliday and Alex Sargeant, ex-of London favourite the Harwood Arms. It’s “great in the summer sitting outside” but “great in the winter” too, courtesy of its “cosy” interior (and “they also have a burger barn if you‘re looking for something more casual”).

Experience excellent food and fine wine in the 4 silver star Crowne Plaza Marlow’s newly refurbished Glaze Restaurant in Marlow, AA Rosette awarded for its culinary excellence. Having recently undergone a huge refurbishment project, the Glaze Restaurant is no...

“Wonderful food” that provided some reporters with their best meal of the year has developed a very loyal fan club for Ryan & Liam Simpson-Trotman’s well-established rural venue, in a converted pub. You don’t have to eat from the taster menu – there’s an à la carte option with two courses for £65 per person – but the most ambitious offering runs to eight courses and £120 per person.

“Old-fashioned, but in a top-quality way” – this Thames Valley stalwart enjoys “an outstanding location on the Thames” at Sonning Eye and is “like a step back in time”. Owned and run by the Emmanuel family since 1972, its interior is “comfortable and rather cosy and romantic too”; and you are well looked after (“even though we were the only diners on that particular occasion there was no sense of being rushed”). The odd reporter feels its “solid British menu” (with the speciality of their signature spit-roasted duck) is “due an overhaul”. But that’s a minority view – most of its (silver-haired) fans like it just the way it is. Top Tip – exceptional wine from the list: “it’s a Bible”. (The future direction of the business is slightly unclear. In September 2023, it was put on the market for £12m with Michael Emmanuel announcing: “It’s not easy to say goodbye to a place that has been the heart of our family for so long, but we’re eager to see the next chapter of its storied history unfold”. The asking price subsequently dropped to £8m several months later and as of October 2024 the restaurant’s website reads: “The French Horn has not been sold and is still being run enthusiastically by the Emmanuel family.”)