Charlbury Restaurant Guide

“The food is delicious, the place is lovely, as are the people” who run this historic pub-with-rooms in a Cotswolds-fringe village – dating from 1637, it provided Winston Churchill with a handy lunchtime escape when staying at nearby Blenheim Palace in the 1930s. It’s been smartened up by owners Jim & Claire Alexander since they took over in 2012, with the kitchen run by chef Adam Brown. Feedback is somewhat limited, but all rate it consistently highly.

“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”.

At last and after a substantial refurb – (which reputedly cost new owner Daniel Ede £4million) this boutique townhouse hotel near Blenheim Palace is back and its restaurant, Nest (geddit?) “is returning to previous culinary standards – with an updated, modern British menu” and “while not terribly cheap” fans say “the cooking compares very favourably with many other places in Oxfordshire”. “The staff are very friendly and the newly refurbished dining room is a pleasure to dine in”.

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”.

With its “fantastic country pub atmosphere”, this well-known Cotswolds watering hole has long been a key venue for the Chipping Norton set; and current owners Matt & Katie Beamish run it as part of a trio of pubs-with-rooms in the district (with the Milton Hare and the Crown at Church Enstone). All reports acknowledge “tasty food that doesn’t cost the earth”, although the most sceptical diner feels that “it mixes pub standards with more ambitious fare (maybe too ambitious at the top end as those dishes failed to zing… maybe it was chef’s night off)”.

Even critics of the “eyewatering prices”, say “you can’t help but admire how well this take on a country pub in ‘Bamfordshire’ is done” and most diners at Lady Bamford’s super-scenic Cotswolds Inn “love the experience, saying it’s so laid back and with great food”. In June 2025 – too late for feedback in our annual diners’ poll – the kitchen welcomed Callum Graham as Executive Chef, who joined from the much accoladed Bohemia in Jersey, and with a view to ‘helping elevate our culinary experiences across the business’ with the aim to ‘champion excellence in sustainable, seasonal dining across its portfolio’.

“Very busy” Cotswolds pub with “well-prepared food” at “very reasonable prices” that is particularly popular as a classic weekend destination to avail yourself of their “generous Sunday roast”. Top Menu Tip – “the double-baked cheese soufflé is a standout”; “Cherry and Almond Tart as well as the chocolate truffles are flavoursome without being sickly sweet”.

The cornerstone of Lady Bamford’s organic empire, this farm shop and café (juggling Michelin Green Star dining room ‘The Trough’; pizza and small plates joint ‘The Old Spot’; and ‘The Legbar’ for snacks), “remains a modern oasis amidst all the pubs serving the same menu” in this bucolic corner of The Cotswolds. It “can be a bit haughty” given its Chipping Norton set clientèle (and it remains “pricey”), but then again “perhaps the greatest plus is people-watching and seeing how the other half sometimes behave!”.

“Absolutely lovely” – “Tucked away down a lane”, this restored Georgian malthouse overlooking the Evenlode valley is “everything that you could want a Cotswold Pub now Restaurant with Rooms to be”: “a stunning place with real atmosphere” and high marks too to the accomplished cuisine, be it from the high quality à la carte menu, or the more ambitious seven-course tasting menu for £90 per person. It’s not a case of fancy combinations – you’re paying for high quality protein that’s been sensitively prepared.

2024 Review: “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”.

This “wonderful old Cotswold inn” has been “beautifully renovated by the Daylesford owners” who took over in mid-2021, and now features stately equine paintings and lemon trees in the foreground of its mullioned windows. While it’s “larger and a bit more of a machine since becoming part of the Bamford empire”, the atmosphere is “lovely” (not least in the courtyard garden) and on the food front it is seen as “reliable”, with much sourcing from its famed sibling Daylesford Organic, and a crowd-pleasing menu of pub classics, wood-fired pizzas and fancier seasonal dishes.

“Cosy even in winter”, this “canvas structure” makes a quirky destination, being part of a garden centre near Bicester. All reports say it “makes an interesting venue” and has “a good choice of food” too, with “great atmosphere and lovely staff”. For a “tasty brunch” or “enjoyable afternoon tea” it’s highly popular, but the food’s more ambitious than it might sound (“a faultless lunch included cod cheeks in tempura, meltingly braised beef with pommes Anna and two proper puds”). “Thankfully, we’re bound to need something else for the garden soon!”.

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.

In 2005, Ex-Bibendum chef Pete Robinson and wife Louise took over this former Butchers and refurbished it as a highly popular Cotswolds eatery. The name is a bit of a misnomer – there is “a touch of meat” on the “long menu”, including a 1.1kg T-Bone (For 2), but its heart and soul is a brilliant selection of fish and seafood, much of it cooked over charcoal, and presented in an appealingly luxurious everyday fashion (for example Cornish Lobster Mac & Cheese, Surf & Turf Burger, Dover Sole Meunière & Fries). “Very busy which was good to see – my first visit and it won’t be the last”.

This Oxford-fringe institution is “the perfect country pub for all seasons: thatched roof, low beams, fire, cosy interior, extensive garden” – and is just a quarter-hour walk from the city centre in a beautiful, leafy and peaceful location in Binsey, close to the Thames (known locally as the Isis) and Port Meadow. It’s not an overtly foodie destination, but “the menu has everything you’d hope for from a country pub, plus some extra surprise treats (quails eggs, pork belly and apple mustard)”.

“A visit feels like an occasion”, say fans of this “superb local French restaurant” in Summertown from chef-patron Pascal Wiedermann (ex-Racine, Terroirs and Six Portland Place) and his wife Laura. “Service is very good” and the dishes “well-executed”, although some feel the menu is somewhat “limited” and “requires £££”.

2024 Review: 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).

2022 Review: “So good – writing this now makes me crave their tofu noodles!” – this Oxford institution takes a culinary tour tracing the voyages of China’s legendary fifteenth-century admiral Zheng, with a handful of dishes from each of Sichuan, Canton, Malaysia and Singapore. There’s now a smarter branch in Chelsea.