Oxfordshire Restaurant Guide

“You feel on Cloud Nine when eating in such incomparable surroundings” as Raymond Blanc’s famous Elizabethan manor: the survey’s most-mentioned destination outside London, and, “unparalleled for a special occasion”, with legions of reports of weddings, landmark anniversaries and birthdays celebrated in its cosseting quarters. It boasts “a gorgeous setting, buried deep in the Oxfordshire countryside”, “everything about the place is done with impeccable taste”, and no visit is complete without a stroll around its glorious and “well-tended gardens”. From the moment you arrive, staff “make you feel special”, and you are “whisked through to the cosy lounge to make your menu choice”. Most diners are then seated in the dining conservatory: a “wonderful environment” on most accounts (if, arguably, a tiny bit anticlimactic compared with the house proper). “The food tastes like it has come straight from the garden, field or ocean to your plate” and dishes “are not ostentatious: just perfectly-made food, beautifully served”. That’s by far the majority view anyway, although there is, perennially, a dissenting view that “while classy, the food lacks innovation” (very occasionally laced with cynicism that the whole experience is a luxurious “production line”). For most folks, though, the whole experience is plain “genius! – truly unforgettable!”. Ah yes… including the bill! “Your credit card will have a severe heart attack, but at least you’ll have ticked it off, and enjoyed doing so”. Staying the night is also highly popular, although it does then take the cost to a new, parallel dimension. Justify it to yourself with the thought of breakfast which “is unbelievable in scale, scope and quality!”.

“A divine rural location and consistently excellent, seasonal food” have drawn celebs and ordinary mortals alike to former punk bass guitarist (John Otway, Sweet) Paul Clerihugh’s one-of-a-kind gastropub for 30 years. “We’ve eaten here maybe 350 times over two decades and I recall only one poor meal – what a standard to have maintained!”. Prices can be “a bit too steep”, but are easily justified “on a cloudless summer’s evening, when the whole experience is magical”.

“Still the best restaurant in Oxford” – especially if you’re into Thai food – this cult café delivers grub that’s “packed with flavour, in simple surroundings at immensely reasonable prices”; accordingly, it’s “disappointingly impossible to get a table” (unless you book ages in advance).

The “quality” of the food is exceptional (“soufflés are a must!”) at Mike & Imogen North’s “pleasant” and “understated”, fifteenth-century thatched pub in rural Oxfordshire (which is still a proper pub, despite its vaunted culinary reputation). “The accessible tasting menu sensibly draws from the main menu, offering a genuine tasting experience, with solidly conceived and well-balanced flavours in each dish”.

“What a treat” – reporters (and the odd local celeb) “absolutely adore” former Heston staffers Nick & Mary Galer’s 18th-century inn; there are shout-outs for the “cosy” fire-lit ambiance, but it’s the “exceptional” food which stands apart, be it superior breakfasts, “lovely puds” or “unusual” libations (think Cornish pastis).

“Rustic French food in the heart of the Chilterns” wins high ratings for this old village pub, “a lovely venue for lunch or dinner”. Chef-patron Olivier Bouet’s “reliably interesting cooking” has earned him quite a following in the area, after 12 years at The Sweet Olive (RIP) in nearby Aston Tirrold.