Thame, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“Definitely a good choice if you’re in the area” – i.e. just five miles from the dreaming spires of Oxford – this “very comfortable country pub” boasts one of the best gardens in these parts and is particularly appealing come summer. Some feel the menu is “limited” and “relatively expensive”, albeit “generally good with some unusual dishes”, much local sourcing, and a fair selection of veggie-friendly options.

“Michael North delivers sublime food and Imogen North creates the perfect front-of-house ambience” according to the many fans of this well-known foodie destination, which occupies a thatched rural pub. “Mike and Imogen have maintained such high standards since the first day they opened” in 2006. You can go for the short ‘Pub Classics’ menu – which delivers superior steak or fish ’n’ chips in the bar – but our reporters are more generally interested in the seven-course tasting menu (plus bread) for £115 per person. In either case, it’s a “lovely setting” and you get “high quality every time”. (A plea from one regular though: “I hope they go back to a full à la carte menu some time soon”).

This “big old pub with a jolly, slightly bohemian atmosphere” is a well-known “gastro-pub (with the emphasis on gastro)”. It achieves solid and still-plentiful support in our annual diners’ poll, despite a feeling that “the food falls well short of the standards at its London siblings, Anchor & Hope and Canton Arms”. Top Menu Tip – “the suet crust steak-and-ale pie to share is a lovely, lovely thing”.

This “airy and bright” brasserie in the Old Bank hotel – replete with charming interior courtyard – has a notably “vibrant atmosphere” that means it’s generally packed (a little too packed come graduation day and Christmas). While the odd cynic feels that it’s merely “trading off its good location” in the middle of the High, there was also praise this year for its “very good- value set lunch menu” (two courses £25.50, three courses £30.50).

“This gem of a self-service café is the perfect spot for lunch in historic Oxford city centre” on long trestle tables or in the garden; combining “good-value wholesome food” – everything from “vegan dishes to Asian curries and lovely cakes” – with a “buzzing atmosphere” and “the most fabulous location behind the University Church with stunning views to the Radcliffe Camera”. But while “it’s the setting that makes this café special” it also threatens its future after 20 years, with its church landlord wanting to evict it to make way for its own social enterprise. The legal battle is expected to be settled in the High Court this year.

This “backstreet gem in the centre of Oxford” is “such a nice place to eat”, with a “very nice ambience, like a traditional small French bistro”, “relaxed service”, and an “old favourites-type menu with one or two twists”, featuring “particularly well cooked but not adventurous dishes” (including “absolutely perfect fish”). Top Tip – “the daily special lunch for £16.50 is the best-value set price menu in town”.

A meal at this “great location on the roof of the Ashmolean” makes the perfect culmination of a mooch around the museum (or a visit in its own right) – but it can seem a little “mediocre unless you’re outside on the terrace”.

With “marvellous art on its walls” and a “nice dining courtyard” (remodelled last summer in imitation of Yves Saint Laurent’s garden in Marrakech) – this inviting and luxurious, small hotel in a 17th-century former vicarage near the city centre is a good bet for a meal in the Grill, or a “good-value afternoon tea (one can be easily shared between two people)”.

This “wonderful conservatory dining room in trendy North Oxford” – a former Victorian florists’ that provides a “lovely greenhouse” effect – has been a fixture of the city’s dining scene for four decades and its good looks ensure it’s perennially booked out. But despite a costly overhaul a couple of years ago, doubts about its gastronomic qualities persist: “it’s still hard to fathom how the food is so underpowered” is a typical complaint.

In November 2022, after 15 years at the helm, Stephen Luscombe dramatically handed over the reins of this pretty former pub with a foodie reputation to local boy Ben Watson (whose CV includes the acclaimed Core by Clare Smyth) and Priya Arora-Watson (a former FOH at London’s famed Gymkhana). By all accounts there is “little to suggest any adverse change” now it‘s running under an abridged name – and indeed, for fans, the local, seasonal food is “even better” now, with the “brilliant set menu” (£23 per person for two courses, £28 per person for three) representing very “good value given that prices everywhere have gone stratospheric”.

This “fabulous” and “colourful” Chilterns gastroboozer “consistently delivers” – even well into its fourth decade in business. “Look out for the music nights” combining “imaginative pub food” with “live performances by artists far beyond what you’d expect from a rural pub” – but then again, this isn’t just any pub: it’s famously run by chef-proprietor Paul Clerehugh (ex-of glam rockers Sweet), and Kate Winslet hosted her wedding breakfast here.

“Amazing food, top-notch service” – and “the value is OK for fine dining” – such are the attractions of Scott Barnard’s polished neighbourhood restaurant, which divides between a chef’s counter operation with tasting menu and open kitchen seating just 16 people overall; and larger dining room. The latter is considerably cheaper at £60 per person: at the chef’s table the experience is £105 per person during the week, rising to £130 per person at the weekend.

“Is the Michelin Guide having a laugh” – incomprehension remains a key feature in feedback regarding the two-star status of this Thames Valley pub, whose elevation by the Red Guide in 2012 propelled chef-patron Tom Kerridge to media stardom. There’s no denying it does have its supporters, who say it’s “worth the drive” for “a brilliant experience with imaginative interpretation of pub food and a decent pint beforehand too”. But, given that it is one of the top-20 most commented-on destinations in our annual diners’ poll, it is striking that not a single reporter this year nominated it for their best meal of the year. More eye-catching are the one in three for whom it’s “too expensive by a mile”, with “variable” cooking and service that can seem “rushed”. In particular, a number of former fans just say it’s “not the restaurant it used to be”: “It’s a pub that wants to be a restaurant that wants to be a pub. Overpriced, overhyped. (Not sure why it is still relevant. Was great 12 years or so ago: now it’s just lost its momentum and identity)”. Top Tip – if you want to make up your own mind, a visit in the evening or Sunday lunch will set you back £175 per person. But the set weekday lunch is £48 per person for two-courses and £55 per person for three-courses. Quite a saving!

Where TV chef Tom Kerridge’s venues in Marlow are concerned, there’s an inverse relationship in our annual diners’ poll between their celebrity (and price…) and how well people rate them. His least-known site is a low key, casual venue that combines a proper community pub with well-sourced carnivorous fare. With its ‘Meat Locker’ concept, you select your cut from the butcher’s counter (they’re also happy to hand out advice to improve your home cooking) and watch it being grilled before your eyes; offering “amazing food at a reasonable price”. The happy-go-lucky menu also includes a take on old-school hotdogs and upscale sides like truffle fries. (In December 2023, Kerridge opened a spin-off – his first London pub – on the site of the former Queen’s Head, just around the corner from Chelsea’s Sloane Square.)

“Our favourite of the Kerridge empire” – a view oft-expressed locally on this straightforward local in the town centre, which has modified its no-bookings policy to allow same-day reservations. There’s no celeb swank, it’s just a “brilliant, affordable pub” with chef Sarah Hayward, offers a ‘small plate’ menu that would win praise as a “great concept” even without the backing of one of the UK’s most famous names in food (though whether it would necessarily also have a Michelin Star is more debatable). Ratings were solid here this year and it also held its place as one of the top-100 most commented-on destinations in our annual diners’ poll outside London.

There’s “an unashamed emphasis on pork” (as per the name) at this “excellent find in Wallingford”, co-run by the founders of local offy The Keep, and launched via crowdfunding; “the scotch eggs and doughnuts are justifiably lauded” and all part of the “comfort therapy” the venture provides (be it via bottomless brunches or a range of small plates). Locals “feel very lucky to have such a lovely restaurant nearby”, while out-of-towners scouting for a new home are “hoping we find one, as I want to come back soon!”.