Fairford, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“A beautiful old pub in an idyllic village setting”, given a glow-up a few years back by locally based pizza duo Baz & Fred, with a “lovely terrace for al-fresco dining when the weather is kind” – “we cycle there when camping in the Cotswolds”. “They serve the best pint of Deya ale to wash down delicious grub”. Alongside the “fabulous burgers” there’s a good range of posh pub grub, including roasted fresh figs with goat’s curd and Iberico ham.

“Delicious seasonal food with interesting ingredients” can be enjoyed on occasion in the “splendid, ‘not quite formal, not quite informal’, setting” of the Hibbert family’s Cotswolds manor – a restaurant-cum-spa retreat-cum-beauty business. “Everyone is trying very hard to please and it shows, with that ‘local’ feel to everything” – however reported incidents of “amateurish” or “chaotic” service and meals of variable quality undermine a higher rating.

“Some of the finest pub food around, well worth a detour” – this old village pub near Burford was relaunched nine years ago by Peter Creed and Tom Noest, who reopened it in 2017. Its menu divisions describe the offering well, with in each case a handful of ‘bites’, ‘starters’, ‘pizza’, ‘classics’, ‘mains’, ‘steak’ and ‘sides’.

2024 Review: A “beautiful village pub (with rooms) in the Cotswolds” that’s often “packed to the rafters”; local boys Peter Creed and Tom Noest took it over in 2017 – with the latter turning out “all the modern pub classics delivered with panache, along with some more unusual offerings” (“venison scrumpets”, anyone?); add in “smiling service”, and a beer garden overlooking the open countryside, and it’s an “outstanding” proposition all-round.

2023 Review: “Excellent food” and a “lively atmosphere” can be found at this brasserie set in the Corn Hall covered market in the centre of town, that has developed over 15 years from a deli and was formerly known as Made by Bob… although the founder is James Parkinson.

2022 Review: Superdry sartorial star Julian Dunkerton, behind the Lucky Onion Cotswold group, owns this “reliable and buzzing” country hotel, where “amazing local ingredients” are “beautifully cooked in a gorgeous setting”. The odd service blip but it's “overall a very memorable eating experience”.

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”.

“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: 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).

“Comfort through and through” helps characterise this luxurious Cotswolds retreat – a “lovely building and grounds” with a “gorgeous” elegant interior. Chef Charles Smith provides “superlative presentation, taste & seasoning, with every element of each dish perfectly prepared”. from a nine-course menu in the evening for £130 per person. (There’s also the simpler Dining Room where you can enjoy high quality but more straightforward dishes).

2022 Review: Limited but upbeat feedback on this relatively recent (2019) addition to the well-known Cotswolds manor house, with Charles Smith delivering a nine-course tasting menu for £95. Fans do say it’s “wonderful”, but we have to leave a rating till we have a few more reports.

“This welcome new restaurant in a former Cornish pasty shop” from local chefs Sam Edwards & Jak Doggett (who previously ran the Firehouse at Upton) offers “well sourced, original dishes” – “and there’s a strong sense that the chefs actually enjoy cooking”. “This is not conventional ‘fine dining’, but it’s very good food, nicely served, at a very reasonable price”. Top Menu Tips – “curry crab fried rice and a fine pork chop with crushed celeriac, prosciutto, and cavolo nero were excellent”.

2024 Review: No reports as yet on this modern retread of an ancient village boozer in the Oxfordshire countryside. It’s a new showcase for the ‘elevated gastro-pub cooking’ of chef Nathan Richardson, who took over the property from former tenants of 15 years’ standing and who previously worked at Mayfair’s acclaimed Guinea Grill. You can eat in the bar (80 covers) or the restaurant (40 covers).

“You feel exceptional” at this “comfortable”, “romantic” and smartly modernised Georgian-era hotel with 18 rooms, where the dining room has a striking glazed addition and whose kitchen has now combined the talents of Jake Simpson (ex-Bocca di Lupo) and James Erasmus (ex-Ledbury & Harwood Arms). Regular supper clubs supplement the à la carte menu that’s more luxe brasserie than it is ‘fayne dining’ and is sensibly priced, too. (Its sibling pub, the Potting Shed, is just across the road.)

“Everybody loves The Edge” – a relaxed albeit slightly “cramped” brunch spot offering “fabulous” and “imaginative” food (bagels, sandos, and tacos which are the stuff of legend) which has become a real local hit since Tom Pickett & Phoebe Hall opened doors during the pandemic. “Staff are friendly and efficient” and it’s “so worth the wait” to taste the food, which is also proffered at their sibling venue, ‘The Edge Deli’, located in Witney’s Hexagon Business Centre, and combining a full deli with their in-house bakery (an earlier offshoot, ‘The Edge at Lils’, having bitten the dust).