Nuneham Courtenay 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.

2022 Review: “Some pubs in the Cotswolds really go above and beyond, and this is one of them” – Steven Sanderson’s 400-year-old thatched village boozer with rooms (and garden) offers “lots of interesting small dishes as well as the usual suspects” (notably grass-fed British steak).

2022 Review: Despite its weird and wonderful decor, this lavishly decked out hotel not far from Oxford – a fixture of the area for over a quarter of a century – attracts relatively little feedback nowadays. It’s all still positive though, especially when it comes to the Thai dining room (there’s also a more traditional, British one). Service is “very engaged” and the classic twelve-dish sharing menu “well presented and flavoured food that reflects the cuisine”, without being “touristy”.

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”.

“The food is sensational” at this legendary Oxford outfit, which delighted its many fans by reopening last September after a three-year hiatus while founders Rufus & Ladd Thurston switched to a retail operation as Elle’s Deli, in search of a better work/life balance. With their children a little older, they have relaunched their Thai project with most of the beloved classic dishes, such as – according to one report – “the best confit duck Penang probably in the world!”. But it’s still only open three days a week, with the familiar three-month waiting list for an evening booking.

“Tapas at another level” has earned local cult status for this outfit that celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, and is hidden behind neighbouring historic shopfronts (for a chemist and a watchmaker) – “every dish is delicious, and there are excellent veggie options too”. “It’s so popular you always have to book”, and the timed slots are restricted by opening limited to three days a week (Thursday to Saturday) – a problem that should be eased by the late-2025 launch of a new branch in the city centre’s old Covered Market, with 90 covers spread over two floors (downstairs walk-in only) and projected 7-day operation.

2024 Review: From a now nine-strong “cheap ’n’ cheerful” Sri Lankan chain that wants to create a relaxed island vibe – candles in coconut shells, upbeat music – and has found a real audience for its “very tasty” and “excellent-value” small plates (including many vegan-friendly options) plus potent cocktails (aka ‘cocotails’).

“High-quality fish dishes” at “very reasonable prices” are the draw at this low-key spot just across Magdalen Bridge from the city centre, where fish ’n’ chips or fritto misto costs £14.95 and a signature cold seafood platter on crushed ice £24.95 – but you can also splash £95 on 50g of caviar.

“Sneakily good pizza” – double-fermented Neapolitan-style – ensure that many branches are “always packed” at the Elliot brothers’ still-expanding chain, whose new summer 2025 opening at the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane marked a return to the site of one of their earliest pop-ups in 2013. Nowadays, it’s one of the more commented-on multiples in our annual diners’ poll. Top Menu Tip – “pepperoni and honey!”

Nisha Katona’s Liverpool-based operation has two branches in London (Charlotte Street and Westfield Stratford) offering her “very tasty” Indian street food – “with the occasional hint of raw spice”. The Lancashire-born former barrister launched the business in 2014 and now has 28 outlets around the country, whose “enjoyable, authentic food” is “really great for a chain”.

“Lively and convenient venue”, “well-placed in the centre of Oxford” and serving brasserie fare in the “attractive surroundings” of the Old Bank Hotel. Ratings here are often dragged down by the odd report of “variable” results – the “good-value set lunch menu” goes down best with reporters and helps make it a popular choice for business lunchers as well as loving parents with their bookish offspring.

“Long standing and always fun and reliable” – this well-known venue (est. 1993) has competition these days from the likes of Oli’s Thai. But between its remarkable setting – a historic, Tudor-style building in a medieval lane off the High; its “absolutely fantastic” Thai food (not least green curry); and its “nice buzz”, it continues to please all who comment on it. Further boons: the “lunchtime menu is fantastic value” and the “team are so welcoming and friendly” too.

“Rightly an Oxford institution”, this self-service café with a “student vibe” is a “go-to place for a good-value wholesome brunch in a buzzing atmosphere”; sit inside on trestle tables or “outside in the sun, surrounded by the architecture that makes Oxford famous”, as you enjoy “fab cake” and “tempting” mains, with a “great choice from vegan to Asian curries and lovely cakes”. Fans are “glad to see it has survived” thus far – indeed some 15,500 of them signed up to save the venue, which remains at the heart of an eviction dispute between café owner Will Pouget, and the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, where it sits, and whose landlord wants to create a larger social enterprise in the space; having already been adjourned in April 2025 due to the complexity of determining if the land is consecrated (the pivotal point), the case was listed to recommence at the High Court shortly before we went to press.

With “clever”, “good-quality Japanese food” – in particular the “excellent, if relatively expensive, sushi” – and “busy, competent service”, these “fun, stylish and friendly” Scandi-minimal venues are “always buzzing”. Founded in Copenhagen by a pair of Danish-Japanese brothers more than 30 years ago, the company came under new ownership in 2024 with big expansion plans, and unveiled two times F1 champion Fernando Alonso as a major shareholder in April 2025. Recent London openings include a “huge new site” in Islington and Battersea Power Station.

“Sometimes it just has to be ramen”, and this group from Japan Centre owner Tak Tokumine provides noodles and broth that are “consistent, quick”, “high-quality and very reasonably priced” – “service isn’t amazing but the food makes up for it”. The 12-hour tonkotsu pork broth is a speciality of Hakata, Tak’s home district of Fukuoka city on the island of Kyushu.

Open in Spring 2025 in the Crazy Bear boutique hotel – a new ’British fine dining’ restaurant under Chris Emery, former head chef at Jason Atherton’s New York outpost The Clocktower. It opened too late for survey feedback – expect a modern take on British cuisine, as this longstanding venue relaunches following a management buyout.

Relaunched towards the start of 2025, this good-looking pub opened too late to generate any feedback in our annual diners’ poll, but has already won support in the press for offering an archetypal Cotswolds experience. In her August 2025 review, The Sunday Times’s Charlotte Ivers hailed a venue preserving “the spirit of a village pub” and ate Chicken liver parfait “thicker and richer than the ruddiest inhabitant of Chipping Norton”, and a fish finger sandwich “you could feed to a hungry farmhand or a Michelin inspector and both would be delighted”.

2023 Review: “Very friendly and informal” – Yeshi Jampa opened this small restaurant in November 2020 after several years of serving up ‘Himalayan soul food” at fairs and festivals. His dumplings, curries, noodles and bowls provide “great food with good vegan options.

“Lovely” South Indian cooking – with “great thali options, that you can tailor to your own tastes” – is served at the Headington offshoot of a restaurant established in Cheltenham: “it’s welcome to have Keralan food being offered in a city whose Indian options have diminished dramatically in the last decade or so”. Top Menu Tip – “masala dosa is the smart option”.