Witney, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: It’s the picture of a traditional thatched pub, but the “cosy” interior and “heartwarming” menu have been funked up at this rural inn, which was consistently highly rated last year.

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”.

2021 Review: The co-founders of group that owns The Chequers in the Cotswolds and The Talbot in North Yorkshire have added another historic venue to their collection – a 16th century inn, complete with a 100-cover dining room and seven guest bedrooms. No survey feedback as yet, but press reviews are very upbeat.

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.

This “lovely cosy country pub” (with rooms) is the brainchild of born-and-bred Cotswold gents Peter Creed and Tom Noest, who reopened its doors back in 2017. The “really nice menu includes wood-fired pizzas and flatbreads” plus hearty British pies and unusual meat dishes; if you’re the sporting type, they advertise packages including a range of activities (game shooting, deer-stalking and other very English pursuits).

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.

Since selling The Ebrington Arms a few years back, Jim & Claire Alexander have fully turned their focus to this historic pub in a picturesque Oxfordshire village, whose local and seasonal cooking is also overseen by ex-Ebrington chef Adam Brown. “After reading so many ‘outstanding’ reviews” (besides 3 AA Rosettes, ‘The Killy’ is on Estrella Damm’s Top 50 UK Gastropubs list), some reporters felt a little underwhelmed, but there was praise too for the “amazing” tasting menu and – if you opt for one of their nine bedrooms – the “breakfasts are super”.

2021 Review: “A real pleasure” – takeover by a chain (Cardiff’s Barkby Group, at the helm as of 2018) hasn’t led to a fall in fortunes for this eighteenth century village boozer; it continues to deliver “very enjoyable”, “well-sized and well-priced” grub (including the “perfect Sunday roast”) that’s “worth travelling some way for” – and, while it “gets pretty packed, it appears the kitchen is used to that and copes admirably”.

2023 Review: This “picturesque riverside venue” on Oxford’s Osney Island (which opened in 1871 as The Waterman) is notable for its “laid-back but beautifully presented vegetarian food, full of flavours from a varied and interesting menu”. “I’m not a vegetarian myself but most definitely hope to be back”. Top Tip – “the whipped goats’ cheese”.

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.

2021 Review: A “buzzy, busy pub” with nine rooms plus flagstone floors, oak beams and slouchable leather armchairs; while the food is perhaps good rather than stellar, they’re “trying hard” and it’s handily located if you’re en route in or out of Oxford.

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)”.

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”.

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”.

“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 “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).

“In a beautiful Cotswold village with stunning views” (over the Evenlode valley), this converted malthouse has won renown for its “exciting” cuisine over the years, and you can eat here à la carte or go for the six-course tasting menu, which comes in at £85 per person. (Reports were fractionally more up-and-down this year, perhaps reflecting the switchover of chefs, with Renemar Pinedo taking over from Matt Weedon in early 2024).

This five-year-old venue set in a huge stone-built former barn – part of a sprawling family-run project in the Cotswolds also incorporating a spa retreat, a pub and a beauty business – serves “reliably good food. Nothing fancy, just great local ingredients cooked to perfection. Yum”. Chef Charlie Hibbert trained under Jeremy Lee at Quo Vadis; his mother Caryn led the redevelopment of the estate. Top Tip – “if you have a meal here, make time to walk around the grounds and take in the great views”.