The Waitrose Good Food Guide has revealed its list of the best restaurants in the UK and, in no particular order, here are all the restaurants in Oxfordshire that made it into the guide.
The Good Food Guide is, perhaps, the most popular and comprehensive restaurant guide in the UK with over 1,200 reviews. We’ve picked out the Oxfordshire restaurants in the guide and give you the inside track on some of the best places to eat in the county.
A note from the editor.
Many of our readers have asked if there is a more recent update to The Good Food Guide 2020. The simple answer is no. Waitrose announced in March 2020 that it would not be printing the guide anymore.
A statement from Waitrose said: “Regrettably, we have taken the decision not to publish the Waitrose Good Food Guide during 2021. We are very appreciative of the efforts of all our partners, inspectors and those who have contributed to the guide during the seven years since we acquired it.
“We retain the brand but currently have no plans to publish future guides. We will continue to champion the industry through our publications, including Waitrose Food and Waitrose Weekend.”
Fast forward to October 2021, The Good Food Guide is getting a new beginning with a new owner and publisher – hospitality membership network CODE Hospitality. And they’re working on producing a 2022 guide. You can read all about it here.
It’s been a long time, but we stand ready to pick out the Oxfordshire restaurants in The Good Food Guide 2022 – to give you the inside track on some of the best places to eat in the county.
Elizabeth Gibbs – Food & Drink Digital Editor
Witney
The Lamb Inn is a beautifully stylish country pub set in the heart of the village of Crawley, just outside Witney, dating back to the 18th Century, with a focus on excellent locally sourced ingredients, and a straightforward eclectic wine list delivered with a big welcome.
Bledington
The King’s Head Inn is an idyllic Cotswold pub in a 16th-century one-time cider house gloriously situated on the Village Green in the picturesque village of Bledington near Chipping Norton, offering hearty and traditional English food.
Fyfield
Great food, great company and great hospitality, The White Hart is an award-winning restaurant, near Abingdon, Fyfield, in Oxfordshire, offering the very best of seasonal Modern British dining with charming service.
Kingham
Part of the Daylesford estate, The Wild Rabbit is a modern British Inn in the heart of the Cotswolds serving a constantly changing menu of hyper-local seasonal food in a relaxed and welcoming setting.
Jericho, Oxford
Located in the cosmopolitan Jericho area of North Oxford, Branca is a vibrant bar and restaurant with a destination deli next door and an extensive garden terrace for alfresco summer dining.
North Oxford
The Cherwell Boathouse is a long-established family-owned and run restaurant founded in 1904 in an authentic Victorian working Boathouse, alongside a punt station, on the idyllic location on the banks of the River Cherwell.
North Oxford
Gee’s Restaurant offers Mediterranean grills and sharing plates served up in an elegant glass conservatory, bar and terrace situated in the heart of the conservation area known as Victorian North Oxford.
East Oxford
Tucked away from the busy Cowley Road, Oli’s Cafe is a small, family-run restaurant that serves up the most delicious, fresh and authentic tasting Thai food. The menu is reassuringly short, but with good variation, so you won’t fail to find several dishes of interest.
Summertown, Oxford
Pompette – the charming French word for tipsy – is a stylish charcuterie wine bar and restaurant in Summertown, Oxford opened by husband and wife duo Pascal and Laura Wiedemann in 2018 with a menu that draws inspiration from across Europe.
Langford Near Burford
Focusing on good simple pub food with a straightforward wine list, spirits and beer selection, The Bell Inn in Langford near Burford offers a modern country pub feel with it’s seasonal British menu and wood-fired dishes.
Little Coxwell, Faringdon
The Eagle Tavern, Little Coxwell near Faringdon; an inn built to serve the farming community since 1901. Set in the beautiful Vale of White Horse in the middle of a tiny village where simple seasonal food is cooked with heart and served with warm hospitality and smile.
Iffley Road, East Oxford
Located just outside the scholarly Oxford city centre – to the east in the bustling Iffley Road – The Magdalen Arms is a gastropub with a relaxed, scrubbed-wooden ambience and a hearty-but-interesting seasonal menu that often changes daily.
Goring-on-thames
Food is at the heart of the Miller experience – an 18th-century coaching inn in Goring-on-Thames that offers award-winning refined modern British dishes from the freshest seasonal, British ingredients.
Murcott
The Nut Tree Inn is a Michelin pub in Murcott serving refined seasonal modern British food. It occupies a 15th century thatched building beside a village pond, with heavy stone walls and lots of exposed woodwork, as well as a productive kitchen garden.
Kirtlington, Kidlington
The Oxford Arms is a 19th-century English dining pub in Kirtlington run by chef patron Bryn Jones since 2003 serving good, honest food with a minimum of fuss and maximum flavour with a menu changes seasonably, and daily specials to use even more local produce.
Summertown, Oxford
The Oxford Kitchen is widely recognised as one of the finest restaurants in Oxford, serving British food a modern twist in a contemporary setting in the fashionable Summertown area of North Oxford.
Chinnor
This beautiful little gem offers a joyous breadth of menu plucked from the surrounding countryside. The food is considered wonderful, amongst the best food in the county – reflecting the seasons, the setting and the superb craftsmanship of the kitchen.
Sparsholt
The Star Inn, Sparsholt is a historic inn in a 300-year-old brick and flint building in the sleepy village of Sparsholt near Wantage. This stylish restaurant offers a seasonal a la carte and set lunch menu of beautifully cooked food.
Oxford City Centre
Located in the heart of the city centre and is embedded in the local community, Turl Street Kitchen offers a regularly changing menu using the best of local seasonal produce and a twist of creativity.
Great Milton
Set in the picturesque Oxfordshire countryside, in a 15th-century manor, Raymond Blanc’s Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons is a two Michelin-starred restaurant with a reputation as one of Britain’s best restaurants.
Henley-on-Thames
Shaun Dickens at The Boathouse offers modern British cuisine alongside the stunning vista of the River Thames in Henley-on-Thames. The food speaks for itself – each dish a small number of ingredients perfectly matched to accentuate the flavours on offer.
Chipping Norton
Located within the delightful Cotswold market town of Chipping Norton, in a charming 400-year-old, Grade 2 listed building, Wild Thyme offers exciting modern British food and friendly, relaxed service.
Binfield Heath, Henley-on-Thames
Rural provenance with a modern approach. Contemporary British food served in an old 18th-century pub building in rural Binfield Heath, just 5 minutes from the town centre of Henley-on-Thames.