Our cooking has become very popular over the last few years and much appreciated.  Annie finds the best produce and is very much into the organic route in every way, when possible. 

We have a very good Wine Merchant, but most clients seems to like to bring their own, or to choose after they have arranged a meal with us if that is their choice. 

When you place your booking either give us your telephone number or call us on +44 (0)1386 700 396 to discuss your requirements and menus.

 

Local
*Please note that we have a further list at West Cottage.
*We also have a very reliable taxi service if you are worried about an extra glass of wine!

We now have a great pub in the village, which serves excellent food.

The Howard Arms, Illmington ***

Recently refurbished - beautiful beamed lounge and lots of atmosphere. Excellent food. Necessary to book

The King's Head, Bledington **
The Green, Bledington,
Oxfordshire OX7 6XQ
Tel: 01608 658365; Fax: 01608 658902
Email: kingshead@btinternet.com

Set alongside the village green, by a stream with ducks, this is probably our long term favourite place to eat! At lunchtime they have a great selection of sandwiches and a blackboard of more substantial meals if you wish. Although a pub in looks, at night they have a first class standard of meal and a separate restaurant if you prefer. Ask for a table in the Bar which has log fires and more atmosphere. Please be sure to book in advance for evening meals. Weekends are especially popular. Excellent.

One of the most popular pub restaurants in the Cotswolds. Recently taken over by Kirk Ritchie and his wife (Lygon Arms). High quality food and great atmosphere. Fantastic wine list (ask to see Kirk's Hidden Wine Cellar for something really special). It was voted Gloucestershire's Dining Pub of the year last year and is listed in the AA Guide to Best Pubs & Inns, Which? Guide to Country Pubs, The Good Pub Guide and the Good Food Guide. It also boasts a red rating in the Michelin Guide. It has a terrace for eating outside and a pretty traditional cottage garden. Booking is not possible, so try to get there early if you are eating. Gets very busy at the weekends.

 

Evidence suggests that The Royalist began as part of a Saxon community as long ago as 514AD. In 949AD, Saxon Duke Aethelmar founded The Royalist as a hospice that was to shelter lepers - one can still find a leper hole in the oldest part of the cellar!! The Eagle & Child is the pub which is adjacent to the hotel and has access through reception. Open seven days a week for both lunch and dinner, serving 'jolly good pub food'. When the weather is fine, there is a small landscaped garden, where you can enjoy al fresco dining in the English sunshine, but as the weather is unpredictable, so they have built a conservatory where you can also dine and take pleasure of the garden view.

The Churchill, Paxford **
Tel: 013865 594000

Respected restaurant chef Sonya Kidney (Marsh Goose, Moreton-in-Marsh) ventured boldly into the pub market to find a more informal and flexible set-up where she would have the freedom to experiment with her cooking. The Churchill Arms, a traditional Cotswold stone village local, is the setting for some innovative modern cooking using fresh seasonal produce. Expect wooden floors, rustic stone walls, an eclectic mix of furnishings and a bustling dining atmosphere alongside a superb menu.

 

 

The country-house hotel and restaurant of self-taught chef Raymond Blanc have brought him a TV series, as well as cookbooks and a school of cuisine. Although still showing intensely French loyalties, the celebrated chef now roams the world for inspiration. A new lightness, inspired mainly by Japan and the Mediterranean, is more and more evident in his creations. More meatless dishes appear on the seasonal menu, although the classics remain: sweetbread-stuffed pig's trotters, kidneys, and foie gras, even veal tongue.

Raymond Blanc's little Bistro in a drab Oxford side street is his real pride and joy - serving top quality French regional cooking at a fraction of the price of his much lauded Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons in Great Milton. Attention to detail is the key here - waitresses not afraid to guide you through the well selected menu.

Cheltenham

A buzzing brasserie, part of a slowly expanding mini chain, located to the side of the imposing Queens Hotel. Overall, there's a spacious, minimalist feel and a strong impression that this is where food and service are a priority. Influences are predominantly regional French with a few classics thrown in for good measure (naturally, when the owner is Raymond Blanc of Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons).