http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/ Herald Series /eatingout/ en-gb Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:36:14 +0000 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:36:14 +0000 http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/rssterms/ M6 nvincent@newsquest.co.uk (Nigel Vincent) webmaster@digitalmedia.newsquest.co.uk (Tim Joy) http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/resources/images/999280/?type=rsslogo http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/ http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/5051801.The_Duke_of_Monmouth__Abingdon_Road/?ref=rss At a time when so many of our public houses are being transformed into residential properties – and quite often into a number of residential properties – it is interesting to note that in former times the opposite process sometimes occurred. An obvious example is The Boundary House on the outskirts of Abingdon, which used to be the home of Cecil Kimber, inventor of the MG sports car; a second transformation affected a former doctor’s house in Abingdon Road, Oxford, which became The Duke of Monmouth. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:26:41 +0000 40522831b839f6f3554824568fe7a6e4 http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/5023491.The_Duke_s_Cut__Park_End_Street__oxford/?ref=rss ‘The Duke’s Cut’ sounds less like the name of a pub than a statement of fact, to which a suitable response might be “Oh, not again!”, “What’s he been on this time?” or “The duchess looks a bit squiffy too”. But it is the name of a pub, albeit a new one: it has been applied by owner James Knox to a hostelry in Oxford’s Park End Street which was happy to be known for most of its existence as The Queen’s Arms. Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:50:00 +0000 f11b97eccb518e44d73df18edd1f64ed http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/5016241.Bursting_with_freshness/?ref=rss Annette Nix praises the food at a country house hotel with an emphasis on self-sufficiency Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:28:13 +0000 413980027c56db349c6bec08ba2904e4 http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/5013223.The_Bell_at_Langford/?ref=rss A sure sign of old age – I used to think when I was young – is the urge to take off into the country for a weekend drive. Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:46:05 +0000 4f3afaf5353b6f8163af43e21e2cdc5c http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4999830.Fire___Stone__George_Street__Oxford/?ref=rss The queue outside Jamie’s Italian seems much shorter, and often non-existent, since the opening a couple of months ago of Fire & Stone in the former Old Orleans premises just opposite. Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:21:42 +0000 49a2f0eb527cdcaeb548ca5747f31b22 http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4888409.The_Hollybush__Corn_Street__Witney/?ref=rss When I was chuntering last week about the many peculiar omissions of the 2010 Michelin Guide, I partly had in mind the situation in Witney. Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:27:02 +0000 7450cf0d837d634a26eff209773f9c0a http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4875441.The_Magdalen_Arms__Iffley_Road__Oxford/?ref=rss Excellent reports have been reaching me for a couple of months concerning the revamped Magdalen Arms, in Iffley Road, and the superb quality of its food. Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:57:25 +0000 d5d1c8bf95612ae251d690b3713ad059 http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4850822.James_Figg__Thame/?ref=rss During my 36 years as an Oxfordshire resident, the name and fame of pugilist James Figg had until last month utterly passed me by. Perhaps, this is not surprising since his heyday in the ring was nearly 300 years ago. Between 1719-30 he was undisputed British champion prize-fighter, the Henry Cooper of his day. And his success reflected credit on Thame, where the early part of his life was spent. Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:47:26 +0000 b0d151f7bc518fa86f0b06cb4ea1b08a http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4836913.Cockadoo_Bar_and_Restaurant__Nuneham_Courtenay/?ref=rss The swanky good looks of the decor at Cockadoo Bar and Restaurant and the matching visual appeal of the food served there are instantly apparent from Jon Lewis’s photographs. This is surely one of the most colourful pages we have presented to readers of this column. Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:29:46 +0000 5c8b7fbe1e3f8032205a65466d84bd3e http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4816727.Why_cake_figures_in_the_festive_fare/?ref=rss Did you use 13 ingredients to make your Christmas pudding? Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:02:55 +0000 5e3f1679c0e9ae3bf97f8b0a90be1be5 http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4797952.The_Ashmolean_Dining_Room/?ref=rss Not least among the many glories of Oxford’s superbly renovated Ashmolean Museum is the splendid restaurant that has been created on its top floor. With wide picture windows on two sides, it commands stunning views over the city; there’s plenty to gawp at inside, too, if like me you consider an important part of the eating-out experience comes from observing the foibles of one’s fellow diners. Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:29:15 +0000 93277fac90a9df1b57914dcafeb14648 http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4768482.The_Bear_and_Ragged_Staff__Cumnor/?ref=rss I resolved to eat again at the Bear and Ragged Staff in Cumnor, after much too long away, after reading – indeed, sub-editing – a report a couple of months back by my colleague Helen Peacocke on the excellencies of the kitchen under its cheerily named young chef, Rebecca Joy. Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:40:00 +0000 80ed675ef323804ddd6e235304191ace http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4760004.Trinity__Bicester/?ref=rss The photographs on this page say all that is necessary concerning the attractive appearance, both inside and out, of Bicester’s new Trinity restaurant. Well, perhaps not quite all. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:46:12 +0000 bbaf2535d49386dbfb8cfa80e336c7b9 http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4745574.The_Manor_Restaurant__Waddesdon_Manor/?ref=rss The children's author (and Christ Church mathematician) Lewis Carroll might justly be described as the inspiration for a certain style of wine writing. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:34:02 +0000 7cd138abff6301001667031c09e8f60f http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4719959.The_Queen_s_Arms_Hotel__East_Garston/?ref=rss If it is the case, as Anthony Powell puts it in the title of the tenth novel in his Dance to the Music of Time sequence, that ‘Books Do Furnish a Room’, then the maxim can be seen to apply just as well to bars and restaurants. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:38:48 +0000 1e4491d44e3d04ed2191e407131ffec2 http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4694696.Arbat_Russian_restaurant__Cowley_Road__Oxford/?ref=rss My experience of Russian cooking is not extensive, and the meal I ate last week at Oxford’s only Russian restaurant did not convince me that it ought to be much further expanded. On the other hand, the evening we spent at Arbat, in Cowley Road, proved such an entertaining one that I think I would be unfair on myself if I were to resist the temptation of a return visit. Apart from anything else, there are vodkas still to taste, though I doubt we should find such entertaining tutors in their consumption as those we encountered at our first dinner. Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:50:27 +0100 fa009cc26c74fbeab95a462e97faa95c http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4682376.The_Longwall__Oxford_Business_Park__Cowley/?ref=rss This year sees the 35th anniversary of the Beefeater chain, which some might think to be more a cause for commiseration than celebration. Myself, I have always considered Beefeaters to be restaurants for people who don’t like restaurants, or at any rate are put off, possibly intimidated, by them. No chance at a Beefeater of being baffled by the contents of the menu or put in ones place by a snooty waiter or sommelier. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:36:44 +0100 95ff600aa70d4e0a25762a5d05dcde7b http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4671003.Michel_at_the_George__Oxford/?ref=rss Acar alarm that went off in the night (and again the following morning) led directly to my first visit to Michel at the George. Handily adjacent to Motorworld in Botley Road, the pub was the obvious place for a cup of coffee while the pesky vehicle was attended to. Readers who know about such things will now have me marked down — correctly — as a Volvo driver. On the evidence of what I saw on Sunday afternoon, as thousands of Oxford students returned from their summer break, this would appear to qualify me to be the father of an undergraduate. “Parents must own Volvo” appears almost to be an Oxford entry requirement to judge by how many of these cars were stacked outside the college lodges. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:59:55 +0100 4a8fe1b426d0513f88421b12717cc886 http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4657402.The_Kingswell__Harwell/?ref=rss I see from our files at Newspaper House that more than ten years have passed since I last reviewed The Kingswell, a justly popular restaurant – actually, a hotel – on the outskirts of Harwell, where the Reading Road prepares to cross above the A34. Returning there a couple of weeks ago, I was delighted to find everything just as I remembered it – including friendly and charming service, and an appealing range of well-presented dishes, all served in portions generous enough to satisfy the most shameless trencherperson. Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:50:40 +0100 e0fe9b1404297018431b740d9440505f http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/eatingout/4644872.The_Fleece__Witney/?ref=rss Christopher Gray reports on a fine birthday dinner at The Fleece in Witney Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:30:41 +0100 2c7287b796e7c1d9659f86f15e9deeac