The Killingworth Castle by Claire Alexander

Feasting foodies flock to sample dishes from The Killingworth Castle’s new head chef

We’re bringing back our Feast Nights at The Killingworth Castle in response to pleas from our regular foodies who have missed them. It’s not that we haven’t wanted to put them on but with recently redecorating the pub and bringing on board an amazing new Head Chef, it’s been all systems go.

Our French Feast is on Wednesday 12th April at 8pm. Three courses of classic French fayre with charcuterie board followed by beef bourguignon and praline parfait to finish is only £25. There will also be wines to accompany the evening from our pals at The Oxford Wine Company. It’s nearly full so if you want to book call us on T: 01993 811 401.

On May 17th we will be having a special Italian Food & Wine Feast, with a selection of handpicked fine wines to accompany each course. This year we’ve also been running a really popular great value Set Menu of two courses for £11.95 (available Mon-Fri lunch 12-2.30pm and Mon-Thurs evenings 6-6.30pm).

Our new Head Chef, Johnny Parke is a local man who lives in our village, Wootton by Woodstock, but has worked in some of the best pubs and restaurants in Oxfordshire so he has all the best suppliers to hand. His new menu is a treat of sharing platters, pub classics and mains including pork belly with braised cheek, fennel, sweet potato & kale and Barbary duck breast with truffle mash, wild mushrooms & golden beetroot. Of course we have pub classics on too, including scallops, mussels, burger and our famous fish & chips which is battered in our own Yubby bitter.

I’m really happy with our new interior, a lovely dark chocolate brown with new art and soft furnishings to boot. If I walk into one more place that is 50 shades of grey… !

Our new website www.thekillingworthcastle.com is ‘mobile friendly’ now very important for our overnight visitors, many of whom book using a smartphone. These ‘Millenials’ sure are keeping us Generation Xers on our toes when it comes to social media! Although fairly time consuming, it’s fun promoting pubs on instagram (@thekillingworth) and facebook. And it’s nice when someone says “I saw the photo of the burger and JUST HAD to come and eat it” so if it tempts more people out to use their local pubs then it can only be a good thing for our trade.

I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved with The Killingworth Castle, not just for the food awards (AA rosette held for three years) but also the lovely mix of locals, tourists and now overnight business people too that make the pub atmosphere genuine and relaxed. Wootton is a real village with a strong community that use their local pub because they nearly lost it. From a derelict bombsite five years ago, our eight ensuite bedrooms have just been rated 9 out of 10 by The Telegraph – “rustic chic and thee place to stay if you’re visiting Blenheim.” It’s taken a while to get on the map with the rooms so we’ve made sure our prices are extremely competitive.

Creating the best atmosphere in a pub is the holy grail, a place that’s welcoming for drinkers, diners and even coffee drinkers now too. A place to meet and socialise, whatever your tipple! The North Oxon CAMRA branch has just awarded us Runner-up for their Pub of the Year Award too thanks to our team that keep the beer so well. Lets hope our remaining great British pubs ride the storm of rising costs and rates that have seen so many disappear already. #loveyourlocal

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The Killingworth Castle

Glympton Road

Wootton-by-Woodstock

OX20 1EJ

01993 811401