The Sir Charles Napier
Oxfordshire, Chinnor - Modern British - Restaurant - £££
Given its location in a Chilterns hamlet, this comely old pub-turned-restaurant needs to attract custom from afar – and it has long been successful, establishing a covetable reputation for high-quality food. Chef Andrew Lewis is keeping the kitchen on track, nudging the operation forward with a range of concise menus suffused with eclectic Anglo-European flavours. Appetisers – perhaps a delicate, creamy broccoli and Stilton tart – are served to guests seated on sofas in the venerable beamed bar. Beyond, is a choice of smart dining areas furnished with unclothed tables and upholstered wooden chairs, plus a leafy terrace and capacious lawned beer garden. Even early in the evening, there’s a romantic feel to the place: art on the walls, candles on tables, smoochy jazz on the sound-system and curvaceous sculptures of wildlife dotted around. Beautifully presented dishes add to the allure: a large piece of sherry-glazed pork neck arrives with thinly sliced peach and d...
Given its location in a Chilterns hamlet, this comely old pub-turned-restaurant needs to attract custom from afar – and it has long been successful, establishing a covetable reputation for high-quality food. Chef Andrew Lewis is keeping the kitchen on track, nudging the operation forward with a range of concise menus suffused with eclectic Anglo-European flavours. Appetisers – perhaps a delicate, creamy broccoli and Stilton tart – are served to guests seated on sofas in the venerable beamed bar. Beyond, is a choice of smart dining areas furnished with unclothed tables and upholstered wooden chairs, plus a leafy terrace and capacious lawned beer garden. Even early in the evening, there’s a romantic feel to the place: art on the walls, candles on tables, smoochy jazz on the sound-system and curvaceous sculptures of wildlife dotted around. Beautifully presented dishes add to the allure: a large piece of sherry-glazed pork neck arrives with thinly sliced peach and dabs of peach ‘ketchup’, the ensemble boosted substantially by a little mound of pâté-like pesto. An inspection meal continued with a compendium of piscine flavours: a large chunk of accurately cooked monkfish sharing a plate with a dolma (the vine leaf stuffed with cuttlefish and flavoured with thyme), a dollop of mustard and dulse relish, half a preserved lemon, hazelnut pâté and a creamy smoked-eel sauce. Puddings, too, show technical skill, with a perfectly risen blackberry soufflé complemented by a tangy blackberry sorbet; only a thin crème anglaise missed the mark. The voluminous wine list seems old-fashioned by comparison, with the Old World dominating an unannotated line-up arranged by region. Service, from the kindly proprietress and her young staff, is obliging and swift.
VENUE DETAILS
Sprigg's Alley
Chinnor
Oxfordshire
OX39 4BX
01494 483011
OTHER INFORMATION
Private dining room, Separate bar, Parking, Family friendly