This has been my favorite restaurant as we travel through the Cotswolds. It's also an inn with…read moreseven en-suite rooms. They source as much food as possible from the local area. They even have a raised bed garden behind the inn. The inn is in a stunningly beautiful building in the stunningly beautiful village of Upper Oddington, east of Stowe on the Wold.
We had a 7:00 pm reservation and were seated immediately in the period dining room. The patrons consisted of local residents at the bar, inn guests and other travelers. The dining room was very clean.
The wait staff was very attentive, sharpely dressed and very polite. Norman, the owner, explained the difference between cask and keg beers and allowed me sample several ales and ciders. I selected the cask drawn amber ale from North Cotswold Brewery. It had excellent flavour and a clean finish. Norman also checked on our meal several times. He was very engaging and fun to talk with.
Next we ordered dinner. My wife had the ribeye steak with peppercorn sauce, chips, sautéed mushroom and onion rings. The steak was prepared exactly as ordered. The peppercorn sauce was so good she used it on her chips also. The mushroom had excellent flavour and complimented the steak and peppercorn sauce. She had a 1/2 pint of Thatchers Golden Cider, which was also very good.
I ordered the special, crispy pork belly with a sweet patato purée, fondant potatoes and roasted new carrots. Everything was excellent and complimented each other.
We finished the evening with coffee and the sticky toffee pudding. It was moist, flavourful, drizzled with a caramel sauce and accompanied by a dollop of excellent vanilla ice cream. We didn't need it but finished the whole thing.
My wife said it's the best dessert she has ever had.
We had an excellent meal and a wonderful time in a lovely setting. People from Stowe, Bourton on the Water, Chipping Camden and even Cheltenham need to get out there. I would go every week if I didn't live 3,000 miles away.