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The White Hart was once a country pub - does this sound familiar - but now the great gastro has hit it, and it fairly buzzes with activity. It is no use bemoaning the loss of old traditional pubs to the gastro movement - "it's the economy, stupid", but a twinge of regret is in order. Far better to make the best of what the gastro movement is doing to improve old run-down or redundant premises, and enjoy them.

The White Hart has certainly been re-invented and the familiar sort of menu that used to belong mostly to brasseries has been installed. The menu divides into five sections, starters, divine salads, divine classics, side dishes and puddings and most of the usual suspects are there. Staffing is good and there is a business like wine list.

I find that one of the less admirable features of gastropubs is their ability to seamlessly extract larger quantities of money from the pockets of their customers than those same customers had expected to have extracted, often exceeding the amounts they would pay for a similarly construed meal in a more traditional restaurant. The White Hart is no exception to this trend and produces good quality food that can be really enjoyed.

Believed by many to be amongst the best of the ethnic cuisines that compete for the privilege of catering ex officio to the future governing classes. Well, I do like being provocative occasionally but there is little reason to doubt the claim for Chutney's ascendancy. It presumably takes its name from the impressive range of chutneys that accompany the opening volleys of nibbles and poppadums. It is possible to eat comfortably here for around £20, which is not exactly cheap but then I find the average prices for most things in Oxford above the norm.

At a time when diners are looking for some culinary pizzazz, thank goodness there are places like The Woodman Inn and Restaurant where guests are encouraged to reflect on the glorious bygone days, and if it's accompanied by some excellent cooking, it can hardly be bettered. Even the setting is wonderful; a welcome addition to the peaceful hamlet of Fernham in the Vale of the White Horse.

The food is typically gastropub fare, often with British and European flavours, so starters arrive in a straightforward manner, baked mini camembert, chicken liver pâté, smoked chicken Caesar salad and deep fried whitebait. Main courses hit some conventional notes with char-grilled 10oz sirloin steak, slow roast lamb shank, and The Woodman steak, mushroom and ale pie, while Thai red chicken curry shows how the cooking occasionally veers towards Asia.

Sometimes you don't have to travel all the way to Fernham for that pint of ale, there's Woodman on Tour, the mobile bar for all outdoor events.

Of the several of its kind in the city Thai Orchid is well amongst the top echelon. Waitresses dressed in Thai costume glide around amongst the exotic greenery attending to the needs of guests with charm and élan. This certainly is a Thai experience overall. The food is tremendously appealing and many hitherto unknown dishes (well, to me anyway) appear on the menu, as well as the old favourites. Some ingredients are flown in on a twice weekly service from Thailand, others will come from trusted suppliers in London. Give yourself a real treat and try the Kaeng Ped Pad Daeng - roasted duck cooked in red curry sauce and fresh Thai herbs.

Upmarket, fashionable and modish, 4500 Miles From Delhi is a restaurant creatively named after the actual distance between Delhi and Oxford. Sleek, elegant teak furniture, wenge flooring and glass walls are the highlights of the décor and an open kitchen plan allows you to sneak a peek at the cooking.

Rich Indian cuisine is put forward in an uncomplicated way and you could start with a fish Amritsari, garlic and ajwain laced cod fillets, deep fried in gram flour batter or a chilli paneer shashlik, cottage cheese coated with yoghurt based marinade and barbequed with onions and peppers. Amongst mains lamb in a spinach curry and chicken cooked in a spicy onion sauce are a few Indian favourites. Vegetarians have the luxury to choose from many alternatives and you can expect to see the likes of aloo gobi, potato and cauliflower cooked in Punjabi style and baingan bharta, a charcoal smoked aubergine delicacy cooked with onions and tomatoes.

Fine selections of wines are on hand to pair up with your meal.

It has always seemed amazing that there are so few restaurants with a view out over our premier river in Great Britain - the River Thames - and the River Room Restaurant at the Oxford Thames Four Pillars Hotel is one of the few outside London.

As well as the 'a la carte' the River Room restaurant has set menus, presenting excellent value, at both lunch and dinner, and on Sundays there is a carvery at lunchtime, with jazz to keep their patrons happy. Starters could run from smoked trout terrine or warm red onion and crabmeat tartlet to crispy prawn dim sum.

Whilst mains include simple dishes like fillet steak or pan-fried tuna topped garlic and fresh herb butter, to the more complicated monkfish wrapped in pancetta or noisettes of pork tenderloin with a cider, apple and tarragon sauce. Leave room for puddings though, with choices like lemon torte with balsamic roasted fig compote or chocolate and kumquat truffle.

For more informal eating, lighter meals are available in the Crusader Bar and Lounge situated in one of the medieval barns, while in the summer the beautiful sandstone courtyards and the river view terrace come into their own.