Woodstock Arms

In the centre of this showpiece Oxfordshire village excellent meals and a warm welcome can be found in an historic setting that combines comfortable eating with relaxation and good service.

The Woodstock Arms has been at the hub of this beautiful village for a very long time and seems to have absorbed the effort that successive owners have injected into making the place a success. In some ways Woodstock acts as the gateway to one of the most grand Baroque palaces in England, Blenheim Palace, built for the 1st Duke of Marlborough as an expression of gratitude by a victorious nation, and as ever some of that reflected glory gets into the water, so to speak.

However, the menu does not offer grande cuisine, but thoroughly wholesome, well-presented mainly British food with hearty appetites in mind, albeit with some interesting European and Pacific influences visible on the 'specials' board. Starters of homemade soup come well hedged about with fresh crusty bread, or you can have the rustic breads with a selection of dips, an increasingly popular way of starting a meal.

Smoked haddock and spinach fishcakes blend garden and the oceans in to abmouth-watering whole, with a wholegrain mustard sauce to round off this always welcome dish. For lovers of seafood there is smoked Scottish salmon with dill sauce, and the homemade brandied chicken liver pate with fig jam never fails in its appeal to those who like a tangy starter.

Tradition continues to lead the way with the ever popular prime rib eye steak, char-grilled to your taste, with garlic butter or a mushroom garnish and fries, salad or vegetables; the beef is supplied to them from the Ditchley estate. On a chilly autumn day there are few things more cheering than a steak and Guinness pie, served with a good mix of vegetables. The secluded (smoke free) garden provides a sunny haven with shade on warmer days, with food to match.

Those who think that all the cod we eat nowadays comes from foreign waters should order the fresh Cornish variety used in this restaurant, served in the customary way, crumbed and fried and with a good helping of French fries.

Cumberland has a reputation for comfortable eating and their particular brand of sausages are renowned the world over. Here they are served with garlic mash, an onion and red wine sauce, and a selection of vegetables.

The pudding selection I saw could hardly have been bettered - rhubarb crumble and custard, a delicious Belgian chocolate truffle cake or pecan tart with clotted cream rounded off well with a great platter of British and French cheese and some delightful oaten biscuits.

Nor is the liquid refreshment of anything less than a similar standard. For lovers of traditional ales they have on draught Greene King IPA, Hardys and Hansons Olde Trip, Old Speckled Hen and Ruddles Smooth, a formidable quartet indeed. Amongst the wine list expect to find major contributions from Europe and South America, with a good selection from the New World, an inclination that happens to sit very much with my own feelings on the subject. Nearly all wine is available by the bottle or by glass.

The Woodstock Arms is a very English place that makes concessions in other directions when it suits, but otherwise remains steadfastly loyal. Is this not what originally put the Great into Britain? Anyway you can find the answer on their Website, where their wedding reception and outside catering expertise are also described.