And if you’re headed to deepest, darkest Oxfordshire you will be in for a gastronomic treat if you head to The Fat Fox in Watlington.
My wife and I jumped at the offer of heading out for a Saturday night to The Fat Fox for an evening meal, a night’s stay and then breakfast in the morning.
We had never been to Watlington before so didn’t know what to expect. What we found was a beautiful village nestled at the foot of The Chilterns in a part of Oxfordshire just enough off of the beaten track.
We were seated in the restaurant area of the pub and it was like a Georgian dining room with sumptious wallpapers and deep lighting that immediately added to the relaxed atmosphere of this gastro pub.
The menu was fantastic with an array of tastebud tickling dishes on display.
For starters I opted for cured local trout with an apple, radish and carrot slaw, which was to die for with the succulent fish complemented completely by the slaw. My wife’s gorgonzola also went down a treat judging from the way she wolfed it down in seconds.
Unfortunately I just missed out on my chosen main of beef shin and oyster suet pie as some pesky other diner had just ordered the last one so I went for the Bavette steak with gremolata and straight cut chips. The steak, medium rare obviously, was perfectly cooked and melted in the mouth just how a good cut of beef should. I was jealous of my wife’s steamed pollock with wasabi and cucumber butter sauce as that was heaven on a plate according to my wife.
For pudding I chose the sticky date pudding with a toffee sauce which really finished off the meal to perfection.
All in all though we had a lovely evening in a crowded gastro pub where they really looked after you and made you feel welcome.
The room was great as well. Decorated to a high standard with everything you needed right there and only a few steps away from the actual pub which was good as I might have partaken in one too many gin and tonics by the time I found my way there.
Usually in a lot of pubs that offer breakfast it is almost an after-thought. Not so with The Fat Fox as the standard of the breakfast of eggs, sausage and bacon was as high quality as anything we had eaten the night before.
In summary we had a truly sumptious stay that is well worth a visit.
To book a table visit www.thefatfoxinn.co.uk or call 01491 613040.
