We’re back at the Harcourt Arms (again), although this time we’ve got a new reason to visit. This place holds a special place in our hearts. We’re on first-name terms now with the manager, although that isn’t unique here. It’s a pub full of regulars and plenty of “good to see you again”s.

Tonight we’re here for American Night. The Harcourt Arms has been running a monthly themed food night featuring a different cuisine, and this month it’s all things USA.

We arrive to an American Dodge pickup truck in the car park and, upon entering, are offered a drink to start the night. I bravely try my very first Old Fashioned, which turns out to be a hit, while Rachel goes for an equally delicious peach spritz mocktail.

Everything here is done to a very high standard, and the drinks are no exception, served up by a mixologist who clearly cares about the details.

We start by sitting on the sofa and taking in the atmosphere before moving into the restaurant for our meal. It’s a three-course affair for £45, with dishes inspired by different parts of America. The appetisers took us from Oregon and Buffalo to New England and New York, the entrees covered Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Hawaii and Louisiana, and desserts took us to New Orleans, Florida and Connecticut.

For appetisers, we went for the lobster roll with pickles and zucchini fries. The lobster brioche roll was really tasty, generously filled and paired well with the acidity of the pickles. The zucchini fries were piping hot, very lightly dusted, and served with a delicious homemade tomato and onion sauce.

Next up were the entrees. Rachel went for the BBQ pork ribs, which were, according to her, “the best ever”.

They were super meaty and marinated in a delicious homemade BBQ sauce, and the chips were also super tasty.

I ordered the fried chicken with grilled corn and white gravy. I’ve had fried chicken a few times at the Harcourt Arms, but this was good evidence that they’d really embraced the American theme, as it was noticeably different to their usual version (in a great way). It had a much drier, crispier crumb, with larger chunks of chicken and a lovely crunch.

I’d have liked some chips on the side, but solved that problem by stealing some of Rachel’s! I hadn’t had white gravy before, but it was thick, creamy and almost cheesy. I ended up dunking pieces of chicken straight into it.

We ended the night, despite being very full by this point, with beignets and key lime pie.

The beignets came dusted with powdered sugar and were basically little pillows of goodness. Rachel said she could have eaten a bucket load of them, which probably tells you everything you need to know.

I went for the key lime pie with whipped cream. The topping was really thick, with lime shavings running through it that gave it a lovely citrus kick, and I loved the biscuity base. It could have been a bit smaller in my opinion, but in typical American fashion, the portion sizes were certainly true to form.

The restaurant had a lovely atmosphere, with lots of groups of friends and family, and we both commented that these evenings would be a brilliant option if you’re looking to get a group together for something a little different to your usual dinner out. Or, like us, the perfect date night!

We had a really fun evening. It felt like much more than just going out for dinner. From the Dodge pickup waiting in the car park and the welcome drinks, through to a menu that took us on a bit of a tour around America, you could tell a lot of love and thought had gone into making it feel like an occasion.

One idea worth exploring might be sliders or a sharing board, giving you the chance to try a few more of the dishes on offer. We’d also have loved the soundtrack to tie into the theme a little more, with some American country music playing throughout the evening, or perhaps even some live music at future events to really bring the whole thing to life (maybe we’re just saying that because we love Wildflower Whisky so much!). You can often catch them at one of Harcourt Arm’s amazing Wednesday steak nights.

At £45 for three courses, we thought the evening was really good value and would have happily paid that for the quality of the food and the whole experience.

We’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for the next one. We’ve said it a million times, but the Harcourt Arms is consistently great, which feels like a rare thing these days.

There’s a lot of love for the Harcourt Arms in our household, and evenings like this remind us exactly why.

Harcourt Arms

Main Rd, Stanton Harcourt, Witney OX29 5RJ

Bitten were invited as guests, all views are our own