Some places make it hard to be a critic, but what a joy to write a review where you can celebrate all of the things a place is getting right.

The Harcourt Arms has delivered for us on multiple occasions, from family celebrations, to Sunday roasts, to bottomless brunch, and now we can add Steak Night to the list.

We arrived to a very crowded car park and took a seat in the cosy dog-friendly bar area. The pub also has a very upmarket dining room overlooking a lovely outdoor terrace with gas heaters, where Wildflower Whiskey were set up for a night of country classics.

You can order from the steak menu, the à la carte, or a combination of both. For starters, we chose garlic and chilli king prawns, confit tomatoes, sourdough (£12), and Worcester heritage tomatoes, burrata, basil (£11). The king prawns were incredible, already de-shelled, flavoursome and soft. The confit tomatoes were roasted and bursting with flavour, served on thin sourdough that had soaked up the garlic butter, making it comforting and delicious. The heritage tomatoes, served cold, lacked flavour, but the burrata was deliciously creamy. It was just a shame the tomatoes weren’t served at room temperature.

For mains, we both ordered steak frites (£19) with peppercorn (£3) and Diane (£3) sauces. The steak came in a café de Paris butter. I’m not sure if this was a misunderstanding with ordering (as the steak menu didn’t mention it but the main menu did). For those less cultured than me, café de Paris butter is made with curry powder, giving an Indian flavour to the dish. It was unusual at first, but added interest and made the steak very tender.

Cooked perfectly medium-rare, the steak was spot on.

We added onion rings (£4), which were really crispy though a little oily. The steak is also served with a glass of Merlot. I can’t remember the last time I had red wine, maybe during communion at church, but this one was mellow and paired perfectly with the steak. I could have easily sunk another glass if it weren’t for the drive home.

For dessert, we ordered a lemon meringue cheesecake (£9), an absolute dream of a pudding.

With a New York-style base and a lemony, chewy meringue topping, it was perfection. 10/10, no notes. I’m going to be dreaming of this one for quite a while.

Another thing I love about the Harcourt Arms is their mocktails. I tried the Apricot and Lime Shrub, which consisted of house apricot shrub, lime, and carbonation (£4). Absolutely delicious.

After finishing our meal, we went outside to enjoy more of the band.

They played a strong 90-minute set, and as a super-talented duo we’ve seen perform before in Witney, it was a pleasure to hear them again at the Harcourt Arms. The crowd were really friendly, everyone was having a great time, and it was lovely to enjoy the warmth of the evening on the terrace with the gas lights. It was a real mood booster, the most fun I’ve had on a Wednesday in a long time, and the perfect midweek fix.

The Harcourt Arms is really something special and just keeps pulling us back. The new manager has been complimented by locals for bringing the soul back to the place, and based on the warmth of the hospitality we received, I’d wholeheatedly agree.

Steak Night is every last Wednesday of the month. Will we be seeing you at the next one?

The Harcourt Arms
Main Rd, Stanton Harcourt, Witney OX29 5RJ

Bitten were invited as guests, all views are our own