It’s not cheap but if you want a truly world-class dining experience near Oxford and on the edge of the Cotswolds, the tasting menu at the Killingworth Castle is one of the finest. Run by Jim and Claire Alexander in the village of Wootton, near Woodstock, it costs £85 for 7 courses.

‘Wait and let patience complete, be replete and lack nothing’ is quoted in small print on the bottom of the Killingworth menus. Wise words indeed. If you are in the mood to splash out for a special occasion or a big birthday, ‘The Killy’ can hold its own with any Cotswolds gastro offering. ‘The Killy’ has held two AA rosettes & a Michelin recommendation for a total of seven years now. A third AA rosette is rumoured to be on its way.

The taster menu offers a gastronomic journey through untold tastes, textures and ingredients that you might never have encountered before. Salsify, Monk’s beard, shimeji mushrooms, kohlrabi to name but a few. When paired with the tailored ‘flight’ of wines, this is a passport to foodie heaven! Each wine is perfectly matched with each food course, working to enhance the textures, sauces and tastes of every mouthful. The wines on offer at £35 a flight are distinctive and unusual, ranging from an Austrian Grüner Veltliner from Burgenland to an oaky French Languedoc Viognier. There are 6 small glasses on each flight.

You’ll get to witness the craft and artistry of Chef Adam Brown, a Coventry boy who is definitely at the top of his cooking game. Adam built his credentials with Michelin starred chefs, under Gordon Ramsay in his Hospital Road London restaurant and David Everitt-Matthias at Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham. “I’m 43 now and it takes many years to mature and learn the whole gamut of skills from kitchen leadership to sourcing the best ingredients. I see myself in my prime as an inventor and creator. Jim the owner and I have a symbiotic relationship and we create the dishes together. A lot of thought goes into it based on what’s in season, what’s organic and what would surprise and delight our guests. We design great innovative food to make it an unforgettable event and experience!”

And my goodness it certainly was – easily better than a friend’s fiftieth birthday at Raymond Blanc’s Manoir aux Quatre Saisons a few years back. You have the personal attentive service of Jim himself and both Raj and Rob, loyal long-standing staff from their previous award-winning pub ‘The Ebrington Arms’ near Chipping Camden. They sold this Gloucestershire pub in 2021 to concentrate solely on ‘The Killy’.

First up we were offered two canapés: an artichoke, pine nut and truffle tartlet in the most delicate and crunchy pastry imaginable, together with goat’s cheese-filled salmon-pink savoury macarons. Perfectly paired with a light, dry Crémant de Limoux from Carcassone, southern France these ‘amuse bouche’ were so artfully presented on handmade crockery. Pure theatre. All the tasting menu dishes have been individually designed by Adam’s potter friend, who lives in the Lake District.

To follow was treacle soda bread served in a warmed dish with ‘Ampersand’ butter. Almost cake-like and so moreish it gained our undivided attention, savouring each and every sweet mouthful. Who thought bread and butter could be so utterly divine? The bread was handmade that morning on-site using three different heritage grains from Wild Farmed, an organic farm owned and run by Andy Cato, one half of the electronic band ‘Groove Armada’. He sold the music rights to their whole back catalogue to become a regenerative farmer and now has the tenancy at a National Trust farm near Swindon. Grant Harrington created Ampersand butter with the sole goal of making the world’s best tasting butter, using traditional Scandinavian techniques and the highest quality ingredients. As well as being served at the UK’s top restaurants, including over 60 stars worth of Michelin starred UK restaurants, Ampersand butter is made using Jersey, Holstein & Guernsey herd cows milk and mineral rich Himalyan pink rock salt. It certainly makes for the most delicious butter I’ve ever eaten.

The artistry of the food and the theatre of the food presentation takes place in the most homely and welcoming of settings ….. the deepest dark paints on the walls, exposed Cotswolds stone, contrasting with the gold frames of the mirrors and the interesting collection of paintings and drawings, books and antique oriental carpets.

Jim and Claire, who met whilst working for the same London marketing firm over 15 years ago, seem to really love what they do, taking pride in giving pleasure to their customers in a rather special and generous way. It was a brush with a tumour in his spine that transformed Jim’s life direction, leaving the West End to try his hand at ‘something more fun’ and find a vocation that he truly desired ……. “so we decided to create and run a top-notch pub!’ he says with his understated modesty. He’s such a natural, down-to-earth and rather cool guy. They moved out of London in 2007 and bought ‘The Killy’ derelict from Greene King. It had been closed for over a year with a condemned kitchen. “It was really in a very sorry state. It has taken 10 years with staggered refurbishment and some crowdfunding to get it to where it now is”.

So onto the next course – a perfectly poached Cacklebean egg, the yolk bursting against the spoon, cradled in a nest of smoked potato, leek and shimeji mushroom, served with a beautifully light and refreshing bio-organic Touraine Le Sauvignon from the Loire. The cacklebean egg comes from Mr and Mrs Cackleberry aka Paddy & Steph Bourns, reared on their 12-acre farm just outside Stow on the Wold. The couple were featured in the first episode of the second season of Amazon’s Clarkson’s Farm programme.

This storied egg did not disappoint, served in its purpose-designed glimmering white ceramic dish. There is so much going on in this simple dish – the textures, the cubes of smoked potato contrasting with the tiny roundels of moist Japanese mushrooms, the sweet vinegary taste and crunch of the leek.

Two stunning fish dishes followed: first a neat rectangle of organic salmon served with a cod’s roe mousse, kohlrabi, bright green lovage, and buttermilk, colours swirling on the plate when poured from a miniature jug. The Grüner Veltliner, my companion’s favourite wine from Austria, set it off superbly. The whole combination tasted earthy and grassy green somehow, transporting the fish to the heights of Alpine meadows rather than the rampaging icy rivers of Scotland!

The next dish was an equally neat fillet of turbot, served with an entrancing selection of vegetables: celeriac, salsify, and monk’s beard together with black winter truffle. Salsify, Jim told us, tends to soak up other flavours, and in this dish was soaking up apple juice to make the dish sweeter. Utterly delicious and an excellent contrast to the previous raw salmon. Choose a red Pinot or white Viognier as the pairing option.

The last savoury dish was venison but like all the dishes, not too much to make you full but an absolute pleasure to taste and savour. A neat sizeable rectangular slice of medium rare venison loin was served with a delicate and perfectly cooked golden and crispy potato rosti, red chicory, pear purée and forced rhubarb from South Yorkshire. Once coupled with a Lirac red wine from the Rhône, rich in cassis and blackcurrant undertones, this added beautifully to the warming, colourful nature of the dish. I rarely eat red meat, but one mouthful of this venison made me appreciate how wonderful game can be when so well presented.

The dessert brought the meal to a fitting crescendo – a chocolate delice, bursting with a blood orange flavoured chocolate ganache, set off beautifully by the burnt sugary taste of muscovado ice cream. Served with a port-like red desert wine, a Malbec Dulce, it left us speechless but very satiated and happy.

Considering all these dishes feature on their à la carte menu, some at main course prices, the taster menu, for a special occasion, seems to offer fair value for money if you are prepared to see this as a life experience, not just a meal. You’ll be smiling for days afterwards just thinking of all the delicious tastes, colourful ingredients and heavenly wine and food combinations.

It’s not all about premium dining here either. The Killingworth Castle does provide streetfood-style bar snacks and a legendary Sunday roast for the more everyday treat. There’s excellent walking in Glympton nearby if you just fancy popping in for a coffee or a pint in the cosiest of environments.

‘The Killy’ also offers a set lunch menu Wednesday to Friday between 12pm and 2pm. Two courses for £28 or 3 courses for £35. If you’re not indulging in wine, the cuisine is comparable in value to other leading Cotswolds gastro pubs like The Kingham Plough and The Chequers at Churchill.

The meal will stay in your memory for a long time and has to be experienced to be believed. There are 8 beautifully refurbished rooms on-site if you overindulge or simply want to make a trip of it, with Blenheim Palace nearby.

The Killingworth Castle
Glympton Road
Wootton
OX20 1EJ
thekillingworthcastle.com