I thought we’d accidentally walked into someone’s wedding when we arrived at The Old Crown Coaching Inn.

The large restaurant ceiling is draped with swathes of white cloth, with fairy lights twinkling softly above. Large, medieval-looking chandeliers hang down over generously spaced tables, and a grand piano sits patiently in a corner. It’s a beautiful room, made even more welcoming by the friendly front-of-house staff.

We were presented with a choice of two menus; the dinner menu or the Valentine’s tasting menu. We opted for the former, as many of the choices sounded frankly irresistible.

First up, were drinks. Below the restaurant is a cocktail bar – which was undeniably tempting – but we each chose from the Inn’s range of wines by the glass, all of which were incredibly reasonably priced.

The dinner menu at the Old Crown Coaching Inn is relatively brief and there are very few ingredients that will send you running towards Google (thank goodness). This isn’t to say that the dishes are uninteresting – quite the opposite. It almost made our decision harder as basically every dish had an element of appeal, but luckily I am blessed with a partner who is willing to share food.

Before we’d even got to our starters, though, we were presented with a bread course and hors d’ouevre. The sourdough bread was beautifully moist but with a nice crunch to the crust, and was served with a smooth, indulgent honey butter. The hors d’ouevre were individual potato, onion and mustard tarts. The filling was a delicate potato and cheese foam – an unexpected texture, but delicious flavour – topped with crispy onions. The pastry was light as a feather and melted in the mouth.

We hadn’t even got to our actual choices yet and already this was shaping up to be a fantastic meal.

So, onto the starters.

I went for the Jerusalem artichoke while my partner ordered the beef tartare. The presentation of the artichoke was stunning (spoiler alert – this is a theme of the meal), to such an extent that I actually quizzed the chef on how they’d done it. The artichoke itself had a lovely dense texture with a nicely contrasting caramelised crust, and was accompanied by dots of pear purée, vegetable crisps and a rich brie mousse.

Meanwhile, the tartare went down a storm.

The meat was seasoned with teriyaki-esque flavours, and was accompanied with a rich sauce that had an added spicy punch of ginger. We weren’t sure that the faintly fishy crackers added to the dish, so we left them to one side, but nevertheless my partner said that it was unlike any beef tartare he’d had before, in the best possible way.

For mains, I went for the corn-fed chicken served with leek, shallot, mushrooms and ragu. The chicken was tender and moist, but the ragu was the real standout here. It was served in a tiny pastry case reminiscent of a mince pie, and managed the perfect balance of being incredibly rich in flavour whilst still being very light to eat.

Our other main was cod served with prawn ravioli, noilly prat, samphire and fennel. Visually, this was a huge crowd pleaser. The waiter poured the vibrant sauce at the table, and I barely managed to take a photo before we dived in. Luckily, this was a very generous portion. The fish was substantial but still moist and light. The flavour of the fennel infused the whole dish but was never overwhelming, and worked well with the salty samphire and herbs in the sauce and ravioli.

The plate had a huge range of textures, which meant every mouthful was interesting.

Finally, we found space for dessert.

The banana sticky toffee pudding (already a top-tier flavour combo) was obviously incredibly sweet, and was doused in a miso toffee sauce that was like salted caramel on steroids. Add in some peanut butter ice cream and popcorn crisp and this was a heady flavour mix, but dollops of citrus-y kalamansi gel cut perfectly through the richness.

Our other choice was presented on the menu as simply ‘cherry’. When it arrived, it was a beautifully baked, fluffy doughnut filled with sticky, jammy cherries and accompanied with goat milk ice cream, pistachio crumb and kirsch cherries that gave us an alcohol-soaked flavour punch. It was stunning on the plate and – no surprise – delicious. As a final touch, some tiny and beautifully flavoured lavender and lemon curd cakes were brought out to finish the meal.  

We were served throughout by incredibly friendly staff.

Our main waitress was attentive, chatty and very knowledgeable about the food – we really appreciated her insights and recommendations. It’s always such a good sign when the front-of-house staff are enthusiastic about the food they’re serving, and this was such a lovely additional aspect to our experience.

The Old Crown Coaching Inn might be at a higher price point than you’d usually pay for a meal – mains from the dinner menu range from £24-£30 – but to be honest you could end up paying that in the centre of Oxford for much lower-quality food. The dishes here are carefully curated, beautifully cooked and painstakingly presented. Alternatively, you could check out the lunchtime brasserie menu, with some more familiar dishes at a slightly cheaper price. Either way, it’s definitely worth the trip from Oxford. I for one will be keeping my eye on the tasting menu for my next trip!

The Old Crown Coaching Inn
25 Market Pl, Faringdon SN7 7HU

Bitten were invited as guests, all views are our own