The Nut Tree Inn
Murcott, Oxfordshire
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With drinks served all day in the bar, guest ales on handpump and warmth emanating from a wood-burning stove, this seriously thatched 15th-century charmer is still an honest-to-goodness Oxfordshire watering hole. The bar and garden menu may serve plates of home-smoked salmon, beer-battered fish and onglet steak but most applause is for the ambitious, finely crafted food served in the atmospheric dining rooms. Chef/owner Mike North delivers a menu with bags of seasonal cred and a fondness for the good things of life – including supremely moreish home-baked breads, locally cultured butter and home-grown vegetables (from the pub’s own kitchen garden). Other ingredients are garnered from Albion's fields and waters, although the cooking is grounded in the European classics – from best end of Cornish lamb (herb-crusted and paired with sautéed sweetbreads, violet artichokes and roast celeriac purée) to wild sea bass (accompanied by scallop mousse and vegetable ‘cannelloni’, herb purée and Avruga caviar). The kitchen keeps things clever by offering amuse-bouches and pre-desserts with the carte as well as the tasting menu (from cauliflower velouté to a chocolate ‘egg’ filled with salted caramel and Valrhona chocolate mousse), while desserts could promise comfort (sticky toffee pudding) or outright indulgence (blood orange soufflé with chocolate sorbet and Grand Marnier custard). Mike’s wife, Imogen, is a charming host, and the forward-thinking wine list features an impressive showing of organic and biodynamic labels among its well-curated offerings.
