Sir Charles Napier

Overall we had a lovely Sunday lunch here, the weather happened to be glorious so we had drink on the lawn before being shown to our outside table. Service was at all time impeccable. The starters, Trout for her and Scallops for me were sublime. I had duck for main and my wife Beef and the meats were perfect. But…… the Yorkshire was visibly over cooked and the Roast potatoes tough skinned and powdery which was a disappointment, we left most of ours. We noticed other tables had not eaten theirs either. When paying I mentioned this to the landlady who if I am honest was rather “uninterested” and just said a reluctant sorry. This isn’t your average pub, it’s top notch and priced accordingly and so I would ah e expected better. I doubt we will bother travelling to visit again and wouldn’t be confident in recommending to friends.

Went to this place before meeting friends at Bicester Village. The food was so tasty and delicious and the attention and service was even better. Would definitely recommend. We didn’t have reservations but we arrived as soon as they opened and they were able to accommodate 2 people. I was so happy they did.

Anniversary meal at Sir Charles & Napier, picked a glorious evening, food was so tasty, relaxed atmosphere, enjoyed a drink in the gardens, wasn't rushed to take a table as we were enjoying the beautiful sunny evening, everything was fantastic, can't wait to go again. Thank you for making our Anniversary so memorable

A truly outstanding meal yesterday at the Charles Napier. The food was absolutely delicious - we loved the scallops and squid bolognese and the fish of the day. All beautifully presented and full of flavour. The wine list has something for everyone. The service, as ever, was attentive and friendly and the whole atmosphere is very welcoming. It’s a special place and well worth a visit. We’ll be back.

Our meal here couldn’t have been better - we absolutely loved it. We informed them beforehand that we are vegetarian, and they brought two sets of appetisers (both delicious) and some lovely fresh bread before our meal on the house. The mushroom tart and pumpkin soup were wonderful, as was the sweetcorn risotto. All the staff were really kind and attentive, the atmosphere is relaxed and the garden also looks beautiful (we went in the evening so probably even better in the day). I would really highly recommend a visit, and we’d love to return.

Went for my partner's birthday meal, we both had the beef roast. The food was absolutely delicious and the service was good all round.

This is a beautiful pub, but sadly the experience was ruined by the maître d’ (who I presume is the owner, as I’ve seen similar complaints in other 1-star reviews and it sounds like the same woman is still there). I went in just hoping to enjoy the venue and have two drinks with my partner in the sun. As soon as I entered, I was asked what I wanted. I said, “Just two beers, please.” I was told they were too busy to serve me — even though there were two staff plus the woman behind the bar, and only about six tables occupied outside. I explained it was just two beers and that I wouldn’t be having food. She then asked, “Are you looking for a pub? The Boot down the road will serve you.” I said again, “I just want two beers, and we’ll be on our way.” She then told the barman to serve me, but it felt begrudging, as if she was doing me a favour. I don’t know if she thought I didn’t fit in or what, but I felt completely unwelcome. We ended up going to The Boot afterwards — I couldn’t recommend it enough. The staff there were friendly and happy to serve us. The lady at the Charles Napier should take a moment to read these reviews and reflect. All customers deserve to be treated with respect.

This place is quite hit and miss for me. Lovely and slightly quirky place with beautiful outside garden located in on a quaint street. Service is okay, not as friendly as you often get out in the countryside. We were seated in a saloon room at first and were asked to order drinks- these unfortunately weren’t very good (champagne and red wine) and after about 20minutes we got seated in the main restaurant for our food. Sadly it took a very long time until we received our first dish, even the complimentary (and admittedly very delicious) pastry to start with took at least 15minutes to come. The garlic soup was very hearty and tasted good, the crab tartlet was beautifully presented and very elegant in flavor. The truffle gnocchi were very good, however the beef roast was about 40% pure fat and the sides were okay, but just that. Yorkshire pudding wasn’t very good unfortunately. Small portions also considering the pretty hefty price tags (roast was 36£)… our rhubarb soufflé dessert was a nice and unique way to end the meal, but again just overpriced at 16£. All in all we enjoyed the experience here but we drove out 1 1/2hrs just for this and are not sure we’d do it again. If you live close you may want to give this a try, but I do feel like there may be even better options at this price range (or actually, even below that)…

My wife and I booked the Sir Charles Napier for an evening dinner to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary. We were not disappointed. It lived up to everything that I had hoped for and then some. We were greeted in the bar/reception and ordered glasses of champagne while we perused the menu and comprehensive wine list. My wife ordered the asparagus starter followed by rib of beef and she loved it. The beef was perfectly prepared. I had the scallops with bone marrow which was amazing followed by roast duck. We finished off with a rhubarb soufflé and coffee. The staff were very attentive and the owner came over to check with us several times. The ambiance was perfect- we sat side by side at a table for two which was quite romantic. I would unreservedly recommend this Michelin star restaurant to anyone dining for a special occasion or just a date night.

So disappointed with lunch at The Sir Charles Napier Inn in at Chinnor (http://www.sircharlesnapier.co.uk/). But at the end of the meal we got charged close to £20 more than we had spent. The explanation was that the server had left and the couldn't check - we could call back later when the server got back!! However, the bill also had lists of X1 (times 1) when we had 2 drinks (they doubled the item price) ... was this to confuse us? Why couldn't they give us a bill that truly reflected what we had? Shocked as this was a Michelin one star place! So disappointed with the management for what felt to me as a manipulation!

Lunch at Sir Charles Napier was a delightful experience. We chose outdoor seating to enjoy the spring blooms, near the garden. The food was on point for every course, especially the guinea fowl. Couldn't have asked for a better meal in a more pleasant setting - thank you!

We went back to the Charles Napier this week to celebrate our first wedding anniversary and enjoyed yet again another impeccable lunch. A year ago we had our wedding breakfast here - just our joint family of 12 in total and were looked after to perfection. The owner Julie has been running the Napier for more than 30 years and manages to provide five star food and service in a lovely setting at a very reasonable price without any visible fuss and bother. After so many recent disappointing experiences in Oxford and the surrounding area I wish everyone thinking of running a restaurant would go to the Napier and see how its done!

Love coming here for my anniversary dinner. Sat not far from one well known local french chef / restauranteur recently.

Although Oxfordshire is hardly a culinary Mecca, there are a few places serving really tasty, and occasionally imaginative pub food. The Charles Napier is not one of them; in fact, it delivered one of the most disheartening dining experiences I have had in quite some time. Having read the great reviews in the press, we booked a table. On arrival, we were directed into the bar area, which would have been rather charming, had it not been so packed. Drinks, including a flat and bizarrely sugary gin and tonic, were served, and then...nothing. After forty-five minutes there was no sign of our table, or anyone intending to take our orders, so we politely asked how long we could expect to be, as we needed to be in Oxford in two hours. This was greeted with a palpable sense of grievance and confusion by the owner. It took more than half hour after this for us to be seated and for our starters to be served; the other clients seemed to be in similar states of limbo. One too few starters were bought due to the owner's handwriting being misread, and half the salads contained none of the advertised black and white pudding; just a couple of pieces of quite tough pancetta. The mains were adequate but unadventurous and sloppily cooked, leaving two of our party feeling slightly bilious. All in all, it was the sort of thing one might expect to eat in a regional conference venue with more pretention than culinary nous. We decided to skip pudding. The service throughout was inattentive, and provided by slightly lost looking teenagers, presided over by the patroness, alternately brusque to the point of rudeness and gushing loudly over regulars, providing an atmosphere of mild tension. At fifty pounds a head, with one drink each and no pudding, you really need to go all out with the service to excuse this sort quality of food. The set menu (not generally highlighted in the press as weekday only) might be more edible and better value, but I won't be returning to risk it. As it is, the whole enterprise comes over as insultingly arrogant. I almost regret not complaining, but the overall bleakness of the experience left us eager to escape, and in no mood for a contretemps. One cannot really fairly mark down a place for difference in taste, but the tacky statuary and paintings looked as if they would be more suited to one of Silvio Berlusconi's sex parties. No wonder we were nauseated.