Worton Kitchen Garden

We had such a lovely evening, with absolutely delicious food, and a really friendly waitress, despite them being super busy with a private function going on at the same time. The place itself is absolutely gorgeous, and the quality of the produce is really apparent in the food. For what it's worth, re: the review before this one where the group left because they weren't happy with the table, the waitress was perfectly polite, the table was in a totally reasonable location, and one of the members of that party had a little tantrum in the restaurant and slammed the door on his way out. Deeply embarrassing for them, but the waitress handled it like an absolute pro. Can't recommend this place enough, and would definitely come back if I'm in the area again!!

We've been here three times now, and every visit leaves us extremely satisfied. The cooking is as good as any of the top London restaurants, but you're in beautiful surrounds just outside Oxford and the atmosphere is relaxed, authentic and totally unpretentious. Everything on offer is of excellent value, much of it sourced from the adjacent farm. The fish is of particularly high quality (a whole roast plaice eaten on one visit was by far the best fish either of us has ever eaten, anywhere in the world!). Owner and team are lovely and extremely welcoming. A must!

Just had our anniversary lunch it was our first time visiting after hearing lots of good things. I had the courgette bruschetta, which was absolutely lovely. Great flavour, and the courgette was nicely charred . My wife went for the gazpacho, which was really refreshing even had a little piece of ice in it that kept it chilled the whole way through, which I thought was a clever touch. For mains, we had the pork vindaloo and the sausage with Coco beans both were full of flavour and really satisfying and wholesome. The chef even came out to tell us a bit about the origins of the vindaloo he'd created, which made it feel a bit more special. Drinks-wise, we had a blackberry vinegar cordial (which was delicious) and a homemade elderflower really refreshing. Afterwards, we had a little wander around the garden, which was a lovely way to round things off. All in all, a great spot with a relaxed atmosphere we’d definitely come back.

A hidden little gem! We had coffee and cake in the quirky greenhouse style cafe, surrounded by a no dig flower and vegetable garden. Met Simon the owner who is warm, friendly and truly passionate about being able to make use of as much produce grown/reared on site as possible. Can’t wait to see what it looks like in summer!

Love this place. Hidden away, it is an unpretentious gem, with delightful places to eat both inside and outside. Simon is a wonderful chef and host to his restaurant and loves to come and say hi. The food is delicious and full of flavour but aimed at adults rather than kids. Kids have plenty of space to roam and explore including lots of animals to discover. There’s also a good walk from the venue. Only thing that could be improved is the service which, whilst very friendly, was a little slow and haphazard.

We came at the height of summer when the magnificent garden was in full bloom, and couldn’t believe what a lovely place we had come to. The food is thoughtful and ingredient focused. Standouts for me were the celeriac curry, and Tuscan sausage with borlotti beans, and the chocolate and ginger cake. I also loved the Sloe Gin Fizz cocktail. Proprietor Simon was nice enough to come out and introduce himself, and the other staff are also very kind and accommodating. If you appreciate beautiful plants and flowers, good food and magical places, you will love Worton Garden Kitchen.

What a unique and wonderful sensory experience, a hidden gem! Fabulous garden, fresh 3 course late lunch for two on Friday 2nd August. The passion and love for their ingredients was self evident but to be clear this place is big on “character” and “slow food”, the antithesis of modern chain restaurants and more authentic and in stark contrast to the more formulaic and manicured “farmshop/garden centre” restaurants typical of the area. It’s like eating in someone’s private kitchen garden or giant allotment. Talk about field to plate provenance, ingredients don’t get fresher than this! We were fortunate to visit on a warm summer afternoon and our table for two, shaded by parasol and fruit trees, was alfresco rambling kitchen garden summer perfection. Other tables for 2, 4 and 6 are spaced so far apart around the restaurant sheds and out into the abundant gardens that we didn’t notice half of them until we explored later. For seating at other times of year there appeared to be rustic tables in two parts of the shed and one high ceilinged greenhouse. The menu is short and, as advertised, seasonal. To start we shared decadent pork crackling with a mirabelle chutney and beautifully sweet tomatoes in a caprese-like salad. For our mains we chose the house mezze - principally homemade babaganoush (fabulous), hummus, tomatillo salad with crusty white house-baked ciabatta-style bread - and then whole mackerel (bbq chard) and beetroot. It was a crime not to try more than one of the three fabulous looking puddings - something chocolate, an amazing sounding cheesecake and a mixed fruit frangipane. We had the latter - a taste sensation. We made the most of the suggestion to explore the gardens and there appeared to be no limitations to this. There are a number of huge greenhouses bursting with tomato plants, vines and other veg. These are interspersed with combined vegetable and flower beds and fruit trees. We found chickens, geese and turkeys but must have missed the pigs. On our way we came across friendly gardeners and Stacey Gledhill, the artist in residence for the summer. To be clear these are not manicured gardens, they are beautifully wild and at this time of year watering and harvesting might understandably take priority over weeding or meticulous tidying up. Since our visit I’ve read back through reviews on the usual platforms and have noticed occasionally severe criticism of this establishment when it comes to service, speed of service and pricing. We have no such complaints but it is possible to imagine how they might occasionally arise. Staff are surely not drilled to corporate style rulebooks; some tables are hidden and further from the hub; for this quality, prices are understandably at the high-end of gastropub levels; and this is a working kitchen garden. In the end it’s a matter of taste, preferences and expectations. For us this was genuinely a five star / exceeded expectations experience in all respects.

Beautiful setting, organic farm. Gorgeous menu, helpful staff. Wonderful food.