Safe Hands

The Turnpike Inn is the kind of venue that has me waking up in the middle of the night, sweating and screaming.

Not because it was a nightmare. Far from it. The Turnpike’s only fault was that it made me feel utterly redundant, like Prince Andrew at a trade delegation. Because you’ve already made up your own mind about this Yarnton pub, regardless of what I have to say about it.

That much is obvious from the moment you walk into the refurbished interior. In fact, it occurred to me, while trying to find a parking space in the packed car park on a cold, dark Thursday night, that sometimes you have absolutely no need of my advice.

Inside, the Turnpike Inn convinced me even further, because every table was busy with people chatting away while they ate.

And why was it packed?

Because everyone understood it. They grasped the menu and recognised the food, the interior was comforting but stylish, and it wasn’t a gastro pub, so it didn’t have to be a special occasion or a break-the-bank night out. It was a pub serving good pub food. And that’s what you want, isn’t it?

Which, I have to say, depressed me utterly, from a purely selfish point of view, because the word ‘safe’ sends shivers down my spine.

Personally, I like a meal out to be something a bit different and exciting, something out of the ordinary. But again, The Turnpike Inn made me realise immediately I was in the minority.

Manager Sandi Hamilton is delighted, of course, if a bit tired. The Turnpike, which she inherited with the refurb, in Yarnton, has been heaving since opening its doors on the first night in December. You can almost hear the locals crowing ‘at last, a decent pub’, as they queue up to try it out, returning time and time again.

But to expand on this, I’ll talk you through our meal. For starters we tried the whole baked baby Camembert (£6.95), the mezze sharing plate (£9.95) and the battered mushrooms (£3.95). All of which have been on pub menus for decades, albeit under a different guise – The Turnpike has just tweaked the traditional favourites to bring them up-to-date.

So, while the Camembert used to come deep-fried in neat triangles, it’s now oven-baked whole with bread. The deep-fried mushrooms now have a beer batter and a smoked garlic dip, and the mezze comes with a basil aioli, feta and mint tzatziki, rather than dips and crudites. And they were good. They were never going to be mind-blowing because we’re still talking deep-fried mushrooms and houmous, but it was all going according to plan.

Next up we could choose from comfort food such as the home-made burger and chips, chicken, leek and ham pie, Lancashire hotpot or good old fish pie. We opted for the rump steak with all the trimmings (£9.45), the beef, mushroom and ale pie – £8.75 (slow-cooked in Black Sheep Ale) and the special, a veg and lentil moussaka which was either going to be sensational or very ordinary. It was the latter, and I’m afraid terribly bland is the nicest description I can offer.

But then I should have known better. Why try to be original? If you come here you should stick to the classics, and the pie and steak both ticked all the boxes. If you want exciting and original, go elsewhere.

Do I sound bitter? I don’t mean to. The prices were hugely reasonable, the service friendly and impeccable and Sandi herself, a glowing example of how to do it As for me, I’ll just keep on trucking.

* The Turnpike Inn is at 2 Woodstock Road, Yarnton, near Kidlington, OX5 1PJ. 01865 847666.