The White Horse Inn, Duns Tew

The article that follows came close to being ‘spiked’ when it emerged that the White Horse Inn in Duns Tew caught fire hours after I finished writing about it. It proved unnecessary to kill the piece, however, after regulars rallied round for a big clean-up that enabled landlady Sarah Inwood to open for business again on Sunday, the day following the blaze. It is an interesting irony — as readers will doubtless note — that my review is concerned to some degree (pun intended) with the heating arrangements at the pub. I began, though, with an observation on the name of the place . . .

Though known as the White Horse Inn since the mid 1980s, it was previously called simply the White Horse. Had it gained an owner keen on musicals who thought that sharing a name with Ralph Benatzky and Robert Stolz’s famous operetta set in the Austrian Alps might boost business?

The weather was proving more than a touch Alpine when Rosemarie and I struck north from Oxford for dinner at the inn on the day after spring had supposedly sprung. The car thermometer showed a degree above freezing as we passed Hopcroft’s Holt. Heavy snow swirled around us on the last half-mile of our journey. Was this a wise move, we wondered, until concluding that if we were to be snowed in, there are very much worse places than a pub in which to experience this fate.

This applies even at a pub such as the White Horse where — most strangely, you might think, in the 21st century — central heating has never been installed. This is despite extensive renovations in the early 1990s when the original 17th-century part of the building was augmented through the creation of a larger bar area. The feeling of antiquity was maintained with the use, inter alia, of panelling from a Bristol branch of the Midland Bank.

Landlady Sarah, who took over last summer, thought the lack of heating pretty odd, too. A system is to be fitted as soon as planners agree to the siting of the oil tank at this special old building, we learned as she showed us to our table in front of the inglenook where a wood-burning stove was pushing out the therms.

To the left, were four bottles of red wine, enjoying some of the radiant heat. Our taste was for white, and we were soon sipping at one of the house selections, a crisp, slightly citrussy chardonnay from La Croix St Pierre.

The inglenook also contained a blackboard on which were listed specials from chef Mark Cutler. These included shank of lamb, pan-seared red mullet with pepper and saffron risotto and saffron cream, and filet of beef with blue cheese dauphinoise potatoes and sherry and mushroom sauce.

The standard menu is pleasingly varied. Besides the things we ordered, of which more presently, there were starters of duck liver and port parfait, spinach and ricotta tortellini and wild mushroom and smoked chicken tart. Main courses are divided into White Horse Classics — among them, chilli con carne, honey-glazed ham and eggs, spinach and goat’s cheese cannelloni, shepherd’s pie and scampi and chips — and White Horse Specialities, such as pan-seared duck breast, double-baked smoked cheese soufflé, lamb cutlets and rib-eye steak. For dessert, you might fancy chocolate brioche bread and butter pudding, Bailey’s crème brûlée or a cheese board.

Sarah and Mark are particularly proud of their meat, which comes from Bicester butcher Peter Goss. Fish is from the highly regarded Hayman’s of Oxford.

To start, I had Thai fish cakes, which were well spiced with chilli and offered with a crunchy cucumber salad, and a piquant Thai dressing. Rosemarie had the chargrilled king prawns, with soy and lime dressing. She might have chosen to eat the shells, except these were slightly burned.

Posh Fish was my attractive sounding fish dish from the specials menu. As you can see from the photograph, it looked most attractive too, composed of fresh pieces of battered cod, sea bass and sole, cooked to a perfect golden crispness. The chips, in a separate little basket, tasted as good as only triple-cooked chips can. There was also a tangy tartare sauce and peas crushed with mint and lemon.

For Rosemarie, there was beef Wellington, a fine piece of beef fillet (I tried some!), topped with pâté and baked in pastry. Besides lyonnaise potatoes, she ordered a side dish of vegetables — mange tout, greens and chantenay carrots.

To finish, I allowed myself the rare treat of a pudding: poached pear with dairy ice cream and mixed fruit compote. Rosemarie was very happy with her slice of lemon sponge pudding, with berry coulis and champagne sorbet.

It was still snowing as we drove home. By the next morning, Sarah told me, there was a four-inch covering across the village. Roll on summer, eh?

Opening times: Lunch noon – 2.30pm, dinner 6–9pm Monday to Saturday.
Lunch noon-4pm Sunday.
 

Parking: The White Horse Inn  has its own car park
 

Key personnel: Proprietor Sarah Inwood, chef Mark Cutler
 

Make sure you try the...   

Thai fish cakes with crunchy cucumber salad and Thai dressing (£6.55), wild mushroom and smoked chicken tart   (£5.95), duo of crispy belly pork and stuffed loin (£13.95), double baked smoked cheese soufflé (£11.50), spinach and  goat’s cheese  cannelloni (£12.95), poached pear with ice cream (£5.95) and lemon  sponge pudding with berry coulis and champagne sorbet (£5.95).
 

In ten words: Characterful village pub with a great line in tasty food.