The Red Lion - Britwell Saloe, near Watlington

‘If you can’t behave you’ll have to go outside and sit in the car,” I whispered to my children on entering the Red Lion in Britwell Salome, hoping they wouldn’t let the side down now that we had finally got there. “Can I sit in the Ferrari outside then?” my son piped up.

Yes, we knew we’d arrived at The Red Lion in Britwell Salome because of said car parked outside this unassuming little pub in the middle of nowhere, because its reputation precedes it — the great and good already flocking from far and wide to taste some of Andrew Hill’s amazing food and enjoy his partner Eilidh Ferguson’s wonderful hospitality.

It had been on my hit list for some time, people whispering in my ear, chefs escaping for lunch on their days off, those in the know gleefully dining there as regularly as possible and then taunting me about it, asking smugly if I’d been. Pictures appeared on Twitter with ferocious regularity of the Red Lion’s infamous black pudding scotch eggs, until I cracked like Humpty Dumpty — and went.

Now that I’ve been, I can totally understand what all the fuss was about because I’m still dining out on the memories of that meal, every last morsel of it, and will continue to do so until I return.

It was a beautiful sunny day last Sunday, so while a table had been laid for us inside, luckily there was also one left in the neat little courtyard garden, and as we were accompanied by the full menagerie of children still in their rugby kit, were delighted to sit outside and marvel at the kitchen produce growing against the red brick walls, the chefs nipping out to grab the odd handful of purple basil or a tomatillo.

It reminded me of The Nut Tree in Murcott and The Sir Charles Napier in Chinnor.

Mr Greedy was silent when perusing the menu, always a good sign, like a lion nestling in the grass before a kill, biding his time, a glint in his eye not seen since he tackled the chateaubriand in The Rickety Press. In fact he was almost purring in delight at the options, before declaring he was torn between the roast beef, roast pork, poached brill, seared venison and the partridge, every addition then on Sunday’s luncheon menu. But I did sympath-ise because they all sounded quite delicious and while the afternoon beckoned, the children reminded us that time was of the essence and if we wanted a long leisurely lunch we would have to wait until we retired.

There was no children’s menu as such but half portions of the roast were available as well as mini fish and chips or sausage and mash. Mine opted for the roast Red Lion Farm pork, sage and onions, apple sauce (£16.50), the homemade sausage and mash, and the roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and horseradish (£18.50).

Having eaten well the night before, I opted for the more genteel-sounding squash, red peppers, cobnuts, Fleur de Maquis and pearl couscous (£15.50) and sat back to enjoy the scene, as the restaurant quickly filled up inside and out.

To avoid the ticking clock, my starter of Brillat Truffe, grape, Granny Smith and pistachio ajo blanco (£8.50) arrived with our mains, and it was a masterpiece, the attention to detail mindblowing. The cheese was soft, creamy and piquant, the grapes whole, skinned, iced and marinated in red port, the apple balls in white port, the pistachio ajo bianco dressing scattered with shaved truffles. I ate it with my eyes closed.

Delicious-looking: Prune tagine with couscous and roasted locally-grown squash

The mains followed suit, no detail having been spared Andrew’s brilliant culinary mind. The pork, for example, had crackling quavers where the meat was air-dried, the fat taken off and then deep fried so they puff up. Genius. There were also cubes of pork belly and the accompanying parsnips, kohlrabi and the rich red wine jus stunned even my children into silence.

Mr Greedy was rendered mute as he chewed his roast beef with cauli-flower purée and heritage carrots, the horseradish sauce worth a mention, made as it is with cream, lemon juice, fresh grated horse-radish and English mustard so that we finished the pot off with a spoon.

The children couldn’t believe the soft creamy texture of the mashed potato that accompanied their delicious homemade sausages, and when the plates were wiped clean, we were unified in our agreement that it was one of the best meals we’d ever had.

The squash came puréed, spiced and enclosed in filo pastry, tasting cleverly of spring rolls and the orient, with a homemade pickle, aromatic Lebanese yoghurt, aromatic couscous and roasted peppers rendering the Fleur De Maquis cheese almost unnecessary in this Persian feast of a dish. A jus or foam of some kind would have been a recommended addition, but I’m splitting hairs.

Can you cope with pudding (all £6.50) as well? We could, just. The baked egg custard with honey roast plums and granola came layered in a glass-like trifle and was downed in one by my daughter. The sticky toffee pudding’s rich, treacly depths were quite primeval, but without a doubt, the dessert of the day was the salted caramel with hazelnut praline and cocoa, which my son had to actually cover with his hands to stop it being swiped.

Our meal at the Red Lion was an unmitigated success and a day I will treasure.

So this is what good food tastes like. I had almost forgotten.

The Red Lion 
Britwell Salome, near Watlington, OX49 5LG
01491 613 140 theredlionbritwellsalome.co.uk

Opening times: Monday and Tuesday closed all day, Wednesday to Saturday 12-3pm and 6pm-11pm and Sundays 12-4.30pm.
Parking: Plenty
Key personnel: Andrew Hill is head chef and Eilidh Ferguson is front of house, pictured
Make sure you try the... enormous black pudding Scotch egg (£4.50) with a pint of Mr Chubbs — a lunch in itself.
In ten words: Once discovered never forgotten. It’s that good, I promise!