Review: The Bell is worthy of awards

We sat in the sunshine on the front terrace of The Bell, in Hampton Poyle, glasses of a crisp, biscuity champagne (De Telmont, since you ask) in our hands and the prospect of a delicious lunch to come, our orders for this having already been made.

All was silence, save for the tweeting of the birds in the fields around and the very occasional passing of a car. Here was an idyllic English country scene at the loveliest time of the year.

Yet less than a mile away from us lay the urban sprawl of Kidlington, with its population pushing 14,000. A little beyond that was Oxford, from the centre of which we had travelled in just 15 minutes by bus.

This once-an-hour service, using stops immediately outside the pub, might almost have been laid on for the peculiar convenience of customers at The Bell.

From the point of view of the gourmet it was not until quite recently, in the long history of the building, that anyone should have felt the need to go there. When I first knew it in the 1970s, towards the end of a long ownership (80 plus years) by members of the same family, the tiny pub offered nothing to eat at all. “It’s a pub that doesn’t sell food because its customers do not want it,” I wrote in 1987.

The next year, with the retirement of Ernie Soanes, whose grandmother held the licence from 1905, the kitchen did come into use. There followed under successive owners, steaks, Mexican and then seafood, with the pub renamed The Gonefish Inn. Gone-off-fish Inn seemed more appropriate, I thought after a memorably unpleasant meal there.

The big change came with the purchase of the property — and for good measure a cottage with lots of land next door — by George Dailey, a legendary figure on the local restaurant scene whose past successes have included The Harcourt Arms in Stanton Harcourt, where I was a regular more than 40 years ago, The Boot at Barnard Gate which he created from the down-at-heel Britannia Inn, and The Eyston Arms in East Hendred with which he is still involved. The clever design eye of his wife, Cargie, has always been of huge importance to the enterprises.

A well-managed building project at Hampton Poyle saw the transformation of the place into a smart nine-bedroom boutique hotel, with a large restaurant, cosy bars and open-plan kitchen where chef Nick Anderson has been working to great success for the past five years. Lately, he has been joined by Sonya Brooke-Little (née Kidney), known for the excellence of her food when (with husband Leo) she owned The Marsh Goose at Moreton-in-Marsh and The Churchill Arms at Paxford, both much honoured in their day. Her arrival might suggest that George is now in search of accolades at the Bell. The food is certainly deserving of them, to judge from lunch.

I started with grilled king prawns which have always been a trademark dish at George’s places and much praised in the past by regular patron Raymond Blanc. Served whole, with a crispy skin which I always eat, the skewered six are offered these days, in a slight tweaking of the dish, with a chilli ginger dip and a garlic mozzarella flatbread, which is a step-up from the garlic bread of old.

Grilled king prawns are a trademark dish at The Bell

Remaining with the sea, my main course, chosen from the day’s specials, was a generous fillet of wild sea trout, again with skin baked crisp. Beneath were half a dozen lightly-cooked spears of asparagus, sliced new potatoes and a delicious béarnaise sauce. Noticing that one of the other specials (guinea fowl) came with broad beans, I made a special request (these being my first of the year) for a side order of these. Chef Nick even took the trouble to peel these babies for me, something I’m too lazy to do at home.

Alcoholic accompaniment, Valle Berta Gavi, came recommended on the menu, an excellent suggestion.

Rosemarie, tucking into wonderful fresh plaice and triple cooked chips, went for white wine favourite Picpoul de Pinet (Plo de l’Isabelle). The fish was delicious, with its moist creaminess offset by crunchy breadcrumbs rather than batter. She started with (and raved about) a warm terrine of Tamworth brawn sandwiched around black pudding served on sourbread toast with a superb home-made piccalilli.

There was no less enthusiasm for her pudding of cherry and frangipane tart, which I watched her eating with considerable envy as I toyed with my Americano.

The Bell is brill.

Opening times: breakfast from 7am; lunch noon-2.30pm (3pm Sunday); dinner Sun-Thurs 6.30-9pm; Fri and Sat 6.30-9.30pm
Parking: large car park at rear
The people: owner George Dailey, general manager Suzy Minichova, head chef Nicholas Anderson. 
Do try the grilled king prawns (£8.50 for six), brawn and black pudding terrine (£6.95), fillet of wild sea trout (£17.50), breaded plaice (£15.75), cherry and frangipane tart (£6.25).
In ten words: Classic cooking at a stylish boutique hotel in lovely countryside