I am delighted today to be the bearer of good news for everyone worried about the future of the White House, in Botley Road. This includes many of my West Oxford neighbours, and a good few of my colleagues at Newspaper House, for whom the place is something of an office 'local', as it has been, indeed, since our business transferred to this end of town in 1973 and I and other bibulous colleagues very soon found a home from home in what was then the Old Gate House. There were nearer hostelries to the office but - in the way of pubs in those days - they "didn't do food", or at least not food of the range and quality offered by the Old Gate's Tom Rice and his son, also Tom.

Closed since last summer, the pub was feared to be heading - like so many recently - into the history books. The combination of a large building, spacious garden and a car park - not to mention its prime location - suggested the likelihood that developers would soon be bidding to transform it into a block of flats.

Well, they will not be. Instead, a group of restaurateurs and their financial backers - the Solidaire Group Ltd - are creating a stylish new restaurant and bar, called Zaytoon, scheduled to open in the summer. As a press release just sent to me explains: "The restaurant will be elegant but relaxed and promises to bring top-quality Middle Eastern cuisine to Oxford. The interior of the building will be tastefully modern, with a touch of Arabic chic, while outside the walled garden will be the perfect place for al fresco dining. The garden will include an ornate marquee where a hubbly bubbly area will be a feature of the house.

"Inside, there will be distinct dining areas with informal dining in the tea room and bar. There will also be a deli and more formal dining in the main restaurant, including private dining areas for small and large groups alike."

The project is the brainchild of 45-year-old restaurateur Mounder Khouri. He flew from Spain when he heard of the chance to obtain a good-sized property with car parking and a garden in Oxford city centre. He previously ran Askadinya, a similar establishment in Jerusalem, which was popular with academics, politicians and journalists. He has also opened a successful business of the same name in Barcelona.

Mr Khouri said: "I am very excited to be helping to set up a restaurant in Oxford. I love the city's history and culture and I think there is a big gap in the market for quality Middle Eastern food. My dishes will be freshly cooked and extremely varied, with meat and healthy vegetarian specialities. There is more to Middle Eastern food than people think. We aim to introduce people to good quality home-cooked dishes that families all over the Middle East enjoy, as well as the mezze selection that people have come to love. Think of freshly baked hot pillows of pitta bread with delicious dishes to dip into, pomegranate champagne cocktails or mint tea - all enjoyed within sumptuous surroundings. I want to create an international atmosphere where people of all countries and cultures meet to enjoy fine food and wine."

I wish Mr Khouri well in his enterprise, not least for the security it gives to one of the area's most appealing buildings. For nearly a century, between 1776 and 1868, it served as a toll house on the turnpike road into Oxford, but parts of it predate even that use.

Interviewed half a century ago, the local vicar (and antiquarian) Father Arnold Mallinson expressed the opinion that the building might have been the tavern outside the great gates of magnificent Osney Abbey, or a tavern outside the west gate of the city.