An incarnation as ‘Eight at the Thatch’ proved to be a flash in the pan — but now, renamed simply The Thatch, this excellent Thame restaurant has come out fighting, and is the latest recruit to the trendy and friendly Peach Pubs empire.

I was invited along to judge the success of the ‘Peach’ treatment, and I can happily report that it is a winner. The company’s tried and tested combo of fresh and funky seasonal food, locally sourced where possible, young and efficient staff, and an upbeat town centre venue, all gel nicely.

The Thatch was firmly thrust into the spotlight at the end of last year, when ex-Royal Marine chef Jeremy Hooper and his wife, Jane, were named winners of Raymond Blanc’s very popular BBC2 TV competition The Restaurant.

Their prize was The Thatch, or Eight at the Thatch as it was then named — in honour of Jeremy’s special eight-course tasting menu.

The restaurant opened in November to great acclaim, but it seemed the sheer hard work and commitment needed to run it took its toll on the Hoopers. After Jane gave birth to the couple’s first child in March, they decided to step down and returned to live in Cornwall.

Enter the Peach Pub Co, led by managing director Lee Cash, who was one of the judges on The Restaurant and foresaw an illustrious future for The Thatch, a potential that from my own dining experience it certainly seems to be living up to.

I visited on a warm, if rather damp, July evening with my husband, son and his fiancée. Being a regular at both of Peach’s two other Oxfordshire pubs — The Fishes at North Hinksey (near my office) and The Fleece on Witney’s glorious Church Green (within walking distance of home), we felt the drive out to Thame would be worth it.

The Thatch inhabits a 16th-century half-timbered building in the High Street, and looked rather quaint from the outside. Inside, there is an oak-beamed central bar, which was busy with drinkers, and rooms on either side, which are the dining areas.

Seated at a very nice table by the window, looking out at the terrace where we would have loved to dine had the weather been kinder, we were handed menus and immediately recognised the usual Peach format.

However, although there are some dishes you may find in all their restaurants (there are five more in nearby counties), there is a fair smattering of those unique to the particular pub, as well as ever-changing daily specials. I think I must dine in Peach pubs far too often to know so much about them!

Our young waiter, who offered faultless service throughout, soon had our starters in front of us.

Two chose the large and juicy crab and prawn cocktail, and another the ham hock terrine with a parsley and baby gherkin salad. There were lots of appreciative oohs and aahs.

My choice was perfect. A salad of shredded duck on a bed of rocket and little pieces of cucumber, sprinkled with cashew nuts and dressed with plum sauce. It was the kind of simple dish that really appeals, because it tasted so fresh and summery.

For his main my husband, ever the beef fan, went for the 8oz rump steak served with chips and a buttery Bearnaise sauce — properly cooked and tasty.

The other lady in the party chose a really excellent free-range chicken Kiev, all crispy golden crumbs on the outside and garlicky juices on the inside — served with another excellent marriage of flavours, a lemon and spinach potato salad.

My own main course was on the specials, a tender lamb rump with vegetables.

The only niggle was from my son, who had chosen the pan-fried scallops — his favourite thing. There were five, quite small, ones, with a couple of corals, and, what he described as, ‘too much’ rocket salad. He also didn’t like the cold ‘soused’ fennel it came with.

The ‘sides’ we had ordered of chips and new potatoes assuaged things slightly!

We had to, of course, round things off with dessert. We had two specials — the very rich and dark chocolate pot for my husband and English strawberries piled up in a pretty glass with a little jug of thick Jersey cream on the side for me.

My son chose the hazelnut and chocolate Dacquoise from the short but sweet dessert menu. It featured liberal amounts of meringue, chocolate, caramel and nuts, and was pronounced yummy.

His fiancée passed on pudding and went straight for the Calypso coffee.

As I was the driver that evening, the boys followed suit, while I enjoyed a good cup of filter coffee, and snaffled all the Smarties!

Once again, the Peach formula seems to be working admirably well. The nearly full restaurant had an amiable buzz and everyone seemed to be having a jolly good time!

The Thatch 29-30 Lower High Street, Thame OX9 2AA, tel: 01844 214340,