Welcome to the Ox In A Box Food Awards 2022 and here is our Best Gastropub category, listed in alphabetical order: Support them by voting for your favourite!

The awards will be held in Spring 2022, sponsored by Goldstar Recruitment and Thomas Franks, and attended by Raymond Blanc, where the top three nominations from each category will be invited to the glittering ceremony and the winners will be announced.

Back Lane, Woodstock – An instant success as soon as it opened its doors recently, for both the locals in the bar and diners in the extensive dining room at the back, having Johnny Parke in the kitchen is helping to pack this place full every night. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

The Back Lane

2) Bell at Langford – Peter Creed and Tom Noest rewrote the rule book on gastropubs when they opened in 2017 near Burford with their simple pared back ultra rural menus which had the critics flocking. Still as honest and convincing as ever. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

The food at The Bell in Langford

3) Boxing Hare, Swerford – With husband and wife team Nick and Kate Anderson in the kitchen and its proximity to Soho Farmhouse, this bustling Cotswold pub is as busy as ever. Choose your own steak, make sure you try the soufflés and enjoy kate’s splendid puddings, it’s always a pleasure. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

The Boxing Hare

4) Double Red Duke – Brand new, terribly trendy and beloved by restaurant critics near and far, it has already made a big impression in the Cotswolds. Achingly beautiful both inside and out, this Jacobean inn, formerly The Plough, has had life breathed back into it thanks to Sam and Georgie Pearman. Oak panelled dining areas, chefs table stools or a huge conservatory for people watching, come summer it’s like being in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

The Double Red Duke in Clanfield

5) Eagle Tavern, Little Coxwell – such a sweet, tiny, honest pub whose food not only takes you by surprise but takes your breath away at the same time thanks to chef patron Marcel Nerpas. Not to be underestimated. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

The Eagle Tavern

6) Greyhound, Letcombe Regis – Despite a change of chef from the hugely talented Liam Whittle to the equally gifted Martin Sherriff, the inspired food offering here remains unaltered. The perfect example of a quintessential, unpretentious country pub. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

Catriona and Martin outside The Greyhound

7) Hollybush, Witney – Always foodie focused, since head chef Simon Bradley’s appointment, this Witney pub has gone from strength to strength. Throw in the new dining room chalets, it’s fun atmosphere and inventive cooking, and it becomes a very strong contender. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

Luke Champion & Alex Vaughn – co owners Hollybush

8) Killingworth, Wootton – Cotswold-centric, Claire and Jim Alexander throw their life and soul into their beloved pub near Woodstock, despite Covid, oh and their kitchen burning down in the middle of the night. Back up-and-running and with some excellent food to look forward to, The Killy, as it is affectionately known, is right up there. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

Jim and Claire outside their beloved Killy

9) Kingham Plough – Classy, elegant and understated as ever, it continues its tradition of serving nostalgic British food in an idyllic village setting to a very appreciative crowd. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

The Kinham Plough, Kingham, Oxforshire, pub, pub with rooms, bar, dining, beer, wine, country pub, bedrooms, priviate dining, restaurant,

10) Magdalen Arms, East Oxford – One of the country’s first gastropubs and still going strong, its reputation remains untarnished, perhaps due to its convivial, no-nonsense community pub feel and Tony Abarno’s homemade, sharing-based, heart-warming food. His partner Florence runs the front-of-house flawlessly. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

The Magdalen Arms

11) The Mole, Toot Baldon – New head chef Anthony Hohmann has ensured that its excellent culinary reputation continues unabated by producing some wonderful food at a cracking pace, while general manager Jess Nixon ensures some top notch service. The Mole won Best Newcomer in 2020 and hasn’t looked back since! VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

The Mole

12) Nut Tree, Murcott – Retains the Oxfordshire’s only Michelin star thanks to Mike North’s impeccable cooking and the welcoming team headed up by his wife Imogen. Rural to a tee it’s always a treat. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

The Nut Tree

13) The Lamb, Crawley – Seb and Lana Snow continue to delight in their most recent pub which continually evolves whatever life throws at them. Seb in the kitchen with his irrepressible zest for food and cooking is matched by Lana’s eye for detail, ensuring that The Lamb is endlessly popular. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

Seb and Lana Snow at The Lamb Inn at Crawley, Picture by Ed Nix

14) The Perch, Binsey – Picturesque, busy and popular as ever, its riverside location certainly helps, but some lovely food and a relaxed, classy vibe only add to the ambience. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

The Perch

15) White Hart Fyfield – The incredibly high standard of food never wavers thanks to husband and wife team Kay and Mark Chandler, who run a tight ship and never take their eye off the ball, winning them the title of Best Gastropub last time around. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

Elderflower Crème Brûlée with Gooseberry Compote from The White Hart in Fyfield

16) White Hart, Wytham– Head chef Andrew Carr continues to provide consistently tasty and inventive dishes in this thoroughly historic pub, which thinks outside of the box in terms of what it can offer its customers, both indoors and out. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

White Hart in Wytham’s Sunday lunch

17) Wild Rabbit – Nationally renowned thanks to head chef Nathan Eades (who has recently left), Daylesford founder Lady Bamford’s Cotswold pub continues to celebrate traditional British cooking using local seasonal ingredients with a contemporary twist. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/3xskrnhb

The Wild Rabbit in Kingham

To find out more about the food awards, sponsored by Goldstar Recruitment and Thomas Franks, being held in Spring 2022 click here : https://www.oxinabox.co.uk/the-ox-in-a-box-food-awards-returns-with-raymond-blanc-to-recognise-oxfordshires-incredible-hospitality-industry-get-voting/ and keep voting every day for all 12 categories!

You can vote once in each category!