KATHERINE MacALISTER finds treats for her mouth, but not much fun for her ears

Our waiter shouted an apology as we tried to give him our order: “I can’t hear you.” And if the waiter couldn’t hear us, what chance did we have?

Parties on both sides of our table then began renditions of Happy Birthday, followed by some noisy drinking games. The whole of Witney was celebrating, it seemed, which made us feel rather old and very deaf.

But we had been warned, and The Blue Boar was in full swing when we arrived for dinner.

As it was the beginning of December and the Christmas party season was well under way, the bar was heaving and the restaurant packed to the rafters, all of which is good for business, of course.

Acoustics aren’t usually top of the list in restaurant reviews, and yet when you can’t hear yourself think, they prove vital. As we were sitting in one of the nice booths near the kitchen, we soon realised that semi-circles aren’t conducive to conversations either and resorted to shouting into each other’s ears throughout the meal instead. But if you can’t beat ’em join ’em, so we downed our g&t’s, ordered some great wine and got stuck in.

Besides, it was the food we were there for, so we nibbled on some lovely crispy bread and olives to stave off the hunger pangs, and perused the menu.

Several dishes had sold out, our waiter informed us, but judging by the sheer numbers they were catering for and the hubbub in the open-plan kitchen, this wasn’t a surprise. The Blue Boar, Witney’s original coaching inn, reopened this time last year after a massive refurb job, and has been a booming success since – if the guest list is anything to go by – even David and Sam Cam managed a night out there recently.

But would the food match the expectations a year down the line, despite the visible exertions of the chefs? The food then arrived to answer our question, the home-made Scotch eggs being a great diversion from the carnival atmosphere, and came with a lovely chutney.

The novel empañadillas (puff pastry parcels filled with a bolognese ragu or feta cheese, chilli and spinach) were accompanied by a tart tomato chutney and were nice enough, but a bit blah.

The gravadlax, dill-cured salmon on toasted sourdough rye bread with a horseradish crème fraiche, was also a big hit. The mains ranged in quality however, the onglet (a cross between a rib and a sirloin, and the bit under the ribs) was quite chewy and Mr Greedy left much of it, which is unheard of, although not having had this cut of meat before we didn’t know what was the norm.

The pan-fried duck breast, dauphinoise potatoes and baked apple with sherry gravy was applauded, the apple being an unusual addition with duck, but a brilliant match as it turned out.

The pan-fried monkfish medallions came with wilted spinach, mussels, roasted vegetables and a white wine and saffron sauce, and disappeared without a trace.

It was the pasta that was disappointing though, the penne arrabbiata’s spicy tomato, garlic and basil sauce being too dry with enormous hunks of chilli, and not enough oily depth of flavour, so most of it was left. “Down it, down it,” began the chant from the next-door table, the carnival fever continuing unabashed, meaning ordering dessert was quite challenging.

But we knew what we wanted and persevered, opting for the Mini Pudding Platter - warm chocolate brownie, chocolate truffle torte and white chocolate cheesecake (to share) - because I couldn’t even move by this stage, and watched as the others demolished the trio of desserts which serviced the table amply, a great idea for you dessertarians who want to try a bit of everything. And when we left, the party was still raging as we crept off home much later that night, visibly worse for wear.

So, if you want lively, then this is the place, because they do it properly.

Or as Jim Carrey put it: “P-A-R-T-Y. Because I gotta.”

* The Blue Boar 28 Market Square, Witney Tel. 01993 776353