Katherine MacAlister finds luscious interiors and gorgeous desserts made by the hands of a kitchen god

The last time I visited The Old Parsonage I ate baked peaches and rocket with mozarella in the sunny courtyard and thought I’d died and gone to heaven.

It’s a memory that has stayed with me ever since. Not one to rest on its laurels, however, it then closed last year for a full restoration despite being enormously popular.

The refurbishment of the hotel and restaurant cost £1.5m. Both are now fully back in business and busier than ever before, if our supper there last week was anything to go by.

The gloriously sunny weather is of course perfect for its outside terrace, a shaded courtyard basking in the sun, a few feet from the busy pavements of Banbury Road, but a tranquil and peaceful oasis that envelops you in its lazy summer arms as soon as you walk through its historic doors. We sit at one of the only remaining wooden tables.

We had so much to catch up on, my friend and I, that our poor waiter had to return time and time again to take our order, and once to change our glasses of rosé which weren’t chilled. But the problem wasn’t the conversation, but the choice, because every dish on the menu sounded delicious. What to have?

After changing our minds countless times, we settled for the Jersey crab and chicory, and the pea and artichoke tart, and settled back to wallow in the atmosphere like a hippo in a watering hole.

Although we revelled in the pared-back style of the place, its refreshingly lack of fuss, I almost thought it too bare – especially when peering at the £12’s worth of two leaves of chicory stuffed with crab, although the dish’s taste made up for what it lacked in quantity and presentation. Ditto the tart (£7), served with two inedible roast artichokes, its vibrant green colour enhancing its rich, fresh, seasonal flavour, although a dollop of sauce would have helped.

The salmon cake with spinach and sorrel sauce (£16) and Stinking Bishop cheese soufflé with radishes and spring onion (£15) were again a hard-fought choice for mains among many tempting sounding choices.

The fishcakes were delicious, the sauce perfectly complementing the subtle, delicate taste and texture of the fish. The chips which you had to order on the side (£3.50) were another enormous bonus; crispy and dense, delicious and moreish although served in a very abstemious little bowl on the side, just enough and no more, although for nearly £20 all in, it needed to be good.

Stinking Bishop was an interesting choice of cheese for a soufflé, I thought, rendering it more dense than the usual lighter, fluffier varieties I’ve tried, and while it sounded good on paper, it wasn’t a patch on my mum’s.

Dessert instantly eclipsed everything that had passed before, a bonus made more acute by the fact that my dining companion is a goddess in the kitchen where anything sugary or sweet is concerned, with the curves and prowess to give Nigella a run for her money.

Simple they may sound, creme brulee (£6.50) and chocolate tart (£7), but I defy anyone to find better. A pudding god is definitely working in the Old Parsonage kitchens.

Finishing on a high note, we then asked for a guided tour of the new premises, and oohed and aahed our way around the beautiful new interior – I wanted to book in and stay for ever.

As a compromise, I’d be more than happy to slip in, nab a table and order dessert. In fact, try and stop me.

Old Parsonage Hotel, 1 Banbury Road, Oxford, oldparsonage-hotel.co.uk

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.