Food editor KATHERINE MACALISTER revisits The Dashwood in Kirtlington after a major refurb and is delighted she made the effort

IN MY mind, The Dashwood was firmly parked in the ‘nice enough’ category – nice enough pub, nice enough food, nice enough place, but nothing that made me want to return above and beyond anywhere else.

You’d be pleased if it was your local because it is a great place to stay over or meet up, but food wise it’s never floated my boat.

So news that it had closed for a full refurbishment came as interesting news.

Could it finally live up to its beautiful countryside potential?

‘Yes’ is the short answer because it’s been turned it into a destination restaurant and we had a great evening there.

My guests were equally as impressed with the transformation.

You no longer enter via the front door, but around the side which leads you into the bar where locals chat or read the newspapers, framing the doorway leading through into the restaurant. Meaning if you want to pop in for a drink you can.

The restaurant, itself, which is beautifully lit, creates a really cosy, intimate ambience, the open plan kitchen framed by blackboards featuring the full menu, and we sat on wooden tables and Ercol style chairs.

Which is all well and good, but could new head chef David Phillips’ food deliver on all this promise?

The starters led us to believe so, Dave taking classic dishes and updating them with his own twist, which proved both seasonal and local, his food appearing as beautiful, colourful, delicate and tasty dishes, embracing the countryside outside in Kirtlington.

My breaded Camembert (£5.95) from the specials board, usually an old pub staple served deep fried and served in wedges with cranberry sauce in a metal dish, came as a half, with a beetroot relish, borage flowers and mixed leaves.

The local poached duck egg salad (£6.45) with chorizo, pancetta and croutons was similarly well received, as was the spiced baby squid (£5.95) which came with yakiniku sauce and salad.

Mains-wise we also opted for the specials – nabbing the one remaining braised blade of Oxfordshire beef (£12.95) which fell off the bone on to a well flavoured mustard mash with seasonal greens.

The tempura of smoked tofu with Singapore-style noodles and black sesame dressing was also jaw-droppingly good, a highly original dish which Dave must be applauded for.

Overly generous maybe, but the recipient was certainly not letting it go unloved and took the remainder home in a doggy bag.

The fish won though, hands-down, that pan-fried Cornish sea bass with saffron mash, greens and tomato salsa, from the main menu (£11.95) was cooked to perfection, my guest remaining silent until she had finished every last mouthful, perhaps the dish of the evening, although we hadn’t reached the dessert stage yet.

The only false note was the gnocchi gratin (£11.95) which was overdone so unable to carry off the silky blue cheese sauce.

Desserts were harder to choose, and we had one of pretty much everything – from a top-tappingly good Baileys creme brulee with a shortbread biscuit, to a picture perfect orange and lemon polenta cake, an under-flavoured slice of cherry Bakewell with cherry sauce and cream, and the masterpiece – a bitter chocolate tart with raspberry sorbet and raspberry powder (£5.75) chosen by a keen Mary Berry fan, who relished each and every morsel and pronounced it ‘fantastic’.

So there you go. Happy troupers all of whom will definitely be returning.

The Dashwood makes for an intimate, enjoyable and satisfying night out.

Nothing ‘nice enough’ about it anymore, then.

The Dashwood Hotel & Restaurant, Heyford Road, Kirtlington 01869 352707 thedashwood.co.uk