Rooftop view

Because now and again, when you are despairing of ever seeing the sky again, you chance upon somewhere that restores your faith in the whole food business.

The Masons Arms, Swerford, ticks the box without making a big song and dance about it, or charging the earth. In fact, the prices are so ridiculously modest that I was rendered speechless when the bill came, for all the right reasons - a rarity Mr Greedy will tell you.

To be honest, it was more through luck than skill that I came cross this Swerford hostelry, and not because of a multi-million pound refurbishment, celebrity-endorsed launch party, or new and over-paid chef.

No, the Masons Arms has been quietly cooking meals like this for three years now, thank you very much, and probably would have carried on doing so, without me noticing, for many more had not head chef and owner Bill Leadbeater been a finalist in the 2007 Gastro Pub of the Year competition, and I thought I'd better take a peek.

Sitting comfortably off a main road somewhere between Chipping Norton and Banbury, its lack of pretension is off-set by a lovely big garden and freshly painted exterior. The Masons Arms is smart without being over-bearing and inside is lofty and light with lots of space and a gentle atmosphere.

And I cannot tell you the delight of opening a menu and being surprised, because instead of the endlessly inevitable dishes I could reel off in my sleep (pork bellies, lamb shank, risotto, goats cheese and fish and chips, to mention a few) here are things I had never imagined, and desperately wanted to try.

The menu is inventive and delicious - and, at £12.50 for two courses or £13.50 for three, you could eat here every day and not have the same dishes.

So we ordered the little pot of Oxford Blue with a warm Banbury cake and the asparagus with hollandaise to start, followed by the chick pea and mushroom jalfrezi with vegetable samosas, naan bread, a poppadum and braised pilau rice, and the seared fillet of sea bream, sweet potato gratin, roasted fennel and baby spinach.

The service was attentive and the food arrived promptly. In no time at all we were trying out the fresh offerings from the kitchen. It was my first asparagus of the season and had been grilled, barbecue-style, giving the fresh green flesh a wonderfully smoky flavour.

We stared at the Banbury cake for a while, wondering how it could work, a sugary raisin bun not being the obvious accompaniment to blue cheese, but work it did, wonderfully.

I can still remember the curry. It would give the Aziz a run for its money any day of the week. The curry was thick, juicy and oozing with spicy flavours. The two tiny samosas beautifully crafted, and filled with fragrant veg to offset the density of the curry and the accompaniments were perfect.

My friend oohed and aahhed' over her main and said it was one of the best meals she could remember in a long time. We retired to the garden for dessert and coffee, where we shared a brownie and a creme brulee, both of which were exceptional. The bill came to £36.55, and I swore there and then to shout about this place until hoarse.

So, I was stunned to come across another equally good pub at the opposite end of the county that matched the Masons Arms in both cost and quality.It was like winning the lottery twice in one week.

The Bell in Ramsbury is just near Hungerford. It is not strictly Oxfordshire, but close enough and well worth the trip. And it is the new pad of Jeremy Parke, formerly of the Studley Priory, who bought the rundown hostelry and spent four months doing it up before opening in February.

Putting one of Antony Worrall Thompson's protegees, Paul Kinsey, in the kitchen, some fabulous art on the walls and white-washing it, seems to have done the trick, as the place is permanently packed and the market square has been brought back to life as a result. We pitched up for Sunday lunch and sampled the three-courses-for-£18 menu.

Again, the standards were of the highest quality. Sitting at a table overlooking the market square, we tried the roasted local wood pigeon with ruby chard and a ginger and fennel pickle to start, seared scallops with pea purée, black pudding and orange powder and the salad of marinated artichoke with rocket, parmesan and olive purée. All were fresh and delicious.

Two roast beef and two gnocchi with wild mushroom and truffle sauces followed. The beef portions were huge but the plates were polished clean and the gnocchi was creamy, delicious and a perfect size.

We cleared the dessert board trying one of everything from the cheese to the chocolate and ginger cheesecake with banana crème fraîche, vanilla pannacotta with poached raspberries and blueberries, and the glazed lemon tart with mint creme fraiche, all of which were quite delicious.

And then we wiled away the rest of the afternoon in the garden until, with sinking hearts, we piled back into our cars, knowing that winning the lottery three times in a row would be out of the question - for a while, anyway.

The Masons Arms, Banbury Road, Swerford, call 01608 683 212 The Bell, Ramsbury, call 01672 520230.