FOOD critic Jay Rayner has declared new Summertown restaurant Pompette 'worth saving up for’ in a glowing review.

It is the latest in a showering of praise from national and local critics on the South Parade business.

Oxford Mail: Pompette Picture: Ed NixPompette Picture: Ed Nix

But it is not always such a boost to the confidence of chefs when national reviewers dine out in Oxfordshire.

Earlier this year Mr Rayner savaged The Parsonage Grill, writing in the Observer it was 'an efficient system for the extraction of profit'.

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Oxford Mail: The Old Parsonage Hotel, Banbury Road. Picture: Google MapsThe Old Parsonage Hotel, Banbury Road. Picture: Google Maps

The Banbury Road restaurant is listed as the second best venue for 'fine dining' in Oxford on TripAdvisor but Oxford Mail readers agreed with the food critic's assessment it was overpriced.

Readers respond to damning review

Oxford Mail:

Times' critic Giles Coren, meanwhile, caused a stir in 2016 when he branded the breakfast at Oxford's famous Randolph Hotel 'unfit for consumption in all but the grisliest prisons'.

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The historic hotel was quick to hit back at the damning write-up, insisting what Mr Coren called a 'scandalous' breakfast was part of much larger selection for the high £21.50 price tag.

See the Randolph's response as readers also had their say

Oxford Mail:

Lest anyone think the Times' critic has a problem with the county's food offering, he told readers in 2018 he had enjoyed ‘not just the best mouthful of the year but the best mouthful of my life’ at The Bell Inn at Langford, a country pub near Burford.

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As well as appreciating the pub’s sourdough pizzas, Mr Coren particularly enjoyed a sliver of ‘fat, gamey sirloin’.