One of the absolutely best pubs (and restaurants) in Britain. As a pub fanatic, I've visited…read morehundreds of watering holes through the years, and the food has never, and I mean never, been this good. I've eaten at Michelin star restaurants that haven't had steak as tender and succulent as what we had here. The ambiance was romantic, quirky, and quiet, perfect for a night out. We started with a potato and leek soup and the Welsh rarebit. The soup was good, not exceptional, but good, and the rarebit was tasty. We continued with the special, which was a hanging skewer with melted garlic butter, corn on the cob, and chips. I can honestly say that I have never had such a delicious, perfectly cooked and seasoned beef skewer outside of Greece or Spain. It was an absolute experience simply eating it. One of those rare dishes that makes you pause and close your eyes at the sheer pleasure of the perfect taste. I never wanted it to end. My husband had the same experience with his assorted beef platter. The medallions were so tender you understand what the phrase "melt in your mouth" means. I only wish we had room for dessert, as the dessert menu looked utterly luscious. But we will be back, and soon. I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough.

We recently stayed here for three nights' bed & breakfast, and ate here each night…read more The pub itself is large, with the original early 18th Century building facing the main road, a modern extension at the rear, and a separate accommodation block behind the beer garden. The additions blend in well with the original building; the interior of the pub is all exposed stone, low ceilings and wood, with several real fireplaces (cosy on cold days- which we had on our stay!). Food is served both in the main pub and the dining area at the rear, which is brighter, with a high ceiling. We booked a superior room (3 nights B&B for £315), and were really pleased with it. It was spacious, with a super-king sized bed (two singles together), tastefully decorated, with a walk-in wardrobe (with iron and mini ironing board). Both ceiling spotlights and bedside lights could be dimmed. The bed itself was extremely comfortable - supportive but with a lovely soft topper and a mix of down and fibre pillows. Once we got used to it (being very different from home) we slept well. There is a kettle to make tea, and a coffee machine (pods). The ensuite had a walk-in rainforest shower and was well decorated with green glazed tiles, and spotlessly clean. The toiletries were decent quality from Temple Spa. The weather was extremely cold while we were there, but the central heating radiator was excellent and heated the room quickly; the water in the bathroom was also deliciously hot. It was also well soundproofed - you are completely unable to hear the nearby A41 dual carriageway or M40. In our room, you could hear people going up and down the stairs, but this did not disturb us. Breakfast was included in the price of our stay. There are no cereals offered, just cooked breakfasts. However, there is a good number of choices on the menu, including a full English; a full vegetarian; eggs Benedict; eggs Florentine; avocado and poached egg; eggs Royale with smoked salmon; waffles; and pancakes. We had the full English, the vegetarian full English, and the avocado and poached eggs. They were all good, not too much, but well cooked. (Those used to big cafe fry-ups may be disappointed, but it suited us.). In the evening, we had on our first night burgers (chicken burger, and a vegan burger); on the second night mushroom risotto with a side salad, and haddock and chips; and on the last night the houmous starter with pomegranate seeds and Italian flatbread, followed the Waldorf salad, and my partner had the salmon, cod and prawn fish pie. The food was well above your average pub grub. The mushroom risotto and Waldorf salad were in particular excellent - the risotto being one of the best that I have ever eaten in a restaurant. Service in the evening was very good, and we felt very well looked after by Neville and Henry. Service was a little slow at breakfast one morning but, overall, we were very happy with our stay. We would certainly consider returning and would recommend it both for accommodation and to eat.

Visited The Lion for breakfast on my way to Bicester Village for a shopping spree with my friend. I…read morehad The Full English which was delicious and really well priced, my friend had the Veggie full English which didn't disappoint. The service was really good, I will definitely be visiting again. Best breakfast in Bicester in my opinion.

We turned up on spec,but they soon had us seated . The surroundings were lovely, and smart. We had…read moregreat service from a lovely lady who was knowledgeable and had good humour. Food was super- tasty and great quality Would definitely reccomend, especially for the specials nights. BB.

My favorite pub in the world…read more Excellent beers/ales, fantastic food and the location is awesome. Service is always nice.

A nice cosy country style pub, it has a twist of modernity to it as well with some sofas and…read morearmchairs being scattered amongst the tables and chairs. The main attraction of this pub is the food, they don't have the biggest eating area, however the range of food is good and there are always specials available. It is traditional pub grub, but cooked and served to a higher standard than many pubs. They seem to pride themselves on good service and to be honest, given the village location this place always seems to be busy. Much more so than the size of the village would allow. We've been in there with the kids and parents and all of them found something on the menu to suit their tastes - no mean feat when one of the kids is a fussy eater! Well done to all involved in making this a nice space and one that you'll want to go back to.

This place was awesome! We stayed directly across the street at The Dozing Duck (Airbnb) so of…read morecourse made a reservation for dinner here. (No reservation needed on the pub side-we ate in the restaurant) The food is locally sourced, fresh and authentic rustic farm to table. Even my side salad was delicious. I highly recommend!!

Our go to whenever we are in Oxford visiting family. They have a nice outdoor area, not a lot of…read moretables with umbrellas but no worries if it is nice out. If you eat in the bar area you go to the bartender order your drink of choice and meal. Hint...if you only feel like a half portion of fish and chips you can order a half order and for me it's a perfect portion of food. They do have a bar menu too if you don't want fish and chips. But really who goes to a pub in England and not order fish and chips. This is the place to do so. They do have a restaurant but I believe you need a reservation for that. Worth every bit for a nice meal out and I believe that the menu is a bit different.

Lovely owners, tasty food! Would be lovely to see more vegetarian options. Great countryside pub!read more

A traditional 16th Century thatched inn which also has a complete restaurant that serves delicious…read moremeals. If you want to eat here mostly you need to book in advance, the food is of a very high quality. The menu is changed daily so you can come back again and you will want to. If the weather is good then they have a great garden well away from the road so safe for children.

The pub is sandwiched between the main road and the old canal with a small car park in front, and a…read morelarge one off to the side. When you enter the pub there is a small comfortable drinking area with a sofa and a fire. I was here for lunch with a couple of friends, so we went into a nicely done extension which is the main dining area. There is a breakfast menu, which finishes at 12:00, but we were sampling from the lunch time menu. I had faggots with mashed potatoes, and my companions both had fish and chips. The food was pretty good, well worth re-visiting next time I'm in the area.

What a fun place this is! The decor is nearly perfect and matches the high quality of the food and…read moreexcellent service from the barman, waiter, and buss boy. The canal with all of its character and characters on their beautiful boats could keep me drinking and eating all day. We met so many charmers here; really lovely people. I will miss the Jolly Boatman.

Service excellent and friendly. Fantastic food and a cut or two above your usual pub food. Value…read morefor money superb. Three meals with drinks £31.00. I had the two chicken breasts grilled and it was so delicious. Beautifully presented and nice and seasoned. Served with sweet potato fries and a very fresh salad with different tomatoes and a nice vinaigrette dressing. My wife had their award winning fish and chips and it is massive. Very tasty and the batter is unique but excellent. Nice thick piece of cod. My daughter had the steak and ale pie and it was very tasty and the crust fresh and homemade. When we left every staff member said goodbye and wished us a safe journey. Customer service that can't be matched. Highly recommend.

Black horse always delivers great customer service, super friendly people and staff and always…read morefeels relaxed but professional. It lacks a certain 5 star feel, but then again, for the price and value in what you get, it's verging on hitting that 5 star mark!

Such an amazing place we were visiting from the US and had our anniversary dinner here. The people…read morewere amazing, the food was great the service was spectacular. We met a local gentleman that knew the history of the entire area including the standing stones just down the way. He made our anniversary more special by telling us of a church up the hill.

Excellent food with a great location and service…read more Great Caesar salad and choice of desserts! Lots of available parking.

A rather odd shaped bar - it feels a bit like an over grown polo that everyone gets to sit around!…read more Has been recently taken over by a family and from my understanding this has worked wonders, everything seems to have come together, the food is better than it ever has been, the staff and the service have also upped their game. This all coupled with a pretty good location (2 mins off of the A34 and only a few more from the m40 and the A41) means that there is really no excuse not to go and have a look for yourself,.. I'm not a fan myself but the roast is meant to be amazing. perhaps couple this with a chilled walk round Weston on the Green to have a look at the cows?

I think there must be a new landlord/lady at The Chequers Inn. We have been pretty regular visitors…read moreover the years and it has always been pretty good. However, after our last visit we will NEVER go again. The food was decidedly average for the cost. Having paid the bill we were asked how it was, and on saying it was only 'okay' the landlady totally lost the plot and was very abusive to my wife, in front of our children and other customers. The landlady accused then accused us of trying to get a free meal, despite having already paid and not made a complaint, we were only saying we thought it was only 'okay' when asked for feedback by the waitress. The landlady was highly confrontational telling my wife to p*ss off all in front of our children. At that point we left quickly. Up on leaving the car park in the car the landlady came out of pub and stood gesticulating at us from the side of the road. So after visiting 5-6 times a year, we will NEVER go to the Chequers Inn at Western-on-the-Green again.