The Times
Charlotte Ivers visited a village pub near Oxford that could have been the setting for a rom-com. Taken over by the team behind the Lamb Inn at Little Milton, it is wood-panelled in the pale green now standard in the Cotswolds, and has a chef from Le Manoir. But the gastrofication has not been taken too far: there's still a darts board, fish and chips on the menu and “the spirit of village pub”.
Chicken liver parfait was “thicker and richer than the ruddiest inhabitant of Chipping Norton”, while fish finger sandwich – a brioche bun with cod in a light batter and homemade tartare sauce – “you could feed to a hungry farmhand or a Michelin inspector and both would be delighted”.
All in all, the Bat & Ball was “a place you’d want to take your American cousin to show them that yes, it’s true, Britain at its best really can be like the movies”.
Charlotte Ivers - 2025-08-10
