Katherine MacAlister is stunned by the waitress’s manner — and the food at The Unicorn

Fawlty Towers was born during a particularly abysmal cast dinner while filming Monty Python, when the coastal guest house proprietor was so rude all the wives left mid-dinner. John Cleese instantly seized on the scenario and Fawlty Towers was born there and then.

All of which struck me when our waitress at The Unicorn in Deddington burst upon us with ferocious zest during our starter to ask if we were enjoying our meal. “If not I will go into the kitchen and kill myself,” she said theatrically while we nodded energetically in an effort to deter her from such an overegged response.

Later she returned to ask how our mains were. “Do you like them? If not I will smash the plates on the floor,” she said to our amazement and intense entertainment.

It turns out Mia is from Greece, where smashing plates is as common as blowing your nose. The owners found her working in a bar in Cos and knew she would be the perfect antidote for their new and quaint country pub in Deddington. And they were right, although Mia perhaps shouldn’t be quite so literal, us English types preferring a gentler sense of humour.

The Unicorn is the undertaking of friends Johnny Parke and Chris Brewster, their debut in the world of Oxford gastronomy, Johnny’s father Jeremy running Studley Priory for many years. Taking on this forlorn, neglected, run-down hostelry in North Oxfordshire, they have worked incredibly hard to bring it in line with their vision, rendering it the perfect example of how the tide is turning for our county’s pubs.

Because while the previous decade featured grim headlines about village inns closing left right and centre, a new wave of foodies are bringing them back from the brink. And The Unicorn is one of them, young bucks Johnny and Chris refurbing and now running the kitchens and front of house respectively.

Beautifully decorated inside, the dining room at the back boasts a feature wall of wallpapered books, the rest coloured grey, which seems to be the colour of the moment, transforming it into a relaxing comfortable hub of hospitality for the village.

Which is why, when we arrived at The Unicorn, even though the paint was still drying, a woman was working at her laptop with a cup of coffee in the front bar and several mums tried to manage a conversation while feeding their children lunch.

Taking up seats in the dining room itself, the menu is succinctly short but ambitious.

We started with the creamed celeriac and shallot soup with fennel seed bread (£5) and the roasted heritage beetroot, grilled Dorstone goats cheese, hazlenut and white balsamic salad (£6.50) which set the pace nicely.

Next up was the herb gnocchi with forest mushrooms, baby spinach, tarragon and parmesan, so were rather surprised when Mia returned moments later to say that until service got going, the gnocchi was being replaced with a mushroom risotto which of course we conceded to in case she flung herself off the nearest rooftop.

In hindsight the smoked salmon and haddock herbed fishcake, ribeye steak or pan-fried calves liver might have been better, but mushroom risotto it was all round (£12.50 each). It was fine actually when it arrived, although not very original, but did leave me yearning to return and try out the other dishes on the menu.

More contemporary was the Earl Grey tea panna cotta, with hazelnut meringue and whiskey golden raisins (£6), a toss up between that and the wonderful sounding rhubarb and ginger crumble, with salted caramel ice cream (£5) or the dark chocolate millefuille, with pear, honeycomb, and milk ice cream (£6) having the potential to push her over the edge. And luckily it was an inspired choice.

And as we screeched off to do the school run, replete, amused and impressed, I marvelled at what Johnny and Chris had achieved, not only reviving a 17th-century pub single-handedly but also introducing us to Oxfordshire’s answer to Sybil Fawlty and Manuel, all rolled into one.

The Unicorn
Market Place, Deddington, Banbury
OX15 OSE
01869 338838
unicorndeddington.co.uk

Opening times: Monday- Thursday 12-3pm, 5:30-11pm,Friday 12-3pm, 5.30-11:30pm, Saturday open all day, Sunday open all day
Parking: In the village square
Key personnel: Johnny Parke and Chris Brewster, co-proprietors and, of course, Mia
Make sure you try the... Sunday roast and kids menu.
In ten words: A great new culinary addition to Deddington village’s community life