Christopher Gray is one in a line of illustrious guests at a 17th century hostelry

The splendid renovation of The Crown & Thistle carried out by its new owners at a cost of £1.8m has restored to the town of Abingdon an important part of its historical and architectural heritage.

Dingy and down-at-heel in recent years, the one-time coaching inn, parts of which date back to 1605, was in desperate need of the sort of tasteful refurbishment for which Oakman Inns & Restaurants is renowned. They performed the same magic in Witney with the old Marlborough Hotel, transformed into the stylish Blue Boar ready for Christmas 2011. The Crown & Thistle’s revamp was likewise completed well in time for the festive season. At the reopening party in late November, I was able to congratulate company boss Peter Borg-Neal on another job expertly done.

Amid the crush of people at the do, it was not possible to appreciate the full extent of what had been achieved by architects People in Space. But during a leisurely visit for dinner last Friday, Rosemarie and I, with our friends Paul and Drew, had ample opportunity to admire the decor and the materials used to create it.

Indeed, perhaps the only part of the premises that went unvisited by us were the 18 luxury bedrooms, with their hand-painted wallpaper and historic paint colours. They carry the names of famous guests of the past, including Margaret Thatcher (appropriately she’s room number ten), John Ruskin, who wrote Fors Clavigera there, and the screen idol Douglas Fairbanks Jnr.

We ourselves began the evening in what might be considered film-star style with impeccable dry martinis, made with my favourite Whitley Neill gin, in front of the wood-burning stove in the bar. That was the choice of Rosemarie and me. Drew had a Clockwork Orange Gin, with Perrier Jouet champagne and orange bitters, and Paul — with more down-to-earth tastes — had a pint of Brakspear’s bitter.

Crossing the courtyard into the restaurant, we were seated at a large round table tucked behind the bar, where courteous service was assiduously applied for the next hour or so by waiting staff Will and Ashley.

Customers might consider themselves spoilt for choice in the wide variety of dishes prepared by head chef Chris Hatch and his team, who work on public view in their kitchen on one side of the room. Chris told me later that it was good to feel more involved with the diners, and being able to see also helped them in pacing their delivery.

His background includes a period at London’s Carlton Club, which helps to explain some of the ‘comfort food’ choices on the menu, including classic fisherman’s pie and venison cassoulet. For the rest, there is a wide assortment of salads, pasta dishes, starters and meat and fish cooked on the Josper oven which gives an aromatic charcoal-grill taste to food.

There are also various blackboard specials, including grilled fillet of salmon, prawn and chilli risotto, and two I shall be telling you about presently.

To begin, I went for a club-style starter in whitebait (£6.50), crisply fried and served with lemon mayonnaise. Rosemarie had pan-fried king prawns (£7.50) in lime and coriander dressing with aioli. Since these were messy to deal with, she was pleased to be supplied with a finger bowl.

For Paul, there was a smooth chicken liver parfait with kumquat chutney (£6.50), while Drew went for juicy beef meatballs in spicy tomato sauce (£6.95).

Substantial as these were, he still managed to polish off a 12oz rib-eye steak (£22.95) cooked in the Josper oven and served with chips and dressed rocket leaves.

From the ‘comfort food’ section of the menu Paul had slow-cooked belly of pork (£14.95), which was served in a perfect square with crispy crackling on a bed of creamy mashed potato and buttered kale.

Mine and Rosemarie’s were the aforementioned specials. Hers was medallions of beef (£18.50) in a rich beef jus with truffle-scented mashed potatoes and tenderstem. Mine was a roast loin of venison (£17.95), cooked medium as I requested, with small slabs of herb gnocchi, garden peas, sautéed mushrooms and a red wine jus.

This found an admirable accompaniment in our wine, a rioja. Crianza Vina Cerrada (£29) was accurately described on the wine list as “well structured with a good concentration of savoury, spicy fruit”.

Paul dodged pudding in favour of Oxford Blue cheese (£7.95). I had a classy glass of raspberries in champagne jelly (£5.95), Rosemarie had apple pie and ice cream (£5.95) and Drew — a trencherman to the last — made short work of croissant bread and butter pudding with custard (£5.95).

In all, this was a thoroughly enjoyable occasion, noteworthy for first-class service and delicious, well-sourced food.

The Crown and Thistle
18 Bridge Street, Abingdon, OX14 3HS 
01235 522556 or crownand thistleabingdon.co.uk

Opening times: Monday to Sunday: 7am - breakfast, noon – brunch and à la carte menu, 5pm – evening service à la carte menu (last sitting 10pm)
Parking: Car park at rear
Key personnel: General manager Cian McMonagle; head chef Chris Hatch; hotel manager Jane Gibson; bar operations manager Robert Sanders
Make sure you try the... pan-fried king prawns (£7.50), beef meatballs (£6.95), slow-cooked belly of pork (£14.95), classic fisherman’s pie (£12.95) rib-eye steak on the bone from the Josper oven (£22.95).
In ten words: Stylish hotel with a buzzy bar and a superb  restaurant