Perch - Binsey Lane, Oxford

We’ve got history, The Perch and I, because until this week I was banned. I know, it was a badge I wore with pride, especially as I’d reviewed it with Sophie Grigson back in the day and they’d turfed us both out telling me my ‘teacher friend’ wouldn’t be welcome back any time soon either.

She’d sent two of her courses back, her starter and main, and I my main and dessert.

I can remember the meal now as clear as a Pyrex dish in a Fairy advert. The Greek salad was grey, obviously made the day before, so the balsamic had soaked into the feta rendering it a soggy mess, while the crème brûlée had frozen blackberries in the middle. Her salted cod dish was made with salmon and her steak was overcooked. You see, I may not be able to remember my own children’s names but I can recall what I ate seven years ago.

Jonny, the angry French proprietor, has since disappeared off to a Pacific island, and in his place is Jon Ellse, who strode in like John Wayne, delighted to finally get his hands on Oxford’s most coveted pub and give us back what is rightfully ours. And like twins separated at birth, it’s good to be reunited, because The Perch is so idyllic, situated as it is in a thatched, Grade II listed, 17th-century pub in the hamlet of Binsey, just off Botley Road. You can walk there, up the river from Wolvercote or down from Jericho, and its garden is vast and balmy.

In the misty days of adolescence we would meander there as students and sit in the enormous pub garden panting, nursing our drinks for as long as possible before the long walk back. Then, when the kids were small, we would give them free rein in the Perch’s enormous adventure playground while we stood in an interminable line waiting for an overcooked baked potato or a thin burger like shoe leather, dying of hunger long before it arrived at the hopelessly inefficient and mindnumbingly bad carvery-style buffet.

The angry Frenchman braved floods and fires to change this, introducing a French-style menu which reigned for the next seven years. But now a breath of fresh air, it’s a return to the tradition of a good British pub serving local, seasonal, gentle food in wonderfully unpretentious, ‘ungastro’ surroundings and a much more appropriate British-influenced menu.

Outside at the Perch

Jon, of South Parade’s Mamma Mia and Portabello fame, has great plans for The Perch which include refurbing the kitchens and toilets and building a large conservatory/ dining room extension backing on to the garden. But while he battles the planners, The Perch is running as it is, making do with the facilities it’s inherited, planning to close in January for a full refurb job.

The place has a lovely bohemian, if slightly makeshift feel, we thought, when visiting on Friday night, wooden garden furniture built around us as we sat at the accented pink bistro chairs on the decking and admired The Shed Bar which serves a weekend al fresco menu.

And no, the alarm wasn’t triggered when I stepped in the front door, allowing me to walk straight past the bar and restaurant to marvel at the wonderful garden at the back leading down to the river, exactly as I had remembered it. We perched outside with our drinks until the chill forced us into the small dining room which Jon plans to expand. The food is simple but tasty, lots of fish appropriately enough, seasonal produce from the pick-your-own up the road, pies, tarts, steak, burgers, food to revive the tired souls who walk there, content to sit in the garden until the sun goes down.

We tried the chicken liver parfait, granary toast and pickles (£6.25), the garlic mushrooms with warm bread (£5.50), the homecured gravadlax with pickled cucumbers and horseradish cream (£6.95) and the steamed Cornish mussels with leek and cider cream (£6.95) all of which hit the mark.

They were a bit puritan, the mussels needing bread to soak up the wonderful sauce, but they were gentle and delicate, the ingredients allowed to speak for themselves.

The specials board sold us the Long Wool lamb rump with broad beans and minted peas (£14.95) which we had for mains, a lovely piece of meat, served with fresh seasonal veg which was absolutely perfect for this time of year. Our waiter told us it didn’t need potatoes, but it did and we ordered them as soon as it arrived.

The main course of mussels and chips (£11.95), was generous and moreish, leaving the only moot point the plum tomato and onion tartlet with goat’s cheese and rocket (£11.95), which was so overcooked that when you touched it, it fragmented into tiny flakes, leaving little of any substance to eat.

By that time we were several bottles down and enjoying the cheery, carefree atmosphere around us and the grand attempts to keep this eccentric ship sailing on an even keel. Pudding and coffee followed and I dived into the delicious vanilla and yoghurt panna cotta with morello cherries (£5.50) which was as heavenly as it sounded. The lemon tart (£6) was a close contender and too soon our taxi arrived to carry us away, although this time at least, I didn’t leave with a heavy heart.

The Perch now has a great sense of adventure about it.

I for one can’t wait for the full transformation, but in the meantime, on a sunny day, there’s few places I’d rather be than The Perch garden, with or without a facelift. Now that you can eat there it’s already a winner in my book.

The Perch
Binsey Lane, Oxford
01865 728 891
www.the-perch.co.uk

Opening times: Open all day every day
Parking: Large car park
Key personnel: Jon Ellse own-er, head chef Stephen Pasquier
Make sure you try the... Shed Bar menu outside: try half a dozen quails eggs with celery salt £3.50, The Perch’s own sausage rolls or Scotch eggs £3.50, the ‘Perch’ Burger — prime British beef, mature cheddar, smoked bacon and house relish £8.95, lemon and thyme grilled chicken sandwich with cracked pepper and lemon mayo £8.95, or for kids the British beef cheeseburger or grilled chicken burger £4.95. Also the cream tea, a pot of tea for one served with two delicious home-made scones with strawberry jam and Dorset clotted cream £6.95
In ten words: A work in progress to be enjoyed in the meantime.