Review: Oxford Thames Four Pillars Hotel

The award of a coveted AA Rosette to the River Room Restaurant at the Oxford Thames Four Pillars Hotel supplied the perfect excuse to reacquaint myself with a place that I have sampled less often than I should since it opened in 1997.

The hotel occupies a 30-acre riverside site at Sandford-on-Thames, whose history dates back to the 12th century when there was a Preceptory — a religious house for the Knights Templars — there. This connection lived on in the name of the Templars Court Country Club that functioned into the 1990s. “I recognise you, don’t I?” I said to a barman serving me with a pint there on my one (remembered) visit. “You’ve been buying your cigarettes from me nearly every day for 20 years,” he replied, thus identifying him as a seen-out-of-context member of staff at Savory’s in the High.

The hotel was developed from a lovely 15th-century house with adjoining barns which were extended in such a tasteful way that they won a top environmental award in 1998 from the Oxford Preservation Trust.

Since then things have only got better. Three years ago, a dozen top-class bedrooms were set up in the oldest part of the building, all named for Oxford colleges, to whose studies, with their ancient stonework and huge inglenook fireplaces, they bear more than a passing resemblance. Last year, one of the two courtyards was covered over to create a beautiful conservatory which, besides their use as a stylish breakfast room, brought space for an extra 90 people at what was already a large venue for weddings and other functions. Up to 350 can now be catered for.

The restaurant manager Martin Edwards, sensing our interest, showed Rosemarie and me over all this before (and indeed after) our dinner in the River Room. His courteous and agreeable demean-our was evident throughout the evening, and reflected in that of other staff members.

Our visit began in the bar and lounge area fashioned from the larger of the barns, with its huge timbered roof vaulting and a baronial open fire at one end. At the other, perched above the bar, is a galleried area reserved for residents.

With a gin and tonic in hand for Rosemarie and a fizzy water for me, the driver, we looked over the night’s offerings from chef Claudio Costea and his team. Rillette of duck leg, cauliflower and curry velouté, and flamed goat’s cheese salad were among starters that sounded good. Main courses included braised lamb shank, home-smoked chicory pork belly, home-made potato and saffron gnocchi, Cornish mackerel and beer-battered haddock and chips. Of the puds, we learned later, were chilli chocolate pot, iced mango parfait and vanilla panna cotta.

Led through into the restaurant, we were placed at a window table, looking down towards the river invisible in the dark. On view, though, and a very fine sight, were the 1891 St John’s College barge, beautifully restored, and the pretty gazebo beside it. More spaces for functions.

Our eyes were soon focused firmly on the table before us as waiter Marius delivered, unexpectedly, a delicious amuse bouche of steak tartare with black truffle and pear gel.

This lavish opening was followed for me with a trio of braised ravioli, with beurre noisette, carrot purée, toasted garlic chips and fried capers. The whole thing was utterly delicious, the oxtail with its slippery pasta casing especially. Though chef Claudio is Romanian, his family background is Italian and he is fully grounded in that country’s culinary traditions. His dishes look good, too. The carrot purée here, for instance, was pres-ented to appear like little orange tomatoes, the garlic chips posing as the stalks.

For Rosemarie there were three plump Scottish scallops, seared and served on a black pudding base with petit pois purée and samphire grass. There was samphire, too, with my main course dish. This was one of the night’s specials, poached lobster, king prawns and clams. This was a distinctly luxury item on a menu priced at £29.95 for three courses, £24.95 for two, and £17.95 for main only. The lobster tail was served shelled for easy eating, the tail fully stripped and the claw with meat accessible. The prawns were headless and ready to eat too, the clams not rubbery as they sometimes are. I liked the baby pak choi, so too the fondant potatoes (which I didn’t know about in advance and thus ordered chips too). The only slight black mark was for the hollandaise sauce, which was rather too salty.

Rosemarie had the other special, unable to resist slow-cooked lamb belly, with sautéed seasonal vegetables (beetroot and flower sprouts),mash potato and lamb jus. She loved it, leaving room, just, for lemon tart, with clotted cream and a lime and lemon reduction. The tart was home-made, like everything else, including the superb breads, rosemary foccacia and an olive and sunblush tomato ‘swiss roll’ among them.

I enjoyed a final taste of these as a supplement to the biscuits that came with my well-kept local cheeses, Oxford Blue, Oxford Isis, Cotswold blue-vein brie and Cerney ash goat’s.

We drank throughout a fragrant Chilean house wine, Sanabello sauvignon blanc.

Oxford Thames Four Pillars Hotel
Henley Road, Sandford-on-Thames, OX4 4GX
01865 334444 oxfordthameshotel.co.uk

Opening times: Mon-Sat lunch menu from 12pm-6pm, dinner from 6pm-9.30pm. Sun 12.30pm– 2.30pm, dinner 6-9.30pm.
Parking: Ample parking on site
Key personnel: General man-ager Jonathan Oldroyd, restaurant manager Martin Edwards, head chef Claudio Costea
Make sure you try the... starters of seared Scottish scallops and black pudding, with petit pois purée and samphire grass, braised oxtail ravioli, beurre noisette, carrot purée, toasted garlic chips and fried capers; main courses of slow-cooked lamb belly with sautéed seasonal vegetables and mashed potato, poached lobster, king prawns and clams with hollandaise sauce, home-made lemon tart with clotted cream and local cheeses. Price: £17.95 main course, £24.95 two courses, £29.95 three courses (with some supplements).
In ten words: Luxury eating in welcome variety at a charac-terful country hotel