I haven’t stopped thinking about that rice pudding,” my friend whispered to me, as if admitting to an extra marital affair.

“It has ruined me for everything else, because every time I go out to eat, it’s all I can think about and nothing else measures up. What shall I do?”

I can sympathise actually because the baked clotted cream rice pudding at The Blue Boar in Chipping Norton was sublime.

It had just the right kind of bite, creaminess, sweetness, browned top and vanillary finish to satisfy even a farmer’s wife at a safari supper.

But then Dale Ventham is known for his desserts, and recruiting him for the re-opening of Chipping Norton’s favourite pub, and its expensive facelift, was a canny move.

As a former head chef at Killingworth Castle, he has already proved his worth and as Chipping Norton isn’t exactly blessed with good restaurants (no letters please), he can set himself up there nicely. The only serious competition is Nick Pullen’s Wild Thyme, across town.

We ventured over for Sunday lunch, once the decorator’s dust had settled, and were stunned into an uncharacteristic silence by the gorgeous interior.

It is comforting, light, tasteful and vast, with a myriad of rooms all leading off from each other, from a conservatory-type space to darker, more traditional dining rooms at the back – which is where we ate.

Decor-wise it was a big surprise then.

But would the food match?

We ordered the citrus cured mackerel with burnt grapefruit puree, horseradish potato salad, radish and Maltese sauce, the soup of the day and the warm roasted beetroot salad with driftwood goats cheese, watercress, candied walnuts.

I usually decline a starter with a roast, saving myself for the main prize, but for the purposes of the review the vegetable soup was delightfully smooth and warming.

The beetroot salad was pretty and tasty, but needed a dressing or coulis to bring it alive. The fish, meanwhile, was a picture on a plate – perfect for spring with a lovely fresh, light touch.

Only one of us had the roast beef (£15) which was deliciously tender, perfectly rare, with gravy that had me cooing like a dove on Noah’s Ark.

Even the carrots were packed full of flavour, being amazingly sweet and tangy, but the roast potatoes let the dish down as a whole, not being crispy enough and a bit dry.

The Blue Boar burger (£12.50) with ale onions, cheese and fries was a firm favourite, the burger cooked perfectly with all the extras that gastro pubs are now expected to produce.

The £12.50 artichoke, mushroom & spinach hot pot with gruyere mash and buttered spinach was more of a pie and as such a bit too dense.

Some light accompaniments perhaps to accompany the pastry and sauce would have been more attractive?

But then came dessert and suddenly the food turned into an entirely different ball game.

You’ve already heard my fawning about the rice pudding and its instant gratification, but a close contender was the perfectly wobbly, local rhubarb panna cotta with a lovely cold, stem ginger granita.

The sticky toffee pudding with stout ice cream was another genius addition to the dessert menu, the metallic bite of the ale ice cream offsetting the depth and flavour of the spongy pudding itself.

Then an awed silence over a rather lukewarm cup of coffee as we processed the last course in awe, which called to mind Michael Caine’s famous Italian Job quote: “You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!”.

This is because Dale is not only turning out some fantastic food from his gleaming new Blue Boar Kitchen, but some of his dishes showed an acute finesse that any country pub would be proud of.

In short, Chipping Norton is in for a treat.

While The Blue Boar’s main local competitors ply their wares in the outlying west Oxfordshire villages, this is a more honest, less pretentious proper pub which provides the demographic with what it actually wants – somewhere decent to eat, drink and relax.

The Blue Boar Pub and Dining Rooms

1 Goddards Lane

Chipping Norton

OX7 5NP

01608 643 108

blueboarpub.co.uk

Opening Hours:

Sunday to Thursday: 11am - 11pm

Friday and Saturday: 11am - midnight

Food service hours: Monday - Saturday: 11am - 10pm, Sunday: 12 - 9pm