Once it was the Fox and Hounds. Ten years ago, the catering entrepreneur Steve Chick turned it into The Snooty Fox — one of many of the name in the country, the first having been created by hotelier Maxwell Joseph in Tetbury after that most self-regarding of hunts, the Beaufort, turned him down for membership. Now it is The Snooty Mehmaan.

The change signifies a new style for this handsome free house at Littleworth, near Faringdon, which was reopened in June — having been lavishly and tastefully renovated — as a Thai and Indian restaurant. Its owners are two local caterers, who hired Partha Mitra, chef to a former Indian prime minister, to perform his magic — which he certainly seems to be doing — in the kitchen. The boss I met, Khalik Ali, is the long-time owner of the Bilash takeaway in Witney. His partner, Asad Ahmed, owns Eastern Cuisine in Witney.

The new name — something of a back-handed compliment to patrons — means Snooty Guest, though I saw no one answering that description on a first visit last week. Perhaps, said Rosemarie, this was because I did not look in a mirror.

She and I were joined on our Thursday night visit by our friend and neighbour Paul. We travelled on Stagecoach’s excellent 66 service from Oxford (return fare £5.70). I had noticed the bus stop just along the road when we had driven past the previous weekend. This permitted the party’s regular driver — me — a greater than usual share in the herby Chilean sauvignon blanc. We enjoyed the first sips at the bar, with the accompaniment of papadums and chutneys We all found ourselves delighted with the place, impressed by the variety and quality of the food, and by the charm and enthusiasm of the young people serving it. Manager Mandy Barker told me she was greeting a gratifyingly large number of return customers. I am not surprised.

The menu is a wide and attractive one. We opted to go Indian rather than Thai, the only exception being Rosemarie’s starter of deep-fried spiced soft crab, which rejoices in the name Poo Tod.

I opted to begin with Achanak, a roasted red pepper stuffed with diced chicken and cooked with spices and tamarind. Waiter Jamal told me this was proving one of the most popular dishes. I can see why.

Paul began with a personal favourite, vegetable pakoras — battered and fried cakes of finely chopped spiced vegetables — but continued with a dish much less familiar, in name at least. Bhunney Passandey achieves the feat — beloved of computer geeks — of scoring but one hit (The Snooty Mehmaan itself) when typed into Google. It’s a dish of thin strips of lamb in a creamy sauce with aromatic spices.

My main course was a bumper-sized dish of Murgh Shashlik Masala — Tandoor chicken, with green peppers, tomatoes and onions in a hot sauce with green chillis — while Rosemarie had Murgh Tikka Lababdar, char-grilled chicken in a creamy sauce with tomatoes and coriander. We shared portions of sag aloo (potato and spinach) and okra, which passed the no-sliminess test with flying colours, as well as boiled rice and nan bread. These cost £12.90.

To finish, we test-piloted — at Mandy’s invitation, without charge — the new cheese offering, featuring an outstanding runny Oxford Blue, super Somerset brie and three others. With no biscuits available, we ate it with popadums — a happy discovery.

This is true, too, of The Snooty Mehmaan.