Birdcage Inn Thame — Restaurant in South Oxfordshire

Really disappointed in our visit.

To put it into context the menu here is a few starters. It specialises in pies with a few sides and has the option of three basic pizzas.

First time out in over a year due to pandemic. Booked a table for three for food the day before. Arrived and we were seated next to a table of 4 blokes swearing at full volume which my mum obviously really enjoyed.

Ordered some drinks and waiter was surprised when I said we booked for food. He bought the menu over and immediately said. “ by the way we have no pies so all you can have is pizza if you want “. Two of which my mum couldn’t eat. A Bit surprising as we had booked the day before. To which he replied “ well it’s been a really busy day and we are short staffed and due to COVID we sold out “. ???? I said well “ if people are booked for dinner maybe it would be a good idea if you phoned ahead and told them you have no food”. We could have made other arrangements. He wondered off.

Anyway. After unsticking the menu from the table we went across the road to the spread eagle hotel and were kindly squeezed in there for a nice meal.

Won’t be going...

The Birdcage is a Thame icon and, for the most part, the management have successfully kept this place feeling like an integral part of the town without it being a museum.

There certainly was a questionable period where this beautiful period building was turned into a homage to sporting heros via the liberal use of caricatures which I personally really disliked. Then the really tasty menu was totally hijacked by the branded dining experience "hot rocks" where the guest seems to take a primary role in the manufacture of the meal by cooking their own food on a, well, a hot rock, at the table. This might sound fun, and I guess it was the first time, but then you realise that the whole place is entombed within a meat smog and that actually, the chef is probably a better judge as to when your steak is perfectly medium-rare.

This might all sound negative, it's not supposed to be. The staff here are amazing, it's an exceptionally friendly place. I just wish they'd reinstate an appropriate menu and take all the stupid pictures off the wall and then I would start going there all...

If I could give zero stars I would. Management is extremely poor. They have no respect for loyal customers.

My girlfriend spent £30 on shots was trying to leave the bar when an extremely drunk individual knocked her tray a few meters from the bar.. at no point before hand did the staff offer to carry the tray for her.. I myself have been a customer of the birdcage for atleast twice a month for the past 18 years...

I've seen many owners of the birdcage and the current owner (hair dyed blue) is a complete tool. You would think management would try resolve the issue for it not to escalate further..

Upon speaking to management I was told by the current owner of the pub that they could not do anything because it was not a member of staff that was carrying the tray.

Edit (update)

The shots were never replaced by the "Patron" he was so drunk he didn't realise what...