Blue Boar — Restaurant in West Oxfordshire

Just finished Sunday lunch at The Blue Boar (30.04.2023). Me and my husband both had beef rump dinners - I asked for my beef well cooked and this was not a problem.

The veg, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and gravy were all very nice. The carrots and beetroot were a lovely change. We got cauliflower cheese too which was very nice. The beef rump dinners come with braised ox cheek which was really lovely and soft and tasty.

The beef rump itself was very tough - my husband had his come pink (as it’s usually served) and it had a lot of fat and was also hard to cut. No sharp knives given with the beef. My beef I asked for well cooked and it was but was also very very tough. I ended up not eating it.

We then had banoffee tarts with salted ice cream for dessert and these were lovely and not too sweet.

Unfortunately, the service is a real let down. Some of the staff are not very friendly. There is no notice to ask people to wait to be seated so naturally people try to make their way towards the tables for food but are quickly greeted with hostility and told to go back to the bar. We watched several people get turned away in a very dismissive fashion.

We overheard staff complaining about other customers on several occasions right beside where we were sat (table 20). Staff putting the cutlery into the drawers and the water glasses away didn’t do so with any consideration for people sitting around trying to enjoy their food. The staff seemed very chaotic, didn’t check back on our food or asked if we enjoyed it and no-one so much as gave us a smile during our entire visit.

The food I would say was a 8.5/10 (everything was great except the beef rump which considering was the main meat on the plate was disappointing but I happily ate and enjoy the rest and left full and satisfied with the food) but unfortunately the staff...

Very comfortable pub, mostly popular with visitors to the area, rather than locals. It used to be a very local pub, but now is a gastro-pub. The food is good and reasonably priced. They have a wide variety of beers, a reasonable variety of wines and spirits, but not much cider. It's a great location. Sit by the outside windows if you can and watch the world go by in Chippy.

EDIT: 5 years later.

Just go for drinks - and even then, check whether you can get drinks cheaper elsewhere in Chippy, which you can indeed.

It's a nice venue inside, the staff are friendly, but the food is ... not good.

Like many pubs these days, it's clear they are struggling with staff. I feel bad lowering my original score from 4 stars, but it is what it is - the food really is shocking.

I've been there many times over the years, usually for a quick drink. The last time I went was with some visiting friends.

It was a joke. The chef was back and forth across the dining area carrying bits of food for prep - I can only guess a fridge or something had broken down in the kitchen.

He was stressed, unsmiling and it didn't bode well for the food.

We ordered the simplest thing on the menu - just some burgers. At £16 each, we got a tiny burger pattie in a tiny bun with a handful of chips - and it was cold.

And the drinks? London prices it seems.

If it's a sunny day and you can get a seat outside and watch the town do it's thing, worth a quick pint.

For food, look elsewhere - good luck! Chippy is hardly the culinary capital of the Cotswolds, but there's at least some joy...

Took the family in here for a birthday meal (thirteen of us) and despite booking in advance, we were separated. Initially we were going to be in separate rooms(!) but we eventually got seated in the same area but separated by a smaller table.

The waitress that showed us to our table was surly in the extreme.

We understand there are still some Covid restrictions but to abruptly tell us to wear our masks when out of our seats and not to talk to the other table was downright rude. Perhaps some customer soft skills training is needed here.

We had two kids with us and the waitress then came over later and asked us to move one of the highchairs from the end of the table due to social distancing was frankly a joke when none of the tables in the area we were seated are anywhere near two meters apart.

The food itself was mediocre and really quite expensive for what it was, I had a ribeye steak that had a lot of connective tissue in and the peppercorn sauce was watery and tasted like it was from a packet.

The only saving grace was the Portuguese waiter who was an absolute delight, he was friendly, welcoming and happy. The exact opposite of the female waitress that we were initially greeted with.

At the end of the meal I tried to remove the service and give it to him directly but he respectfully declined to receive it so we left it on the bill. 12.5% for a table of four adults and two toddlers is extreme however.

Would I go there again?...