The Chequers, Cotswolds — Restaurant in West Oxfordshire

Always a must, when visiting the Cotswolds!

We’ve been visiting this pub for about 13 years now and it still holds a special place for us. There’s just something about the atmosphere, the consistently great food, and the friendly service that keeps drawing us back. It’s become one of those familiar favourites you look forward to every time.

The food is always spot on, beautifully cooked and full of flavour. There’s a brilliant choice of sides, a great wine list, proper beers, lagers and some lovely cocktails too. This time we came for Sunday lunch. We booked five days in advance and the only slot left was 12pm. We usually prefer a later, lazier lunch but it actually worked out perfectly, as we were camping nearby to enjoy the weekend and make the most of the mini heatwave.

My partner went for the roast pork and I had the roast chicken, which came with both breast and leg. I know it sounds simple, but the chef really knows how to get the best from the ingredients — the leg was moist and full of flavour, the roast potatoes were crispy perfection, and the side dishes, including cauliflower cheese, were absolutely delicious. We loved that it was already included, rather than something you had to add on. Portions are really generous, but that doesn’t take anything away from the quality.

Sadly we had no room for dessert, though if I could make one suggestion it would be to offer a little selection of mini puddings to share with coffee — something light to finish off the meal when you’re full but fancy a taste of something sweet. Just an idea.

We always say we should try somewhere new, but when you’ve found somewhere that gets it right every single time, why risk it? Thank you again for another lovely visit — and please don’t change a thing, even now we’ve seen you on TV. You’re doing...

Absolutely shocking service during the booking process, we cancelled before we even got to the pub. I booked for a large party, the booking was confirmed the next day, so no issues. Within a few days the numbers reduced slightly therefore I e-mailed straight away to notify of the change. I heard nothing for over a week so e-mailed again, still no response, I tried ringing over and over again but no one picked up. I submitted the form on their website and another pub in the chain responded to me to say they would pass the message on. They confirmed the reduction in numbers that night. I was told when I booked that we would need to pre-order and that they would send the Summer menu out to me, which was fine, however with 2 weeks to go before our booking, still no menu. Again I e-mailed several times with no reply. I finally had a response to say the menu would be with me by Friday, it turned up on Saturday, but was an extremely limited 'Function' menu. Nothing on the menu appealed to any of the party, but when we asked if as we were pre-ordering we could choose from the bar menu, we were told no. As we were 13 in the party, the Function' menu is applicable for over 12 . They would not flex in the slightest. We were extremely concerned at the type of service we would receive when we did get to the pub if they couldn't even sort the booking out. So with only 4 days to go before the 'Function we have luckily managed to book into a much more amenable pub. Thanks for nothing Chequers, and if that is how you treat your customers, I'm sure you won't be in business...

A group of 8 of us booked a table for an evening meal. Food orders were: 2 cheeseburgers, 2 calves liver, 1 soufflé, and two panfried hake. Drinks were also ordered. Nice surroundings and attentive service, but it was the food that turned out to be such a disappointment. For the fish dish, the customers complained that the hake was cooked to within an inch of its life, making it very dry and slightly chewy and too salty. The 2 cheeseburgers were ordered with stilton cheese, but there was none when they arrived. We called the waiter over, who took them back, and soon returned them with said cheese included. Although the burgers looked quite impressive, tucking into them was quite another matter. The beef patties were leathery tough and one had to really saw at the meat to dislodge a portion. Admittedly tasty, but really hard going chewing through this stuff. We think that maybe when the burgers were returned for the cheese, they were probably zapped under the Salamander to heat up, thus rendering them overcooked and tough. The 2 calves liver dishes were voted OK and tasty, as was the soufflé. For dessert, some sticky toffee and marathon puddings were ordered, which were good, although one person thought the mousse a little too cocoa strong. All in all it was disappointing that a little more care and attention was not given to the dishes. Concept was great, but execution very poor. Perhaps the kitchen needs to demonstrate more care and attention to detail, or maybe having a cook with a little...