The best restaurants in Vale of White Horse South East

Faced with the challenge of finding a conveniently-located venue for a birthday lunch for nine people on a busy Saturday, the landlord and his young team did a fantastic job making us welcome, and providing us with dedicated use of the pub's 'snug' room. The food, drink and service were excellent, and the team cheerfully continued to carry on meeting our needs right through until tea time. Thank you for helping to make our family get-together extra special - and for your patience.

Ellice, Ben, Emily and Georgia are guaranteed to make your day better with good coffee, excellent service and a friendly atmosphere

Not from the area and staying in Abingdon. Just had the pleasure of the gourmet burger wowza don't really know what to say, know where I will be going next time I am here. Amazing food.

Not from the area and staying in Abingdon. Just had the pleasure of the gourmet burger wowza don't really know what to say, know where I will be going next time I am here. Amazing food.

This is a franchise cafe as I learnt but the coffee is Costa, however, the coffee doesn't taste how it suppose to be, and they start to charge people for coffee cup-take away! The irony is that the cafe is in the middle of science campus and not everyone has the time to take their cup before getting to work!

Quite the poorest value fish and chips I have tasted in a long time. The extortionate price of £10 was not reflected in the quality of the regular-sized meal I ordered, nor in the surliness of the individual who served me. The piece of fish was not freshly cooked. The batter was thin and the contents were dry and unpalatable. I had to throw the meal away. I feel that a score of 2 is over-generous as there were few-if any-redeeming features.

Lovely pub But arrived at 14:53, the pub shuts at 15:00 wanted a quick drink outside (prepared to take away) but doors all locked up. Disappointing

One of the last few proper locals in the country, and Stella on tap. Everyone is always incredibly friendly. 10/10.

great environment, delicious food, amazing staff and service. will definitely be coming back

Tout était parfait. De l'accueil en passant par le bar ainsi que le restaurant au cadre typique (campagne anglaise) Repas et petit déjeuner excellents. Chambre très agréable à la literie très confortable et sdb du même acabit, le tout d'une propreté impeccable. Bref ... nous y retournerons avec grand plaisir et nous ne manquerons pas de le recommander à tous et toutes

So Disappointing!!! Before I start, I should say we have been regulars at the Sparsholt (even when it was called The Star), however we had not been for approximately six months. We had a restaurant reservation for 19:00hrs for what was my granddaughters 13th birthday treat. We were excited on our arrival, but unfortunately that is where it stopped. We arrived to a virtually empty ( 1 table in use) establishment on a Saturday night, to be greeted by two front of house staff who looked as though they belonged in a local pub. Gone has the smart but casual dress code for the staff. After waiting an age to order our drinks, we then had to ask for the menus, and even then had to ask again to order. There was no ‘table checking’ whatsoever. Whilst we were waiting, another group arrived and went to sit in the restaurant area. When the time came to go to our table, to my astonishment we were asked if we minded sitting in the bar on a table that was just adjacent to us!! The place was virtually empty, we were dressed smartly and we certainly didn’t want a bar meal. The staff were very accommodating and showed us to a table in the main restaurant where there were now two other tables occupied. My granddaughter ordered the prawn starter, which resembled a portion of panco prawns from Iceland, whilst my wife and I had the ham hock. The starters had lost all their wow factor, where very little effort or time was spent on presentation. When the time came to clear the plates, we were even asked to pass our own plates across the table, to save the waitress walking around us. The mains followed, with little improvement. I had the venison pave, consisting of two medallions of venison which turned out to be so tuff I couldn’t eat it, with the whole plate overpowered by the sharpness of red cabbage. My wife and granddaughter had the cod main. As the was no table checking, and not a waiter/waitress to be seen, I ended up not eating my main (was refunded) as the rest of the table had finished their meals. Desserts followed, which were unremarkable. All in all, this was a disappointing evening. We had looked forward to treating our granddaughter but the whole Sparsholt experience has changed. I know times are hard in the hospitality industry but basic service and attention to detail doesn’t cost. We have cancelled our Xmas reservations and unfortunately won’t be returning soon. It’s such a disappointment because this was our destination restaurant (30 minute drive away) as we live in a town full of fast food chain eateries.

This is a great pub with a fantastic team that, despite cutbacks, continues to work tirelessly day after day as if their lives depend on it. Contrary to some other reviews, which seem to stem from favoritism towards former General Manager who only aim to discredit the hard work of the current team, this pub is always welcoming, even when the team is overwhelmed with work and exhausted, they still greet you with a smile and give their all, going the extra mile. I take my hat off to them and I'm gratefull to the team that continues working hard every day to ensure we can enjoy a pub that truly serves the community.

We enjoyed our meals at the Plough last month, we were made to feel very welcome and although the pub was very busy we received first class service and food.

There for a wake. Very pleasant surroundings and places to sit and chat.

Thank you for the service at McDonalds / always very being efficient and friendly. Zach on the drive through was particularly friendly and pleasant during our visit - thanks once again and we will be back 5/5