The story
Nut Tree Inn on Main Street, Murcott (OX5 2RE), is a thatched 15th-century pub in the Oxford area that holds one Michelin star in the 2026 guide. Chef Mike North and his wife Imogen serve modern British cooking in a village setting, with roses at the door and a vegetable garden behind.
The couple completed on the freehold in November 2006. Mike had spent much of his childhood in Murcott with his grandmother, which made the purchase personal. The Michelin star arrived in 2008, and the pub also carries three AA Rosettes. Their approach is classical and confident, with little showmanship and a lot of home-grown produce.
The six-course tasting menu is the centre of the kitchen's ambition, and it is the only menu on Friday and Saturday evenings. The Good Food Guide singled out pearly turbot with baba ganoush, spring vegetables and a vermouth sauce. It also praised beef fillet with morels and Madeira sauce. A passion-fruit soufflé with coconut and rum custard closes the meal. A vegetarian tasting menu is also offered, and the team can adapt dishes if told at booking.
Lunch brings Pub Classics, such as fish and chips or cod brandade with runny quail's eggs. Sunday is given over to a roast beef menu. The bar pours its own Nut Tree IPA beside guest ales, and a wine flight accompanies the tasting menu. In summer the garden takes tables, and in colder months there is a fire and a few cosy alcoves.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
High quality cooking
It’s hard not to be seduced by the Nut Tree, the 15th-century pub-restaurant in an Oxfordshire hamlet that chef Mike North and his wife Imogen have run to great acclaim for almost 20 years. The low-slung thatch may be showing its age, but scrambling roses, a vegetable garden, and homely pubbiness (especially in the older bar area) make up for any rooftop bedragglement. In any case, you’re here for the food and drink. Drop in for a pint and a pub classic in one of the cosy alcoves. Fish and chips fly out during the week, ditto flavour-packed cod brandade with runny quail's eggs and luxuriously creamy mushroom velouté flecked with chives and a soupçon of truffle oil. As one regular reported: 'No matter what I go in for, whether it's dinner, a snack or a drink, I'm welcomed just the same.' The kitchen’s ambition shows on the tasting menu, where beautiful ingredients are prepared with classical confidence and minimal showmanship. Settle in for the full six courses (plus excellent bread and an optional cheese course) or ask for servings to be scaled up to build a conventional three-course deal. A piece of pearly turbot comes with smooth baba ganoush, spring vegetables and a lightly aerated vermouth sauce; it’s a delight with an Austrian Grüner Veltliner (Domäne Baumgartner 2023). Beef fillet with morels and more vivid greens is a standout, the meat exceptional in its tenderness, the accompanying Madeira sauce glossed with luxury, while a ripe Côte du Rhône (Domaine Arbouse 2022) provides strong berry-cherry support in the glass. To conclude, an eggshell filled with salted caramel, chocolate mousse, Chantilly cream and popping candy is a fun pre-dessert fixture, while a passion-fruit soufflé and sorbet with a little jug of coconut and rum custard is refreshingly, tropically zesty. There’s a loyal following locally for the Norths’ brand of gracious hospitality and classical cuisine delivered in a super-comfortable setting – and we also say 'yes' to the padded seats, white tablecloths and sparkling glassware. Prices reflect the times but also the exceptional quality of produce. Worth it? Absolutely.
3 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
Location
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