The story
The Lamb Inn stands on High Street in Little Milton (OX44 7PU), a village just outside Oxford, where the kitchen serves modern British food in a thatched 16th-century pub. The AA awarded it two Rosettes in 2026 for culinary excellence, and the Good Food Guide lists it as Good for the same year.
Head chef Nat Berney arrived in 2024 after four years learning at Raymond Blanc's restaurant in neighbouring Great Milton. The menu changes with the seasons and sits between a British pub menu and a more precise, classically trained kitchen. Reviewers have noticed that the cooking is more ambitious than the setting suggests.
Reviewers have singled out a mushroom parfait with a caramel-like texture, piped around crisp fried onions. A scallop rests on sweetcorn velouté with roasted leeks. Plaice comes whole with girolles and lemon persillade butter, and the lamb rack is served pink with tempura courgette flower, tomato and basil cream. The gravy takes many hours to make. One visit felt overly rich, and the dessert of compôte cherries came with a panna cotta closer to brûlée.
Inside, the rooms have low ceilings, old beams and woodburning stoves. A small patio garden at the back is popular in summer, with local real ales on tap. The wine list is mostly served by the glass and draws on small producers from around the world. Pizzas from the wood-fired oven are served on Tuesdays.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
‘We feel so blessed to have this gem on our doorstep,' proclaims a regular, but this thatched 16th-century village pub attracts praise from further afield for its cosiness, its welcoming staff and, above all, its food. Chef Nat Berney arrived in 2024 after a four-year stint learning the ropes at Raymond Blanc’s prestigious gaff in neighbouring Great Milton. At the back is a small patio garden, popular with summertime drinkers (there are local real ales on tap), while inside, it is all low ceilings, ancient beams and woodburning stoves. When booking, we received stern guidance to arrive at 6pm and leave by 8pm, but any irritation was forgotten when the dishes arrived. Expectations from the brief but posh pub menu are immediately outstripped by some classy execution. Following a refreshing gazpacho-like aperitif, served gratis, mushroom parfait had a sensational caramel-like texture and deep umami flavours, presented piped around crisp fried onions. Big flavours also bellowed out from a sweetcorn velouté, which surrounded a precisely placed scallop on a bed of roasted leeks and sweetcorn. Next, a dish of faultlessly cooked plaice was served whole with girolles and plentiful lemon persillade butter sauce, while a juicy, pink lamb rack matched with tempura courgette flower, tomatoes, blobs of basil cream and terrific gravy (prepared over many hours, the enthusiastic owner explained), showed classical culinary training put to admirable use. Perhaps our meal was overly rich, and our chosen dessert of luscious compôte cherries came with a ‘panna cotta’ more akin to brûlée, but there’s exciting potential here. A diverting wine list, priced for inquisitive drinkers rather than show-offs, adds to the allure. Pizzas (from a wood-fired oven) are served on Tuesdays.
2 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
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