Gees, Oxford

This Oxford classic unveiled a gorgeous new refurb at the start of the year but is still doing what it’s always done best – stunning seasonal dishes that are fresh and simple cooked in breezy, bright surroundings. The sheltered courtyard garden is just perfect for a lunch of brown shrimp, caper and samphire pizzette or braised octopus, potatoes and chorizo, or equally a plate of burrata, beetroots, chicory, blood orange and fennel pangrattato. Find us there sipping a Secret Garden (cucumber infused gin, elderflower, thyme, cava).

Double Red Duke, Clanfield

Like your pub garden with a touch of elegance? For an al fresco lunch, this chic hotel boasts an impressive ‘pub grub’ menu with dishes such as chicken, grilled oyster mushroom and mash or chargrilled sourdough and smoked whipped lardo, plus a seasonal cocktail menu. Add in the idyllic Cotswolds backdrop, the sailor-chic umbrellas and pretty gardens and what’s not to love?

Sir Charles Napier, Chinnor

This peaceful spot in the Chilterns is as well known for its elegant food – think Brixham crab, pea mousse, mint and fresh pea salad or Chiltern lamb, baby gem, wild garlic, minted belly and pickled salad – as its gorgeous gardens. Well tended, dotted with sculptures and with tables set in plenty of space, this is where you’ll find Raymond Blanc and family relaxing on a sunny day – well, if it’s good enough for him.

Wild Rabbit, Kingham

This Cotswolds hotspot spills out into the rustic front garden during the summer months for drinks and the terrace menu of small plates and grilled dishes like caprese salad with market garden tomatoes and basil, or salmon fish cake with lemon mayonnaise, meanwhile if it’s more of a white linen napkins affair you’re after then fine dining is only offered inside.

Estelle Manor, near Witney

This superluxe, super-secretive member’s country club is part of the elite Cotswold triumvirate (Soho Farmhouse and Daylesford’s The Club being the other two, but then you knew that). You can’t book a table on the Brasserie terrace unless you’re a member or you are a hotel guest, which would add a mere £600 to your food bill but surely it’s worth it for the celeb spotting and raw seafood bar? Just no Instagramming your plate ok? Phones are banned.

The Greyhound, Beaconsfield

This previous Muddy Awards-winner for is gastro plus – forget lamb shank and think more Orkney scallop carpaccio with grapefruit, wasabi and yuzu or new season guinea fowl with morel, artichoke, and black garlic – all beautifully plated and served by knowledgeable and easy-going staff. The garden out back is less funky than the interior with its bright yellow banquettes, but it has a shaded area and you can spot some of the herbs on your plate growing in the raised beds.

Minster Mill, Minster Lovell

Featuring in this year’s Michelin guide is just one of the accolades this riverside eatery can put to its name – it’s also a Muddy regular for afternoon tea and for riverside dining. Book a table overlooking the water and you can scoff a three AA Rosette meal inspired by local, seasonal ingredients and frankly it’s only polite to follow up with a spa treat and overnight stay.

The Maytime Inn, Asthall

Pair your wood-fired pizza with amazing views of the Cotswolds hills, or go wild with the wild boar burger with Comté cheese, chilli jam and fries while the kids blow off steam at this rustic pub with a walled garden, terrace and outdoor bar. The menu offers seasonal staples and pub classics (think everything from lamb loin with mash to pan-fried cod and mussels with veg), plus an artisan gin menu and wine from Château Léoube, the pub’s sister estate vineyard in Provence. Oui oui!

The Pointer, Brill

With its tranquil village location, this pub with boutique hotel rooms is a great staycation gem with a menu that pleases all with staples like dry aged beef and Goan prawn curry alongside the more adventurous smoked salmon Spanish tortilla with shaved fennel, pickled shallots, rocket and yoghurt. Enjoy the pub’s own UK-distilled Brill Gin in the tucked-away gardens with plenty of space for pets and kids, before heading out on one of the many circular walks in the area.

The Nags Head, Great Missenden

With an AA Rosette for its food, this Chilterns charmer is an easy choice for a lovely lunch and the spacious garden is a bonus for a sunny day. With dishes like salt-baked celeriac and crispy buttermilk chicken burger, everyone is catered to and there’s a popular Sunday lunch menu. Best of all, you can book a tipi if you’re after an extra special al fresco experience with a bit of cover.

The Botanist, Marlow

This chichi little brasserie in the most chichi of towns is as perfect for brunch as it is evening cocktails or Sunday roast, though it’s also famous for its hanging kebabs, which come suspended over chips, pitta and dips, plus there’s a cracking kids menu – so everyone’s happy. The outdoor seating is in a pretty courtyard or you can go semi-alfresco and sit by the bi-fold doors which are opened right out onto Marlow high street on sunny days.

Soho Farmhouse, Great Tew

You’ll need to cosy up to a member to book here, or join yourself, but it’s worth it for the fabulous restaurants – all four of them, from the The Main Barn with its club menu, to the fabulous Pen Yen for Japanese izakaya-style dishes, buns and sashimi, then there’s Blake’s Kitchen Bakery and The Little Bell for nose-to-tail cooking and natural wine. And all of them have outdoor seating, though it’s first-come-first-served to have the pick of the al fresco tables.

Arbequina, Oxford

As with the bar seats, this hot ticket eatery keeps its outside tables for walk-ins so get there for 5pm on a Thursday or Friday and you might just bag yourself the best seat on the Cowley Road. Then get ready for world-beating tortilla, tomato on toast and cave-aged Manchego. Sounds simple but done well, it’s divine. All washed down with a rebujito (that’s a sherry, lemonade and mint concoction and warning – you’ll be hooked).

Paris House, Woburn

This Michelin-recommended arts and crafts beauty is in the deer park of the Woburn Estate just over the border in Beds. It’s worth the trip – expect modern British fine dining in seriously elegant surroundings. It’s a special occasion kind of place. Read our interview with stellar chef Phil Fanning here.

The Manoir, Great Milton

Muddy Award finalist Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons is a really special place where every minutia of your experience has been carefully planned, from the provenance of the food to the folds of crisp linen napkin to the presentation of your Two Michelin-starred plate of confit of Loch Duart salmon. Stroll around the gardens pre or post meal for some uber garden inspo and to see where much of the produce on your plate came from.

Don Giovanni, Goring on Thames

This hidden gem is a fabulously old school Italian set up in the most exquisite of riverside locations opposite a dreamy water meadow alongside the Thames. Grab one of the tables on the deck and you could be in a little slice of heaven, spotting kingfishers and rowers. Arrive by boat for some serious VIP creds.

Gilbey’s, Amersham

This Amersham institution is a great neighbourhood eatery with a reputation for well prepared seasonal modern British food and an eclectic wine list that’s always changing. The terrace is cute with festoon lighting and a pavement dining holiday feel to it.

Hawkyns by Atul Kochhar, Amersham

For a very special kind of Indian meal out, this place is a knock-out and does great value lunch menus from £15 if you want to indulge in fine dining at fast food prices. The veggie dishes are especially imaginative – spiced aubergine steak with miso dressing, edamame beans and fritters or herb marinated spiced paneer with berry chutney, plus there are veggie and pesci tasting menus too. Book a table in the private courtyard, a lovely sun trap on a warm day.

More summer dining inspo in Bucks & Oxon

Rooftop bars for stylish summer drinking
9 local hotspots for outdoors afternoon teas
Feast with friends – outdoor dining events in our ‘hood

18 local hotspots for outdoor dining in style

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