Royal Oak

The Royal Oak at Whatcote is a village pub on the edge of the Cotswolds with a history stretching back to 1168, when a stone shelter offered drink and rest to the masons building the nearby church of St Peter. Today it is run by Richard and Solanche Craven and holds one Michelin star, making it the only Michelin-starred restaurant within half an hour's drive in any direction. Despite its culinary acclaim, it remains a working pub with a pool table, darts and a proper bar. The kitchen focuses on wild, seasonal ingredients sourced through long-standing friendships with local producers who practise careful land and woodland management. Dishes change with the micro-seasons, some lasting weeks and others just a day. The building retains its ironstone walls, timber beams, stone floors and inglenook fireplace, reflecting more than eight hundred and fifty years of continuous use. During the English Civil War, officers are said to have stayed here before the Battle of Edgehill in 1642. The restaurant also has a sister establishment, Bastardo's Trattoria, and a bakehouse and café called Ferment and Flour in Shipston-on-Stour.