Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Eat and drink
The Muddy Duck, Hethe
A village pub in Hethe, north of Bicester, cooking sharing plates with a Japanese twist alongside a Sunday menu, with a garden and dogs welcome. Open Thursday to Sunday.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly
Worth the drive if you want something other than a pub roast: small plates for sharing, Japanese in their seasoning, in a village local with a garden. It keeps short hours, open only from Thursday to Sunday, and every published menu is a sample, so ring if you are coming for one dish.
- Good: Sharing plates with a Japanese twist, and a ten-plate Sunday menu
- Good: Well-behaved dogs welcome in the pub and the garden
- Good: Local beer on tap and a long wine list
- Good: Children's menu, and an omakase for tables of seven or more
- Worth knowing: Closed from Monday to Wednesday
- Worth knowing: No prices or parking details on the website
About
The Muddy Duck is the pub on Main Street in Hethe, a small village north of Bicester and about 11 miles south-east of Banbury. It works in collaboration with the Smoking Lobster on the Isle of Wight, and describes its cooking as traditional at heart, with small plates and sharing dishes given a Japanese twist.
There are three places to sit: the pub, the restaurant and the garden. Well-behaved dogs are welcome in the pub and the garden, though the pub does not say so for the restaurant. Beside the à la carte there is a Sunday menu of ten plates, a children's menu, and an omakase for tables of seven or more, where the chef decides what comes. The pub calls all its published menus samples, and its prices are in menu files rather than on its pages. The bar has local beer on tap and a wine list the pub is proud of.
It holds ticketed supper clubs, the next a game supper club of sharing plates on Thursday 19 November 2026 at £65 a person, and has run a children's sushi workshop. New Year's Eve 2026 is a ticketed party with food stations, crispy duck carved to order, a shellfish bar and live music until midnight, from £75 a person, with tickets sold in advance only.
Opening hours and season
Closed, opens Thu 19, 12:00
| Mon | Opening | Food served |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | Closed |
| Tuesday | Closed | Closed |
| Wednesday | Closed | Closed |
| Thursday | 12:00 to 23:00 | 12:00 to 14:30, 17:00 to 21:00 |
| Friday | 12:00 to 23:00 | 12:00 to 14:30, 17:00 to 21:00 |
| Saturday | 12:00 to 23:00 | 12:00 to 14:30, 17:00 to 21:00 |
| Sunday | 12:00 to 18:00 | 12:00 to 16:00 |
Closed from Monday to Wednesday.
The details
- Food
- Asian · Modern British
- Serving
- Lunch · Dinner · Sunday lunch
- Dietary
- Children's menu
- Booking a table
- Booking recommended
- Features
- Garden or terrace · Bar · Restaurant · Dogs inside
Photos
The dining room 
The garden 
Steak and langoustines 
The pub today
Location
Places to stay nearby
-
Travelodge Bicester Cherwell Valley M40
Hotel
A budget chain hotel at Cherwell Valley services, junction 10 of the M40 at Ardley, with free parking, family, accessible and pet-friendly rooms, and a 24-hour coffee shop in the services.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
-
The Crew Rooms at Bicester Motion
Self-catering · Bicester
Four en-suite rooms and suites in Building 82, the 1926 Power House on the Technical Site of the old RAF Bicester, now Bicester Motion, each named after a station commander and booked only through Red Kite Stays.
Verified Nov 2026
-
Travelodge Bicester
Hotel · Bicester
A budget chain hotel on Pioneer Square in the middle of Bicester, under half a mile from Bicester North station and within walking distance of Bicester Village, with family, accessible and pet-friendly rooms but no car park of its own.
Dog-friendly · Car-free
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Travelodge Bicester Cherwell Valley M40 4.4 km away
- The Crew Rooms at Bicester Motion 4.9 km away
- Sky Wave Gin Distillery, Bicester Motion 4.9 km away
- Everyman Driving Experiences at Bicester Heritage 5.0 km away
Sights nearby
-
Bicester Heritage (RAF Bicester)
Sight · Historic building · Bicester
The technical site of RAF Bicester, which Historic England calls the best preserved of the bomber bases built in the RAF's expansion from 1923, now home to firms restoring historic cars. Its listed hangars and workshops open to the public on event days such as the Scrambles.