Eat and drink
The Duck on the Pond, South Newington
A family-run farm-to-fork pub and restaurant at South Newington, on the road between Banbury and Chipping Norton, cooking from its own kitchen garden, with à la carte, set lunch and tasting menus.
A destination kitchen rather than a local: a family team cooking from its own garden, with a tasting menu as well as a set lunch. The Lunch Club offer makes midweek the time to come. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and there are two fixed sittings on Sundays, so book.
- Good: Vegetables, salads and flowers from its own kitchen garden
- Good: Lunch Club: two courses from Wednesday to Friday bring a free carafe of wine for two
- Good: Draught beer at £4.50 a pint from 4pm to 6pm, Wednesday to Saturday
- Good: Log burner in winter, and outside dining in summer
- Worth knowing: Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
- Worth knowing: Sunday is by two sittings, at noon and 3pm
About
The Duck on the Pond is a family-run pub and restaurant in South Newington, the village on the road south-west of Bloxham towards Chipping Norton. It describes its cooking as farm to fork: local suppliers, and a kitchen garden of its own growing vegetables, salads and cut flowers by natural methods.
There is an à la carte, a tasting menu of signature and seasonal dishes, a fixed-price lunch from Wednesday to Saturday, a Sunday menu with two sittings, a brunch and a bar and garden menu. The menus are PDFs, examples of what is cooking, so ask about a particular dish or allergen.
Midweek offers make it good value. Lunch Club, from Wednesday to Friday, adds a carafe of house wine for two when you order two courses from the main menu, except in December. From 4pm to 6pm, from Wednesday to Saturday, all draught beer is £4.50 a pint.
A log burner runs in winter, and there is space to eat outside in summer. Flowers from the garden go into bouquets and into wreaths at Christmas, when the pub also runs a wreath-making workshop and a festive menu. It can take events of up to 50. The site says nothing about dogs or parking, so ask when you book.
Opening hours and season
Closed, opens Wed 18, 10:30
| Mon | Opening | Restaurant |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | Closed |
| Tuesday | Closed | Closed |
| Wednesday | 10:30 to 22:30 | 12:00 to 14:30, 18:00 to 20:30 |
| Thursday | 10:30 to 22:30 | 12:00 to 14:30, 18:00 to 20:30 |
| Friday | 10:30 to 22:30 | 12:00 to 14:30, 18:00 to 20:30 |
| Saturday | 10:30 to 22:30 | 12:00 to 15:00, 18:00 to 20:30 |
| Sunday | 11:00 to 18:00 | 12:00 to 18:00 |
Restaurant: Sunday has two sittings, at noon and 3pm.
Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
The details
- Food
- Modern British
- Serving
- Brunch · Lunch · Dinner · Sunday lunch
- Booking a table
- Booking recommended
- Features
- Garden or terrace · Bar · Restaurant · Open fire · Events and meetings
Photos
Beef and chips 
Chicken from the kitchen 
The dining room 
The garden and kitchen garden
Location
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Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Newton Grove, South Newington 0.5 km away
- The Falkland Arms, Great Tew 4.2 km away
- Quince and Clover, Great Tew 4.2 km away
- Broughton Castle 4.9 km away
Sights nearby
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St Mary's Church, Bloxham
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Bloxham's Grade I church, with a fourteenth-century tower and spire of about 60m by the county history, a carved west doorway, the Milcombe Chapel and Morris & Co glass. Open every day for visitors, says the church.