Last Updated on March 7, 2025
A historic Oxfordshire gastropub
3.5 out of 5.0 starsGood, hearty gastropub cooking marks out the Black Horse in Thame. We went along on a wet Friday evening and received a warm welcome at this bustling pub with a large rustic dining area packed with guests.
The cosy and atmospheric Black Horse dates back to 1620 and is Grade II listed. It is part of the Heartwood Collection which is made up of 28 inns and 14 Brasserie Blanc restaurants.
We shared a bottle of Picpoul de Pinet from Sel et de Sable. Nicely flinty with a hint of citrus and served pleasingly chilled, it made a good accompaniment to our meal at The Black Horse.
My companion’s choice of starter was the Guinea fowl en croûte, with good lattice pastry encasing a generous meaty filling. It came served with many additions, some liked more than others. Particularly appreciated were the Madeira sauce and soused girolles but my companion would have liked a bit more caramelisation on the apples and found the cranberry chutney too tart for his taste.
For my first course, I went for the grilled hot smoked ChalkStream trout. This was a lovely and well-balanced plate of food, with the three colours of juicy beetroot and crunchy cauliflower in crème fraîche all excellent accompaniments to the warm and smoky fish.
We then moved on to the ‘mains’ sections of the menu. My companion was quite determined not to succumb to his usual gastropub top choices of sausage and mash or pie and mash and to try something different. He enjoyed a huge plate of Roasted pheasant supreme served with sautéed Muscat pumpkin and purée, a crunchy croquette, Dauphinoise potatoes and a very good jus. His side of grilled Hispi cabbage topped with black garlic and grana padana was a big hit.
I meanwhile was tucking into a plate of oak-smoked outdoor bred pork ribeye. My companion had told me with such great authority that pork ribeye was a pork chop that I hadn’t asked our helpful waitress for clarification. I was therefore mildly surprised though not disappointed when I received something more akin to ham hock. The salty meat was well matched with the earthy sweetness of the apple & prune chutney and Armagnac-soaked Agen prune plus a pot of gravy to pour over the Dauphinoise and well-cooked Hispi cabbage.
One of the aims of the Heartwood Collection group is to get the people of Britain eating more soufflés. Apparently fewer than 47 per cent of us have ever even tried a soufflé. There are three on the menu at the Black Horse. I’ve had the Brasserie Blanc cheese soufflé and liked it so much that I returned to their Chichester branch and ordered it again so I had high hopes of the group’s dessert version.
The Black Horse’s huge and fluffy Pistachio soufflé turned out to be my dish of the day. It was bursting with the flavour of the nuts and came with a satisfying baked chocolatey edge and a scoop of Jude’s chocolate ice cream.
Over on the other side of the table my companion was making short work of a very smooth dark chocolate delice with the added delights of salted caramel cremeux and ice cream and a lime caramel.
Service at the Black Horse is friendly and efficient. There’s a long, tempting menu of familiar gastropub favourites as well as more adventurous dishes. If you’re visiting the historic market town of Thame, you will be well fed here.
Address: 11 Cornmarket, Thame, Oxfordshire OX9 2BL
Telephone: 01844 219050
Looking for more Gastropubs in Oxfordshire? Check out The Lamb Inn, Little Milton
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