The Star, Eynsham

4:41pm Wednesday 10th October 2007

Remarkable though it may seem, there are a number of public houses I have not visited during more than three decades of drinking and gormandising across the county. One such is the Star, at the western end of Eynsham. This is partly explained by the village's preternatural abundance of hostelries. When passing through - as I did almost daily in the mid-1970s - I would usually have dived into another one (often the Jolly Sportsman) before reaching the Star.

Another factor, too, was my knowledge that the Star was certainly no place for gormandising - more salt 'n' vinegar than saltimbocca. But it has all changed now. New owners, new decoration, new attitudes - in short, a new style altogether - are bringing foodies flocking. Among them is my colleague and pal Helen Peacocke, who had never previously been a customer there, though she was actually born in the village. After a successful lunch there (Caesar salad and big wedgy chips), she suggested Rosemarie and I might enjoy a visit.

It seemed to me we would enjoy it even more as a threesome, so it was with Helen - her camera at the ready - that we arrived for dinner a couple of Thursdays ago. I was pleased to find, despite the elegant transformation you can see from the pictures, that the pub has not become so foodified as to exclude the drinkers. Among those enjoying their draught ale at the bar was a local chap I had previously encountered two decades ago dispensing beer at the Harcourt Arms, in Stanton Harcourt, when its licence was held by the admirable George Dailey.

Memories were briefly exchanged, but we had matters to attend to elsewhere. The table we were shown to was comfortably large but slightly uncomfortably arranged. Rosemarie and Helen were side by side on a banquette along one edge of it, while I gazed down at them from a high-seated chair opposite. The effect was slightly reminiscent of an interview.

The orders having been taken by a courteous waitress, starters were soon with us, showing that the kitchen runs smoothly even on a busy-ish evening such as this. I began with spears of char-grilled asparagus, which were arranged across a naughtily creamy wild mushroom risotto. The presence of the asparagus on a menu that boasts 'local sourcing' prompted a pointed question from Helen concerning its precise provenance at this time of the year (It turned out to be from the very local South Africa.) But I was prepared to permit a little licence, especially over a dish so appealing.

For Rosemarie, there were slices of an admirable home-cured gravadlax, with mixed leaves and lemon olive oil, while Helen ordered the salmon and spring onion fishcake. She reports: "It was nicely brown and crisp on the outside and gloriously fluffy and succulent inside. The tomato chutney was very tasty."

She continued with Thai chicken curry. She thought it very aromatic but questioned the need to have naan bread and mango chutney served with it, as both are accompaniments for an Indian curry which, of course, has a totally different flavour. Rosemarie went for the Star burger - a bit of a novelty since the meat ingredient was minted lamb, and it had a topping of fried onions and brie. I had a chunk of beautifully moist salmon, which was baked in a wrapping of pancetta and served on spinach mash with a creamy white wine sauce.

You can see a selection of some of our dishes in Helen's pictures at the top of the page. The glasses contain the red wines - Merlot for Helen; rioja for Rosemarie and me - that we ordered, after polishing off a bottle of herby New World sauvignon blanc.

The Star's is a wide and eclectic menu Other starters included chicken tikka skewers and pear, walnut and parmesan salad, and among the (14) main courses were baked peppers stuffed with ratatouille, penne with roasted Mediterranean vegetables, and pan-fried duck breast with pak choi.

Puddings, all home-made, are more limited in scope - six in all, including passion fruit cheesecake, and brioche bread and butter pudding. Rosemarie chose sticky toffee pudding, whose presence on most menus makes it a useful yardstick in judging a kitchen's success. In this case, the Star's was found wanting. Rosemarie said it horribly rubbery, "like biting into a Dunlopillo pillow" - though I can't imagine how she could possibly know this (shades of Norman Scott). Anyway, the management was told of her disapproval and very properly removed the £4.95 charge from the bill. I was happy to let her share my cheese and biscuits, which featured a good sharp cheddar, Stilton and brie. With this, as with much else that night, the Star shone brightly.

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