The Trout is so well known around Oxford that it hardly needs any recommendation. This cavernous pub can be found in Wolvercote, north of Oxford.
The Trout serves great food (minted lamb shanks are my recommendation), though it gets very full at the beginning and end of Oxford terms. Most of all it's the atmosphere that people come for - cosy inside in Autumn and Winter, and a large outdoor terrace in Spring and Summer.
It has a history which encompasses Henry II, Alice in Wonderland and Colin Dexter of Inspector Morse fame! It can be reached by car (a large free car park indicates how popular it can get), but far better to walk all the way up Port Meadow to the very top, by which point you will deserve your lunch thoroughly.
members.lycos.co.uk/troutinn/info.htm
195 Godstow Road, Lower Wolvercote, Oxford
The owners, Mitchells and Butler, have recently given it a makeover. Now describes itself as "contemporary and stylish" - i.e. the new internal decor. It is now apparently a gourmet restaurant with prices to match, rather than a pub, and seems to want a matching stylish clientele. So scruffs wandering in from a river walk for a drink be warned - it ain't what it used to be. Yes, apparently you now need to book at The Trout, and reviews are mixed.
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