The Talk House

We had our wedding reception at the Talkhouse. Of all the venues we considered, the Talkhouse was the only one that had no extra charges on top of the price stated for the food and drink. No room hire, no chair hire, no corkage, no fee for putting our cake on their plates - in fact, they even surprised us with some little free extras! The menu was interesting without being odd and the food was attractively presented. They were entirely accommodating of guests' dietary requirements and last-minute changes. They seemed slightly disorganized during the planning, but on the day itself they didn't miss a single detail. The guests all seemed happy - we had many complements on both the look of the venue and the quality of the food.

HMB (Unverified), 10/09/11

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Today was the third time I have eaten here, and it underwent the most serious of tests- I took my mother! She approved, which is pretty high accolade in itself as she is definitely towards the, um, 'picky' end of the scale. Each time I've been here the food has been very good, and the venue itself is lovely, a traditional rural pub where they have cleverly opened up the space to let in plenty of natural light without ruining any of the character.

The venue is good, the food is good and it is safe to take even the pickiest of mothers. Excellent!

Ess (DI User), 07/08/10

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The previous times we had been here, the service was poor and we were hoping things would have improved. Unfortunately, the service although OK was let down by extremely long waits for drinks, the main and puddings. We must have been served by every staff member in the building so it did seem a little disjointed. We also had to ask to see the Wine Menu. Lots of apologies but being told the food was 5 minutes away and then waiting 1/2 hour was very disappointing.

The quality of food was OK, nothing to write home about but the portions were very small.

We did complain about the slow service and in their defence, we were given a bottle of wine free. I'd recommend looking at other places, if you're looking for better portion sizes and good sevice.

Jeremy (Unverified), 03/05/10

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We ended up here after a slightly random walk in the countryside, slightly too early for normal dinner service on a Sunday evening. It's not exactly remote, being only 15 mins' drive from Headington, but it is rural, and we were the only diners in the place. Service was attentive but non-intrusive and food came reasonably swiftly (lucky, as we were pretty hungry). I asked for a glass of Peter Lehmann Riesling and when it appeared to be off it was changed immediately for a fresh one from a new bottle - no questions asked - which was nice. (The staff made sure I was happy with the second too.) A blonde beer on tap - Fullers' Discovery - was also consumed, and appeared to be well kept as well as delicious.
Portions were enormous and beautifully presented. The pork belly was tasty, thick and moist and accompanied by all the trimmings: a huge pudding, spuds, cauliflower cheese, broccoli and a flavourful gravy with a good consistency - plus apple sauce, of course. On asking about the origin of the meat (something we often do) it was revealed that it had come from a farm less than 100 metres away - so diners can feel pretty smug about their savings on food miles, should they wish to. For the veggie option, stuffed bell peppers with spicy lentils, ratatouille and a pesto mash (yum!) were excellent. So often pub vegetarian options can be bland or just plain wrong; this was delicious and I would happily order it again. The fresh salad with it was again a nice touch too - and once again a rare thing for a pub to be able to produce properly with any regularity. (I hear that the head chef used to work at Gee's in Oxford however, which presumably accounts for all of the above, as well as the below.)
We couldn't resist desserts - all of which weigh in at around the £5.00 mark - and ended up deciding on apricot tart with whipped Baileys cream and berry compote, plus sticky toffee pudding. Both could easily be just too much at the end of a substantial meal, but these were surprisingly light and eminently finishable, thankfully. After that there was just enough room to squeeze in a Famous Grouse and an espresso before departure. I hear they do regular jazz nights now too; we may well return to investigate.
This two course dinner for two with two drinks each cost £39.70.

Su Jordan (DI Staff), 14/12/09

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Went here with a friend recently. As I've experienced with this place before, the food can be superb and the service can be poor. Not that the service is rude, just inexperienced. The landlord needs to train them better and keep them on their toes! Highlights of the meal were the starter (we both had tempura black pudding with poached egg) which was superb and pudding (crème brulée and sticky toffee pudding) which were both very good. We both had steak, which, while cooked and seasoned well, was just a steak. The chips accompanying it were a bit too lardy and let down what would have otherwise been a very nice meal.

SRC (Unverified), 13/10/09

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