Artist Residence Featured in Living etc

Bed And Breakfast | Pub | Pub Accommodation | Uk Pubs | Posted 2018.03.06

Artist Residence – South Leigh – Oxfordshire

The Lowdown: A thatched-roof country pub of the beaten track

Best for Intimate escapes with home-grown food and warm hospitality. With only five bedrooms tucked away beneath the eaves of this 16-century inn, this is not the place to meet up with your party-animal pals. In fact, we’d much prefer to keep this secluded spot a secret so we can enjoy it all to ourselves. Located in the sleepy hamlet of South Leigh, the Artist Residence is the latest venture from Justin and Charlotte Salisbury, who opened their first boutique hotel bearing the same name in Brighton in 2008. This pub, however, makes a radical departure from the formula employed down on the south coast, so no buzzy cocktail bars and ping-pong tables here. Instead, the couple have taken its credentials as a gastropub (it was formally the Masons Arms) and elevated them to a new level. As well as producing fresh fruit and veg in the garden, head chef Leon Smith enjoys foraging, so wild mushrooms and herbs are served alongside seasonal fare from neighbouring farms. With a local beer or glass of wine, hunkering down by the inglenook after dinner is an exquisite pleasure, enhanced by the pub’s offbeat decor – a mix of William Morris and House of Hackney wallpapers teamed with neon artwork and prints by the likes of Harland Miller and Dan Hiller. Plus, some outbuildings are being converted into suites, so your friends can pop down too. Just don’t shout about it, okay?

Book it Rooms from £130 for B&B

Featured in Livingetc March 2018 Edition Page 148