The Duke of Cumberland's Head
A 17th-century thatched free house in Clifton, Oxfordshire — quintessentially English, and one we'd go back to without a second thought.
Tucked just off the Deddington road, the Duke is about as quintessentially English as a pub gets — golden stone, a thatched roof, and a sign creaking gently over the gravel out front. A huge part of what makes it special is our host, Max, who has done an amazing job with the place. Service was top notch throughout, and what we particularly love about dining at the Duke is Max's own passion for food — the insight he shares on the dishes turns a good meal into a proper occasion.
The Sunday roast alone is worth the trip out: simply amazing, and honestly one of the best we can remember. Properly rested meat, a Yorkshire pudding that held its shape, gravy with real depth behind it.
At the bar, a Double Diamond badge among the taps stopped us for a moment of pure nostalgia — until Max explained it's been properly reinvented, relaunched as a crisp, modern session IPA rather than the pale ale it used to be. Typical of the Duke: keep what people love, refresh it where it earns its place.
A word on the wine
Max talked us through the list and pointed out that the 2015 Château Marjosse had quietly replaced the 2019. Eleven years on, a generous Bordeaux vintage like that settles into something soft and layered — cedar, cocoa, dried dark fruit — real complexity from a bottle that's been given time. At £45 for a well-kept vintage, it felt like a fair gamble, and it paid off beautifully: poured and given a few minutes to open up, it turned out gorgeous.
Venues this comfortable in their own skin — proper English pub, warm welcome, food and drink taken seriously without a trace of pretension — don't come along often.
— Steve, Founder, WeWouldGoBack.com
