Restaurant in Chinnor, United Kingdom
Destination pub-restaurant with real kitchen credentials.
A Michelin Plate Modern British restaurant in a converted Chilterns pub, Sir Charles Napier delivers technically precise, Anglo-European cooking in a setting that earns its keep for celebrations and weekend lunches. At £££, it is well-priced for the quality and atmosphere on offer. Book two to three weeks ahead for weekend slots.
Yes — with a clear caveat. Sir Charles Napier is one of the more characterful destination restaurants in the Chilterns, and for a relaxed celebration meal outside London it delivers real quality: Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025, a kitchen producing technically assured Modern British cooking, and an atmosphere that feels genuinely occasion-ready without the stiffness of a formal dining room. If you want a special-occasion dinner that feels like a discovery rather than a performance, this is the right booking. If you want tasting-menu theatre or a full London-calibre fine dining experience, look elsewhere.
The draw at Sir Charles Napier is the combination of setting and kitchen quality, which is harder to find in the Chilterns than you might expect. The restaurant occupies a converted pub in the hamlet of Sprigs Holly near Chinnor — a location that forces it to earn its reputation entirely on merit. It has done exactly that, building a loyal following over years of consistent cooking under a succession of capable hands. Chef Andrew Lewis currently runs the kitchen, and the Michelin Plate awarded for 2024 and 2025 confirms the operation is maintaining its standards.
The cooking style is Anglo-European with some ambition: dishes are precise and composed rather than hearty pub fare, with flavours that are described by Michelin inspectors as punchy and pronounced. The ingredients are quality-led and the presentation careful. For the Chilterns, this places Sir Charles Napier in a tier of its own for weekday dinners or weekend celebrations outside the capital.
Setting earns its keep for special occasions. In summer, the garden , dotted with sculptures and designed for aperitifs , gives the meal a leisurely, unhurried feel. On cooler evenings, the beamed interior with log fire, candlelit tables, and art on the walls does the atmosphere work for you. The proprietress runs front-of-house with a warmth that keeps service feeling personal rather than transactional. For a romantic dinner or a low-key birthday, the room does more than its postcode would suggest.
First-timers should know that aperitifs and appetisers are served in the beamed bar, where guests sit on sofas before moving through to the dining areas. This structure gives the evening a natural rhythm that suits celebration meals particularly well. The dining room itself uses unclothed tables and upholstered wooden chairs , the feel is smart-casual rather than formal. Jazz plays softly; sculptures appear both inside and out. The wine list is extensive and Old World-focused, arranged by region without tasting notes, which means you should either know what you want or ask for guidance from the floor staff.
The menu format runs to concise, focused selections rather than a lengthy carte. Michelin inspectors have noted dishes including a broccoli and Stilton tart served as an appetiser, a sherry-glazed pork neck with peach and pesto, and a monkfish dish with cuttlefish-stuffed dolma, dulse relish, and smoked-eel sauce. A blackberry soufflé with blackberry sorbet was cited as technically accomplished. These are dishes that require skill to execute and show a kitchen operating above its surroundings. The price range sits at £££, which positions it as a considered spend rather than a casual dinner but good value against comparable quality in London.
Sir Charles Napier is built for a weekend. The garden, the unhurried service pace, and the menu format all point toward a long lunch or an evening where you are not rushing. Summer weekend lunches in the garden, with sculptures catching the afternoon light and the Chilterns countryside immediately outside, represent the venue at its leading. In winter, the log-fire interior makes an equally strong case for a Saturday dinner. The restaurant does not publish hours in readily accessible form, so confirm your preferred session when booking.
Booking difficulty is moderate. A Michelin Plate restaurant in a rural location with a settled reputation will fill weekend tables quickly, particularly for Saturday dinner and Sunday lunch. Book two to three weeks ahead as a minimum for weekend slots; midweek is more forgiving. The venue draws from a wide catchment including Oxford, Reading, and London day-trippers, so do not assume availability without checking.
| Detail | Sir Charles Napier | Comparable Peers |
|---|---|---|
| Price range | £££ | Hand and Flowers (Marlow) , £££; Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons (Great Milton) , ££££ |
| Booking difficulty | Moderate | Hand and Flowers , harder; Le Manoir , harder |
| Setting | Converted pub, Chilterns hamlet | Hand and Flowers , pub; Le Manoir , country house hotel |
| Michelin recognition | Plate (2024, 2025) | Hand and Flowers , 2 Stars; Le Manoir , 2 Stars |
| Leading for | Weekend lunch/dinner, celebrations | Hand and Flowers , same; Le Manoir , overnight stays |
For more options in the area, see our full Chinnor restaurants guide, our full Chinnor hotels guide, our full Chinnor bars guide, our full Chinnor wineries guide, and our full Chinnor experiences guide.
Against Modern British peers in the Chilterns and Thames Valley, the closest direct comparison is Hand and Flowers in Marlow , two Michelin stars, a pub setting, and a similar weekend-destination profile. Hand and Flowers is the better kitchen and harder to book, but Sir Charles Napier is the easier reservation and offers a comparable occasion feel at a lower price point. For a country house experience with overnight stays, Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Great Milton is the obvious upgrade , two stars, ££££, and a very different budget conversation. Sir Charles Napier sits sensibly between the two for diners who want Michelin-recognised quality without committing to either the booking battle or the top-tier spend.
Wider afield, hide and fox in Saltwood and 33 The Homend in Ledbury occupy a similar tier: Michelin-recognised, regional, and occasion-appropriate. Neither is in direct competition geographically, but both are worth knowing if you are planning a rural dining trip in England. For something further afield with a higher ceiling, Midsummer House in Cambridge or Gidleigh Park in Chagford both offer a step up in formality and price. Other notable Modern British destinations worth comparing include L'Enclume in Cartmel, Moor Hall in Aughton, Opheem in Birmingham, and Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in Auchterarder.
For comparable dining in a country house setting, see Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Great Milton or The Fat Duck in Bray. For London Modern British at the leading of the market, CORE by Clare Smyth and The Ritz Restaurant are the reference points. Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in Auchterarder is worth considering if you are open to a longer journey for a comparable occasion-focused experience.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Charles Napier | Modern British | This truly lovely spot has always had a certain quirky charm – and that remains true to this day, with the restaurant having undergone little change over the years and emanating a comforting familiarity. In summer, start with an aperitif in the delightful garden dotted with backlit sculptures; at other times, sit beside the log fire and get cosy among the eclectic décor. The kitchen makes good use of quality ingredients to create dishes whose flavours are punchy and pronounced, while the wine list is a labour of love.; Given its location in a Chilterns hamlet, this comely old pub-turned-restaurant needs to attract custom from afar – and it has long been successful, establishing a covetable reputation for high-quality food. Chef Andrew Lewis is keeping the kitchen on track, nudging the operation forward with a range of concise menus suffused with eclectic Anglo-European flavours. Appetisers – perhaps a delicate, creamy broccoli and Stilton tart – are served to guests seated on sofas in the venerable beamed bar. Beyond, is a choice of smart dining areas furnished with unclothed tables and upholstered wooden chairs, plus a leafy terrace and capacious lawned beer garden. Even early in the evening, there’s a romantic feel to the place: art on the walls, candles on tables, smoochy jazz on the sound-system and curvaceous sculptures of wildlife dotted around. Beautifully presented dishes add to the allure: a large piece of sherry-glazed pork neck arrives with thinly sliced peach and dabs of peach ‘ketchup’, the ensemble boosted substantially by a little mound of pâté-like pesto. An inspection meal continued with a compendium of piscine flavours: a large chunk of accurately cooked monkfish sharing a plate with a dolma (the vine leaf stuffed with cuttlefish and flavoured with thyme), a dollop of mustard and dulse relish, half a preserved lemon, hazelnut pâté and a creamy smoked-eel sauce. Puddings, too, show technical skill, with a perfectly risen blackberry soufflé complemented by a tangy blackberry sorbet; only a thin crème anglaise missed the mark. The voluminous wine list seems old-fashioned by comparison, with the Old World dominating an unannotated line-up arranged by region. Service, from the kindly proprietress and her young staff, is obliging and swift.; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | Moderate | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Modern British | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Contemporary European, French | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Modern French | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| The Ledbury | Modern European, Modern Cuisine | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Modern British, Traditional British | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Chinnor for this tier.
Yes — it is one of the stronger options for a celebration in the Chilterns. The combination of a beamed bar with sofa seating for aperitifs, candlelit dining rooms, art-covered walls, and a Michelin Plate kitchen gives the occasion a genuine sense of event. For a low-key anniversary or birthday lunch where atmosphere matters as much as the food, it works well. If you want a more formal, multi-course production, Hand and Flowers in Marlow (two Michelin stars) sets a higher bar.
The format starts in the bar: appetisers are served to guests seated on sofas in the beamed bar area before you move through to the dining rooms. First-timers who skip the bar phase miss part of how the meal is structured. The venue sits in a Chilterns hamlet, so you are driving or arranging a car — there is no practical public transport option. The price range sits at £££, so factor that in against the journey.
The venue data does not confirm a fixed tasting menu format, so it would be misleading to give a direct verdict on that specific offering. What the kitchen does produce, based on available information, is concise menus with Anglo-European flavours at the £££ price point, with dishes showing consistent technical skill. check the venue's official channels to confirm current menu formats before booking with that expectation in mind.
For a weekend lunch or dinner, booking two to three weeks ahead is a sensible minimum given its reputation as a destination restaurant that draws custom from well beyond Chinnor. Given it holds a Michelin Plate and has an established following in the Chilterns, popular Saturday slots will fill faster than that. Weekday bookings are likely more available, but check the restaurant directly for current lead times.
At £££, it sits in the range where you expect cooking to back up the bill — and the Michelin Plate recognition suggests the kitchen delivers at that level. The setting adds genuine value: sculptures in the garden, a log fire in winter, and a proprietress-led service style that is warm rather than corporate. Compared with Hand and Flowers in Marlow, you are paying less for one fewer Michelin star and a more relaxed format, which is a reasonable trade for many diners.
The bar at Sir Charles Napier is used for aperitifs and appetisers as part of the dining sequence, not as a standalone eating area in the way a pub bar would be. Whether the bar can be booked independently for a more informal meal is not confirmed in available information — call ahead if that is the format you want rather than assuming it is available.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
