Pit Kitchen

Todenham

Fire, farm and a very short menu

Pit Kitchen lives at The Old Piggery in Todenham, a quiet village a couple of miles from Moreton-in-Marsh, and it runs on a principle that sounds obvious but is surprisingly rare: cook a few things really, really well, source almost everything from the fields and farms within a few miles, and let the fire do the talking. George Uren heads the kitchen and Adam Thomas runs front of house, and between them they have built one of our favourite places to eat out anywhere near the cottage. Everything comes off open coals and out of the smoke, so the flavours are bold and the menu is short and seasonal, built around whatever the local farms have ready that week.

What we love is the feel of the whole thing. It is relaxed, unhurried and a little bit wild in the best way, the sort of long, slow evening where the fire and the festoon lights do most of the work and nobody is in a hurry to clear your table. The drive over from Ledwell takes around half an hour through some of the prettiest lanes in the area, and we always book ahead, because word has very much got out. Bring the dog too; they are genuinely welcome here, not merely tolerated.

What to expect on the plate

• Cooked over flameBold, fire-led food with global influences, from chicken over flaming coals to slow-cooked pork belly, all of it off the open pit rather than a gas hob or fryer.
• Small plates to shareThe format leans towards sharing, so a table of you can graze across several dishes and sides such as homemade chips, sourdough flatbreads and herby rice rather than everyone ordering their own main.
• Local to the fieldMeat comes from Todenham Manor Farm just up the road and produce from Drinkwater Farm nearby, so the menu genuinely changes with what is ready rather than a fixed year-round list.
• Something sweet at the endPuddings are worth leaving room for, with the kitchen turning out things like dark chocolate mousse and doughnuts to finish a long evening by the fire.

Knowing when it is open

This is the one thing worth checking before you set off. Pit Kitchen runs seasonally rather than every night of the year, and the days shift a little with the calendar, so we always glance at the current hours on their own site before booking. In the warmer months it is very much an outdoor, garden affair; more recently they have added an all-weather covered space beside the barn, with log fires and hops strung from the ceiling, which extends the season into the colder half of the year. Whatever the weather, there is shelter, so a bit of Cotswold drizzle is no reason to cancel. Book online through their site, and if you are a larger group it is worth emailing ahead rather than turning up on spec.

Making an evening of it

Todenham sits in a lovely pocket of the north Cotswolds, so it is easy to build a whole day around dinner here. Batsford Arboretum is a short drive away for an afternoon walk beforehand, and if Pit Kitchen happens to be between seasons or fully booked, there is no shortage of good food nearby. The Horse and Groom at Bourton-on-the-Hill and The Ebrington Arms are both excellent, and the fire-cooked plates at Herd in Kingham are a natural next stop if the open pit is your thing. For the full picture, our guide to eating and drinking in the area runs from village pubs to farm-to-table restaurants and everything in between.

“Genuinely one of those places where every single thing on the plate earns its spot. Book it, bring the dog, sit outside and let the fire do the work.”

Visit the official site →

Also nearby

• Batsford Arboretum · Gardens · Todenham
• The Horse and Groom · Gastropub · Bourton-on-the-Hill
• The Ebrington Arms · Pub · Ebrington
• The Fox at Oddington · Pub · Oddington