Mamma Mia, Walton Street

On occasion I'm asked which restaurants in Oxford I think are good places to take young families, but as someone with no children in my life I'm never sure what to say. So when I walked into Mamma Mia in Jericho one Friday night and saw several tables of families indulging in an end-of-the-week treat I thought I finally had an answer: surely a friendly Italian restaurant would be an ideal place to go with the bambini? But although the youngsters and their parents seemed to be enjoying themselves, I was disappointed.

[Out of Oxford] The Pig, Brockenhurst

The Pig's website has a whole page devoted to the coverage it has received from publications like the Times, GQ and Vogue. This Hampshire hotel and restaurant is clearly becoming a very popular and fashionable spot (with prices to match) and certainly doesn't need me to alert more people to its existence. But the meal I had there was so impressive that I feel bound to commemorate it.