The Oak Tree Restaurant – Cotswold Wildlife Park, Burford

Having a big get together with friends is always harder than one thinks it would be. Everyone has their own schedules and weekends get booked up fairly fast. After fifteen years of first meeting each other, and now with some of the friends having children in tow, we managed it. Hence a day out at the Cotswold Wildlife Park was suggested; something to entertain us big kids as well as the young ones.

Most of the morning was spent wondering around outdoors looking at the array of animals and the pretty gardens. As it was getting to lunchtime, the temperature started to drop and the hunger started to kick in. It was definitely time to head indoors to get warm and to re-energise.

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The Oak Tree Restaurant is in the grand Manor House building. It has more of the feel of a canteen than a restaurant but it does serve its purpose. There is hot food that is made fresh on site using local produce. All of the food is behind the glass counters and is served rather than it being self service. There is also a range of cold sandwiches, cakes and hot drinks on offer.

As it had been a bit chilly outside, I was in the need of something hearty and comforting. The soup of the day, Chicken and Sweetcorn, sounded perfect. It was supposed to come with a bread roll but I had a craving for the mashed potato. The staff let me have a side of mashed potato instead of the bread.

Big chunks of chicken made up the soup and together with the sweetcorn, it was really tasty. The creamy mashed potato did not disappoint either. The soup with the mashed potato was right up my street.

The other hot food that was on offer was burgers, sausages, chicken nuggets, jacket potatoes. The meals are available in children’s portions and they also have baby bowl portions too.

The staff were friendly and even though the cafe was busy, they kept clearing up the tables and tried to show us tables that were going to be free soon. The best way is to take a seat as soon as you see a table empty, otherwise you may be waiting a short while to get a table. The only problem that we found was that the queue for the hot food was really long and it moved fairly slowly. It would be better if there were more staff behind the hot food counter.

The Oak Tree Restaurant is nothing fancy but it does do good food. The gluten free chocolate cakes that my friends had went down a treat too and they were of a good portion size. All fed and watered, we were ready to do some more exploring.

This was a wonderful day spent with good friends and their families. It just shows that some friendships are made to last, no matter how many years go by!

The Oak Tree Restaurant, Cotswold Wildlife Park, Bradwell Grove, Burford, Oxfordshire, OX18 4JP

Rating: ★★★★☆
The Oak Tree Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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