LEADING food critic Jay Rayner has given a new Summertown restaurant a very positive review, saying a visit would be worth ‘saving up for’.

The highs and lows of food critics in Oxfordshire

He called in at Pompette in South Parade and tucked in to a whole globe artichoke, a deep bowl of fish soup, a snowy piece of hake with Umbrian lentils and thick-cut lamb chops, which had been given a ‘proper seeing to by the grill’.

READ AGAIN: Pompette Summertown: European restaurant with rotating menu opens

He stayed for dessert, ‘an impeccable disc of meringue, filled with whipped cream and piled with candy pink rhubarb and bright green pistachio nuts’.

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Mr Rayner praised the work of chef Pascal Wiedemann and and said: “Starters meander around the £10 mark with mains at a little more than double that. The bill will mount up if you go for it.

“Then again a place like this is worth saving up for.”

READ MORE: Why Pompette is the new place to go

The Observer critic concluded: “There’s a strong choice of wines by the glass and half-litre carafe, starting at a reasonable £19 a bottle. Put that together with their three-course fixed price lunch menu at £20 and Pompette can be good value, though there’s no pretending: the main menu pricing is robust."

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In October Mr Rayner savaged The Parsonage Grill in Banbury Road, claiming his meal there was ‘utterly unmemorable’.

READ AGAIN: Parsonage Grill review: readers react

He conceded that the presentation of the food was ‘nice enough’ . The restaurant is listed as the second best venue for ‘fine dining’ in Oxford on TripAdvisor.