Antony Worrall Thompson picks up third gastro pub

Television chef Antony Worrall Thompson has bought the freehold of a 16th-century pub near his Oxfordshire home.

The star of Saturday Kitchen and Ready Steady Cook plans to turn the Lamb at Satwell, near Henley-on-Thames, into a "pub bistro" serving traditional British dishes and real ales.

Worrall Thompson, who owns a string of London restaurants, already runs two other pubs - the Angel at Heytesbury, Wiltshire, and the Greyhound Free House and Grill at Rotherfield Peppard, Oxfordshire.

He joins fellow celebrity chefs Heston Blumenthal, Jean-Christophe Novelli, Phil Vickery, and Marco Pierre White among others who are moving into the gastro-pub sector. Worrall Thompson says that the Lamb, which opens next month, will be different to his other pub ventures in that nothing on the menu will cost more than £10 and there will be a 'no bookings' policy.

He said: "The Lamb will only have 30 covers and the plan is that people will have a drink at the bar and have to wait for a table to eat.

"The average spend with wine will be about £18, but then people will be able to eat for less if they just have one course and tap water, although that's not something I'll be encouraging!

"We'll be doing simple food - steak and kidney pudding, shepherd's pie, fish pie - but using very good ingredients, most of it sourced locally."

As well as three real ales, the Lamb will also be serving six red wines and six whites by the glass.