The Gorgeous New Farm Kitchen Bringing Wagyu, Steak Frites And Smash Burgers To Lopemede

2026-08-26T14:24:51Z

There’s something rather lovely about eating good food in the countryside — particularly when there’s a herd of Wagyu cattle casually grazing nearby and your dinner involves steak, chips and a very good excuse to stay for another drink.

That’s the thinking behind Fallow & Fields Kitchen, the new venture from husband-and-wife team Debbie and Tom at Lopemede Farm near Thame. And, frankly, it’s a pretty good one. After years spent working as professional wedding and event caterers, the pair have now opened their own kitchen in the farm’s converted straw barn, bringing their cooking to the public six days a week. And they haven’t exactly gone for a bowl of soup and a cheese toastie.

The Lowdown

Fallow & Fields Kitchen is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am–4pm, with late nights on Fridays and Saturdays until 10pm (last orders 9.30pm).

The idea is refreshingly simple: good British produce, seasonal cooking and a relaxed place to eat, drink and hang out. Expect Wagyu beef, smash burgers, steak frites, homemade cakes and ice cream, alongside local beer and cider and locally roasted coffee. In other words, we found that you could easily come for breakfast, stay for lunch and somehow find yourself ordering steak at sunset.

We’ve all made worse decisions.

The Vibe

Set within Lopemede Farm, the kitchen sits beneath a converted barn surrounded by open fields and grazing cattle. It’s rustic without feeling twee, and there’s a pleasing lack of fuss about the whole thing. This is countryside dining without the need for a tweed jacket, a £14 jar of chutney or someone explaining the provenance of a carrot for seven minutes. The open-plan kitchen gives the place a lively, sociable feel, while the surrounding farm provides the sort of backdrop you simply can’t manufacture in a town-centre restaurant. It’s particularly appealing when the sun starts dropping over the fields. Which is presumably why those Friday and Saturday evenings exist.

The Food

The menu is built around the sort of food you actually want to eat. Smash burgers bring the obligatory crispy edges and indulgent, messy appeal, while the steak frites are exactly the sort of dish that makes a countryside supper feel like a very good idea.And then there’s the Wagyu beef — rather fitting given that the cattle grazing around the farm are part of the story here.

Tom and Debbie’s background in weddings and events is a big part of what makes the concept work. They know how to feed people, and more importantly, how to create food that feels generous and celebratory rather than overly precious. Save room for the homemade cakes and ice cream, too. Because apparently walking past them without ordering something is an exercise in self-control we’re not particularly interested in undertaking.

More Than Just Dinner

One of the nicest things about Fallow & Fields is that it isn’t trying to be simply another restaurant. There are monthly supper clubs, sunset steak frites evenings, live music and plenty happening around the farm throughout the year.

Most Saturdays, Lopemede also hosts live music, with open-mic sessions designed to be enjoyed by families and friends. You can get involved, or simply sit back with a drink while someone else takes responsibility for the singing. A wise choice, depending on the strength of your vocal abilities.

Lopemede Artisan Market

The farm’s Artisan Market is another reason to put Lopemede in the diary. Held on the second Sunday of each month from March to December, the market runs from 10am–3pm, bringing together independent makers, artists, artisan food producers, growers and small local businesses.

It’s deliberately curated rather than crammed with stalls for the sake of it, with an emphasis on quality, local produce and independent traders. There’s also live music, while Fallow & Fields takes care of the important business of breakfast, coffee and lunch. So yes, you can browse handmade goods while eating something delicious. A dangerous combination for both your stomach and your bank account.

Good For

• A relaxed countryside lunch
• Friday or Saturday evening drinks and dinner
• Steak-and-chips enthusiasts
• Families looking for a proper day out
• Coffee and cake stops
• Live music
• Monthly market browsing
• Private celebrations and events
• Anyone who likes knowing where their food comes from

Not For

If you’re after hushed fine dining, tiny portions and three different spoons for reasons nobody can adequately explain, this probably isn’t your place.

And that’s precisely why we like it.

The Damage

The beauty of Fallow & Fields is that you can make the visit as simple or as much of an occasion as you like.

Pop in for coffee and cake. Grab a burger. Settle in for steak frites and a drink on a Friday night. Or time your visit with the Artisan Market and make a proper afternoon of it.

There’s no need to turn it into an expedition.

Although once you’re sitting beneath the barn, looking out over the fields with a plate of chips in front of you, you may not be in much of a hurry to leave.

Need To Know

Fallow & Fields Kitchen
Lopemede Farm, near Thame

Open: Tuesday–Sunday, 10am–4pm
Late opening: Friday & Saturday until 10pm
Last orders: 9.30pm

Lopemede Artisan Market: Second Sunday of each month, March–December, 10am–3pm.

The Verdict

Fallow & Fields Kitchen feels like the sort of place Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire could use more of: proper local food, a beautiful rural setting and people who clearly know how to feed a crowd without making a song and dance about it.

The combination of Wagyu, smash burgers, steak frites, homemade cakes, local drinks and live music makes it an easy recommendation — but it’s the setting and the relaxed atmosphere that give it staying power.

Our advice? Go hungry, check what’s happening at the farm before you visit, and give yourself more time than you think you’ll need. This is somewhere to settle in, not simply stop off.