The Duke’s Summer Garden at Bicester Village

Bicester Village has always been better in summer. There’s an open-air layout and the long days give the sense that a trip here can stretch beyond the shopping and into an afternoon with nowhere particular to be. This summer, there’s a specific reason to make the most of that.

The Duke’s Summer Garden is a new outdoor space at Bicester Village, created in partnership with The Double Red Duke. It’s open through the summer and closes in September, which means the window to visit is narrower than it might feel from here. Here’s what it is and why it’s worth planning around.

What the Summer Garden is

The Duke’s Summer Garden is a dedicated outdoor dining and drinking space, separate from the main restaurant, built for the kind of summer afternoon that doesn’t require a full table booking to justify. A Defender bar sits at the centre of it — which is exactly as good an idea as it sounds — alongside outdoor seating designed for people who want to settle in rather than pass through.

The full Double Red Duke menu is available: bar snacks, drinks, the open-fire kitchen in full operation. The setting is different from the restaurant inside, but the cooking is the same.

The Defender bar

The Defender bar is the detail that makes the Summer Garden its own thing rather than just a terrace extension of the restaurant. It’s a proper outdoor bar with drinks for the summer well considered, think cocktails, draught beer and cold drinks in a setting that manages to feel like a Cotswold haven even inside a designer outlet village. The combination is unlikely on paper and works well in practice.

It’s the right place to be on a Friday afternoon if you’ve come to Bicester Village by train, when you’ve done what you came to do, and the idea of heading straight back to London feels like the wrong call. Order something cold, sit in the garden, let the afternoon go where it goes.

How to use the Summer Garden

The garden works as a standalone visit, you don’t need a restaurant booking to use it. Walk in, take a seat at the bar or at one of the outdoor tables and order from the menu. It’s the most low-commitment version of a Double Red Duke visit, and it’s genuinely good.

If you want to combine it with a full meal or afternoon tea on the terrace, both are bookable in advance. Afternoon tea in particular works well as a Summer Garden visit with a structure to it — scones, sandwiches, 100 Hills sparkling wine, and the garden around you. A reasonable way to spend a Saturday.

It’s open until September

The Summer Garden is a seasonal offering. It closes in September, which makes August the last full month to visit. If you’re planning a Bicester Village trip between now and the end of summer, building the garden into the plan is worth doing as it’s not something you can come back for in October.

The August bank holiday weekend will be busy so a mid-week visit or an early Saturday morning is the quieter option if you want the garden without the crowd.

Getting to Bicester Village

Bicester Village has its own railway station, with direct trains from London Marylebone taking around 46 minutes. By road, the village is well-signposted from the M40 and parking is straightforward. The Double Red Duke is inside the village, follow the signs once you’re through the main entrance. The Summer Garden is part of the Double Red Duke space.

The Double Red Duke beyond the garden

The Summer Garden is new for 2026, but the Double Red Duke at Bicester Village has been open since November 2025. The restaurant inside serves breakfast, lunch and dinner all week. The bar is worth stopping at on its own. Afternoon tea is also bookable in advance. If the garden gives you a reason to visit, the rest of the restaurant is a reason to stay longer.

For a longer Cotswolds trip, our original Double Red Duke in Clanfield is around 40 minutes from Bicester with 19 bedrooms, a great kitchen and a shepherd’s hut treatment room. A good combination if the summer garden visit turns into a weekend plan.