Bicester Village in December is a specific kind of experience. The shopping is efficient, over 150 designer and premium brands in a well-laid-out space, and the crowds are manageable if you time it right. What it has always been slightly short on is somewhere worth eating once the shopping is done.
The Double Red Duke at Bicester Village has been open since November 2025, inside the village itself. The same open-fire kitchen that made the original Double Red Duke in Clanfield one of the more talked-about restaurants in Oxfordshire operates here. The premise is straightforward: park, shop, eat, leave. Or park, eat, shop, eat again. Either works.
Timing your visit
December weekends at Bicester Village get busy early. Arriving before 10am gives you the quietest version of the shopping. Mid-week visits are calmer still. The Double Red Duke is open from breakfast through to dinner, which means it works at any point in the day, whether you want a full English before a morning of shopping or a sit-down dinner before the drive home.
What to eat
The menu runs all day. Breakfast covers the classics: a full English, eggs several ways and the DRD Muffin. From lunchtime, bar snacks work well if you’re not after a full table: chipolatas with mustard, a proper sausage roll, the Westcombe cheddar toastie with pickled walnut. Mains from the open-fire kitchen run to flat iron steak, rotisserie chicken, fish and chips.
Afternoon tea is also worth knowing about if the shopping trip is more occasion than errand. House-made scones, sandwiches, cakes and 100 Hills sparkling wine from an Oxfordshire vineyard. Book ahead for this one, particularly in December.
New for this year you can come upstairs to our Winter Lodge. There’ll be crackling fires, mulled wine, melting cheese, charcuterie all from fantastic British suppliers. A touch of Alpine magic in Oxfordshire. No booking necssary.
Walk-in or book ahead
Dinner, lunch and afternoon tea can be booked in advance, worth doing in December when the village is at its busiest but we also always accept walk-ins. If there’s a wait, the bar is the right place to spend it: the Duke Dirty Martini, a Gimlet, Allsopp’s Best Bitter and a selection of English fine ciders.
Getting here
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 with parking on site. The Double Red Dukeright is just inside the main entrance just follow the signs.
Making a weekend of it
For anyone coming from further afield, the original Double Red Duke in Clanfield is about 25 minutes by car, with nineteen bedrooms and a shepherd’s hut treatment room. The Mason’s Arms in Clanfield, which opened eight bedrooms in September, adds another option for anyone wanting a base in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds rather than heading straight home.
