Oxford, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

It's “not somewhere to linger and have an elegant time” and “there isn't really any service as such”, but this ethical/organic church-crypt café remains a “regular refuelling stop” for its “great selection of hot and cold food served up generously, canteen-style” (“come hungry”). “Outside tables offer a spectacular outlook over the Radcliffe Camera and Radcliffe Square.”

“Where Oxford goes to feel at home” – this “large, sophisticated venue with a buzzy atmosphere” and “lovely courtyard” in the city centre’s Old Bank Hotel serves “food that’s never over-worked and always great value”. “Celebrated our civil partnership here with our witnesses not long ago – where else?”

A “cosy restaurant with excellent food in the centre of Oxford, with a particular focus on seafood” and a Gallic touch to its brasserie cooking, as well as a stylish green-walled interior and dedicated bars for cocktails AND Champagne/oysters. It’s “well worth a visit”, especially at lunch when the “prix fixe menu always delivers, and is a steal at about £12 for two courses”.

The “stunning rooftop location” makes this museum restaurant with above-average cooking a popular spot for lunch and afternoon tea in the middle of Oxford. An open-air cocktail bar with deckchairs attracts a “buzzy crowd” of locals as well as students and tourists in summer.

This ‘hyper environmental’ seasonal restaurant, wine bar and wine shop launched in Jericho in May 2021, taking over a former Café Rouge with 90 covers and a large terrace. Very early reports are hard to read (hence no rating) but the wine list seems an undoubted attraction (and there are over 400 vintages available in the adjoining shop). It also has a sibling in Salisbury and sister business in Frome.

The “amazing location in an old greenhouse” – built in 1897 and now Grade II listed – ensures that a meal “always feels a little bit special” at this 33-year-old venue in elegantly academic north Oxford. The cooking struggles to match the setting, though, being little more than “competent but unexceptional”.

“Atmospheric and busy” – this well-known and frequently rammed gastropub has not quite kept up with the gastronomic achievements of its illustrious London stablemates, the Anchor & Hope and Canton Arms. Thin feedback this year, to the effect that “it can get over stretched but is better than average”.

2018 Review: “An excellent location by the Thames” and “inviting Tardis-like interior” draws “crowds and busyness” to this mega-popular inn. The “unpretentious” pub grub can seem “ordinary”, but most reporters find it “generous and affordable” (and if it all get too much, “just close your eyes and think of Inspector Morse”, whose favourite haunt this is).

“Always reliable” – this atmospheric old pub in a village near Oxford wins solid ratings for its “excellent gastropub food, charming staff and beautiful garden”. “You know it’s going to be really good” – and “prices are reasonable”, too.

2021 Review: A “buzzy, busy pub” with nine rooms plus flagstone floors, oak beams and slouchable leather armchairs; while the food is perhaps good rather than stellar, they’re “trying hard” and it’s handily located if you’re en route in or out of Oxford.

Despite its weird and wonderful decor, this lavishly decked out hotel not far from Oxford – a fixture of the area for over a quarter of a century – attracts relatively little feedback nowadays. It’s all still positive though, especially when it comes to the Thai dining room (there’s also a more traditional, British one). Service is “very engaged” and the classic twelve-dish sharing menu “well presented and flavoured food that reflects the cuisine”, without being “touristy”.

“Mike and Imogen deliver the perfect product – Mike creating sublime food from the kitchen and Imogen creating a wonderful front-of-house welcome and service” at this thatched pub with a “lovely garden” to boost the already rural setting. “The quality of all the produce is superb and whether you are an omnivore or a vegetarian you are going to have a wonderful meal.”