Wolvercote Restaurant Guide

Five-year-old French bistro in Summertown offering “a limited but well-executed menu”, alongside “delightful service and a warm and friendly ambience”. Chef-patron Pascal Wiedermann (ex-Racine, Terroirs and Six Portland Place), who runs it with his wife Laura, scatters his Gallic cuisine with touches from across Europe. Even fans, though, say “sometimes the food is excellent, but unfortunately it can be variable”. Top Tip – “look out for the early evening drink and snack offers”.

Either a short drive or leafy stroll from Oxford, surrounded by Port Meadow, this beautifully located Thames-side inn is as cosy in winter as it is glorious in summer with its conservatory and large garden. There’s a wide-ranging menu that’s not particularly ‘foodie’ but realised very competently.

This “wonderful conservatory dining room in trendy North Oxford” – a former Victorian florists’ that provides a “lovely greenhouse” effect – has been a fixture of the city’s dining scene for four decades and its good looks ensure it’s perennially booked out. But despite a costly overhaul a couple of years ago, doubts about its gastronomic qualities persist: “it’s still hard to fathom how the food is so underpowered” is a typical complaint.

This big, buzzy millennium-born Jericho brasserie-plus-deli “continues to provide good-value, reliably cooked food” (with an Italian slant, but ranging further into the Med) and is accordingly “always busy”. The handsome interior (exposed-brick walls, parquet floor) is abetted by “ample outdoor space for the few sunny days”, though mysteriously they still haven’t launched the five bedrooms that have been touted for quite some time now.

With “marvellous art on its walls” and a “nice dining courtyard” (remodelled last summer in imitation of Yves Saint Laurent’s garden in Marrakech) – this inviting and luxurious, small hotel in a 17th-century former vicarage near the city centre is a good bet for a meal in the Grill, or a “good-value afternoon tea (one can be easily shared between two people)”.

This “long-standing favourite” a short walk from the city centre woos customers with a “wonderfully consistent bistro menu” of “genuine Gallic fare” offered at “a set price including lots of choice”. Exceptionally “good value for money” means guests are happy to overlook downsides, which include occasional “unfriendly service”, “cramped surroundings” and “hard wooden seats which could do with some cushioning”. These days a “really well run independent”, it split off from a national chain which collapsed in 1998.

A meal at this “great location on the roof of the Ashmolean” makes the perfect culmination of a mooch around the museum (or a visit in its own right) – but it can seem a little “mediocre unless you’re outside on the terrace”.

This “backstreet gem in the centre of Oxford” is “such a nice place to eat”, with a “very nice ambience, like a traditional small French bistro”, “relaxed service”, and an “old favourites-type menu with one or two twists”, featuring “particularly well cooked but not adventurous dishes” (including “absolutely perfect fish”). Top Tip – “the daily special lunch for £16.50 is the best-value set price menu in town”.

“You can’t go wrong if you order tonkotsu” at this ramen group from Tak Tokumine of the Japan Centre – the noodles and 12-hour pork bone broth are “authentic” and some of the “best in town”. The venues can be “cramped”, and “the constant banging of a drum to indicate dishes being ready can grate”.

“LOVE this chain and would happily eat there any day!” – These “always buzzy” Nordic operations (originating in Copenhagen 30 years ago) provide a “tasty mix of sushi and grilled yakitori kebabs” in Scandi-minimalist dining spaces. One or two reporters hesitate at the prices for these luscious morsels – “not sure you can justify the cost of leaving full up” – but the overall satisfaction-level is high. They added a branch in Richmond’s former House of Fraser in May 2024 followed by another on Islington Green in September.

“Fabulous home-style Japanese cooking” emerges from the kitchen at Meiko & Peter Galpin’s Oxford institution, now in its 27th year – “you may need to queue to get into the tiny restaurant and share a table, but that only adds to the authenticity of this wonderful place” and its “very friendly atmosphere”. It makes no claim to be a standard restaurant, serving only a set lunch and set dinner, with an in-demand sushi night on Thursdays.

“The building is the star” at this stalwart in a cosy Elizabethan house quaintly tucked down a medieval alley off the High. These days it’s “under strong competition” locally (and perhaps “unlikely to recover its crown as long as Oli’s Thai continues in some form”), but many “still get drawn here for the green chicken curry” – long a standout – and, while, “it’s not fine-dining”, it “remains a dependable option” where “for a fair price you get a huge choice of Thai staples”.

“This gem of a self-service café is the perfect spot for lunch in historic Oxford city centre” on long trestle tables or in the garden; combining “good-value wholesome food” – everything from “vegan dishes to Asian curries and lovely cakes” – with a “buzzing atmosphere” and “the most fabulous location behind the University Church with stunning views to the Radcliffe Camera”. But while “it’s the setting that makes this café special” it also threatens its future after 20 years, with its church landlord wanting to evict it to make way for its own social enterprise. The legal battle is expected to be settled in the High Court this year.

This “airy and bright” brasserie in the Old Bank hotel – replete with charming interior courtyard – has a notably “vibrant atmosphere” that means it’s generally packed (a little too packed come graduation day and Christmas). While the odd cynic feels that it’s merely “trading off its good location” in the middle of the High, there was also praise this year for its “very good- value set lunch menu” (two courses £25.50, three courses £30.50).

“More hit ’n’ miss than they used to be, but still a go-to chain” – the Elliot brothers’ successful group is heading towards 20 branches in the capital, but “still producing quality dishes despite becoming quite a brand”: “lovely scorched, pillowy-based pizzas with plenty of power in the ingredients” and “reasonably priced for the quality!” Latest to launch, in June 2024, was a branch by Euston.

The “beautifully cooked fish” is “great value” at this popular restaurant “just across Magdalen Bridge, so very handy for the city centre”. Fish-phobes have plenty of options, too, with burger, vegan and kids’ menus on offer. Top Menu Tip – “the Fritto Misto is exceptional, and a family favourite”.

This converted chemist’s shop from the Oli’s Thai team remains a big local favourite, inspiring lots of positive feedback from a sizeable Oxford-based fan base. Take a seat at the popular zinc counter, or profit from the “great bar” next door, offering cocktails and Spanish wines. NB – it’s only “open during the latter part of the week (Thu-Sun) and reservations fill fast”, so this isn’t the place to rock up unannounced.

This “big old pub with a jolly, slightly bohemian atmosphere” is a well-known “gastro-pub (with the emphasis on gastro)”. It achieves solid and still-plentiful support in our annual diners’ poll, despite a feeling that “the food falls well short of the standards at its London siblings, Anchor & Hope and Canton Arms”. Top Menu Tip – “the suet crust steak-and-ale pie to share is a lovely, lovely thing”.

Don’t expect to linger after you’ve queued for a perch at this archetypal studenty canteen in the heart of the ‘Dreaming Spires’. For an excellent refuel that won’t break the bank, it’s just the job offering piping hot bowls of lick-the-plate-clean ramen and spicy curries, all at student-loan-friendly prices.