Oxford pubs and restaurants

What are your favourites?

Proud Larry's was my local -- a laid-back jam-band vibe, reasonable enough beer selection, good food (catfish po-boy, pesto pizza with chicken, good pasta specials), great live music.

Restaurants: City Grocery is a must-do. Apparently Ajax Diner has gotten a big rep, but it was just home cooking to me. Since I've left a few places have opened that I'd like to try -- a guy who trained under Mario Battali moved back and opened his own charcuterie-focused place. El Charro was standard Americanized Mexican food, but had a chimichanga special that would put you in a happy coma for a week. One lady moved there to be near her son who was going to college there and opened her own place, Cuban/Puerto Rican food, can't remember what it was called. Don't miss Abner's chicken tenders for late night alcohol absorption.

You were talking about Oxford, Mississippi, right?

And how about Oxford, UK?

http://www.oxfordcityguide.com/Eat/menus/AlShami.png

(click on the menu and it seems to enlarge it).

best curry joint is aziz on cowley road

the big obvious touristy pubs - turf, kings arms, perch, trout, vicky arms - are all worthwhile, the trout and the turf are especially classic.

yep. there's some nice places in north parade. that one italian.

Wow, C J, long time no see. Hope you're well and so on.

I may be somewhat undiscerning about food since I am pretty happy with nearly every restaurant meal I go for, but the Chiang Mai Kitchen (down one of the little alleys off Carfax end of the High St, near the Wheatsheaf/Chequers) does a good Thai meal, and my pick of the Chinese restaurants I've tried would be the Liaison (Castle St) or Xi'an in Summertown.

(I'm white btw, by which I mean to say that I don't demand and wouldn't recognise authentic Asian cooking, though the Liaison and the places on Hythe Bridge St seemed to have a fair percentage of Chinese customers in whenever I've been)

Can't actually remember the last non-pub meal I had in Oxford which wasn't Chinese/Thai/Japanese. The only one I can remember in the last few years is the gourmet sausage place on Walton St, which was very good the first time I went but a bit disappointing when I went back recently.

i can't remember what it's called but had delicious pork curry plus odd beancurd-esque peanut-butter toast type thing at small japanese place. c sharp minor will know where i mean.

holywell street i reckons

i have fond memories of the posh restaurant on the river up by the dragon school.

Hi :) I'm outstandingly well, thank you!

I know it's probably really not trendy to admit this, but for Chinese food I really quite like the Dancing Dragon, just past the shops in Summertown on the Banbury Road. It's one of those all-you-can-eat buffet places, and the decor is rubbish (plastic tablecloths ahoy) but for somewhere cheap and cheerful I think it's great. Always plenty of dishes to choose from.

Last time I went there, I was cornered at the buffet table by the most ginormous gentleman who tapped his nose conspiratorially and whispered "the secret is not to eat any of the rice dishes, they FILL YOU UP".

If small Japanese place seemed to be the low-ceilinged front room of someone's house then yes, Edamame on Holywell St. Food is good and there's something pleasingly eccentric about queuing in someone's hallway waiting for one of two or three tables in their living room to be free (they don't take bookings).

i have fond memories of the posh restaurant on the river up by the dragon school

Cherwell Boathouse! Lovely.

I'm told the Trout at Wolvercote has overhauled its menu & is supposed to be quite good at the moment : http://www.thetroutoxford.co.uk/food.htm I was supposed to go there last weekend, but in the end didn't make it.

I think Edamame is only open in term time.

small japanese place

not actually japanese! Boxy Chinese-run place that just happened to do awesome japanese-style curry; I've forgotten the exact name and it shut down a couple of years ago, but I'm fairly sure it lives on in Cafe Sojo on the Cowley Road. Sojo itself (on hythe bridge st) was always pretty fantastic for dim sum but I have not gone in years. I never eat in restaurants anymore.:(

I have not tried the Mexican place off Cornmarket but I've heard it's good.

Jamie Oliver's opened an Italian restaurant in the middle of town, and it's very nice indeed - I had a rocking pumpkin ravioli when I last went. It can be quite crowded and the queue can be long (no bookings) but persevere.

If you like fish, try Fishers in St Clements. Not mad expensive (paid £120 for 3 courses for 2 + 2 bottles of tasty pinot grigio) and really good food, the fish platter is enormous and fantastic.

The prawn linguine at Jamie's in Oxford is delicious.

Fisher's do a two-course weekday lunch for a fiver which is worth every penny.

For an out-of-town pub, I can also recommend the Talkhouse at Stanton St John. It used to be a Marco PIerre White place, but is now just an ordinary Fuller's pub - the food's nice enough though (and the roast belly pork with scallops and apple puree (which is so ubiquitous on menus these days) is utterly divine. http://www.thetalkhouse.co.uk/menu.htm

jamies is nice in the week but seems to take a dive on friday/saturday.

a planned walk from the station: the jam factory (for a pint), freuds (on walton street, for a pint), gardeners arms (jericho, for a pint and maybe food), gardeners arms (north parade, for a pint) with the italian on north parade a back-up food option. then catch a bus home.

^^ feelin this.

PEPPERS BURGERS fools

trout at wolvercote nice but one to avoid on sunny weekends ... gets ridiculously busy.

Gardeners Arms in north parade rather than the Rose and Crown?

Only ever been in the Gardener's - will check out the Rose, if you recommend it.

i really love the Rose and Crown but have never been to the Gardener's! Somehow crossing the street always seemed too big a step to take.

also looking for a pub/venue that is too quiet on a sunday afternoon and would welcome being taken over for dj sets (think: autechre-y, touch records, stars of the lid type musics), if anyone has any ideas?

My idea is that you shouldn't do this till I move back to Oxford (am still in Oxfordshire but have not many buses on a Sunday).

Seriously, I dunno. Used to know some people who did something similar in the upstairs room in the Wheatsheaf and they were happy enough to let us use the room but nobody we hadn't personally badgered into attending ever wandered in despite flyering. Also it was a bit dark for spending daylight hours in, and that was before it was redone in extra-dark toilet venue decor. I think it may even have had windows at the time.

That wasn't a venue suggestion, more anecdotal evidence that a pub could probably be found.

I went to Peppers last autumn and it wasn't as good as I remembered it being before it shut and reopened with new management. There was a bit of paper on the wall where the manager had written that he'd rather run a kebab shop but wanted customers to vote for burgers vs kebabs.

enjoyed "frevds" on walton street, though leftfield's first album didn't really suit the venue.

It's not in Oxford proper, but I recommend The Bib and Tucker if you like old men playing darts and wheezing on and on about their ruptures.

enjoyed "frevds" on walton street, though leftfield's first album didn't really suit the venue.

― djh, Friday, April 10, 2009 7:19 PM (44 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

hahahaha. it's the kind of thing i can imagine being played there when i last frequented it ~10~ years ago.

revived, ahead of the weekend ...

revived to ponder this ...

looking for a pub/venue that is too quiet on a sunday afternoon and would welcome being taken over for dj sets (think: autechre-y, touch records, stars of the lid type musics), if anyone has any ideas?

The first place I thought of would be the Brickworks down Cowley Road. I think that sort of thing would go down a treat. Dunno how free it is on Sunday night's tho . . .

thanks - will check it out

Looking for somewhere to eat, 10-15 minutes or so drive from Bicester. A nice pub, maybe?

the red cow in chesterton

a really lovely chill pub, food is surprisingly fancy and num - used to live in chesterton so biased but really recommend it.

enjoyed "frevds" on walton street, though leftfield's first album didn't really suit the venue.

haha i've heard them play this as well, a year later

freuds (like almost everywhere in jericho) seems to be kind of 'nice idea, doing it so so wrong'

A lovely pub/restaurant 10 mins drive from Bicester = http://thebellathamptonpoyle.co.uk/

Ta.

In the mood to discover some Oxford pubs.

Love both the Gardeners Arms (Plantation Road and North Parade), if that helps with suggestions.

Here http://www.nuttreeinn.co.uk/home.html was so, so good. The "deconstructed Lasagne" was incredible. Not cheap though.

.

Must be some where good to drink?

never did find somewhere to do this:

"also looking for a pub/venue that is too quiet on a sunday afternoon and would welcome being taken over for dj sets (think: autechre-y, touch records, stars of the lid type musics), if anyone has any ideas?"

Any thoughts on ...

bear inn
far from the madding crowd
harcourt arms
king's arms
lamb&flag
mason's arms
rose and crown
royal blenheim
turf tavern
white horse?

turf tavern: the secret pub that everyone in the entire world knows about.

i used to live above turf alley and EVERY SINGLE DAY some tour group would come by and the tour leader would be like, "this pub is a secret haunt, known only to oxford students!"-- yeah, uh, no. also i had the joy of being kept up at night by drunks on their way home, then woken up in the morning by recycling vans crunching glass and bar staff rolling kegs down the alley.

bear inn = never been there when not crowded, seems ok tho, apparently the pub quiz is all right?
madding crowd = crowd is a mix of it people and thesps, always seems to be a dude sitting at the bar who's happy to recommend you a beer
harcourt arms = lovely, quiet, reliable fuller's beer
ka = hellish when full, ok-ish when sparse, usually quite warm inside
lamb&flag = average iirc
mason's arms = no idea
rose and crown = nice atmosphere, food used to be good and is now mediocre, i'm very fond but i'm not fooling myself it's excellent or anything
royal blenheim = no idea
turf = well the beer's usually good but only if you like waiting a year to get served
white horse = pokey, good at non-peak hours

Best pub in Oxford IMO: Angel & Greyhound: http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/25/2575/Angel_and_Greyhound/Oxford

i have super good memories of the angel and greyhound, and being there with friends - and iirc it still has a bar billiards table! - but the beer isn't all that.

(We went to the Nepalese restaurant in the pub on Howard St instead and had an enjoyable meal, though more because it was an interesting change than for any objective culinary qualities, which I am pretty much not qualified to judge anyway.)

one person who doesn't eat beef and one person who doesn't like lamb

innocuous things that make me irrationally angry. srsly though who doesn't like lamb?!

i'm not a huge fan.

(+ apparently a lot of japanese people don't like it and think it smells bad?)

Has anyone checked out Edamame, the Japanese restaurant on Holywell Street? Going there week after next.

it's been there for like 15 years, right? i like it.

Yeh, it's been there for a while, I've just just never got round to it. My knowledge of Japanese food is embarrassingly slight, so I'm up for some yummy education.

good place, shut sometimes when students aren't in town.

i've heard it is overrated due to the only other option in town being yo sushi; like, there's a queue outside on their sushi days, and stuff.

i am just generally pissed off with the general crapness of oxford food tho so assume everything is at least 25% better than i think it is or have heard it is

it's okay but it's not super special and a bit overpriced iirc (have not eaten there in 3 or 4 years). the sushi days are probably the best days to go, queue notwithstanding.

i've heard it is overrated due to the only other option in town being yo sushi

and Yo Sushi only opened 2-3 years ago, too. Could definitely do with another Japanese restaurant in town (ok, I mainly mean a sushi-serving one or at least somewhere I can get a katsu don, so not counting the Wagamama or Red Star noodle bars).

I like Edamame but Japanophile friend was grousing about how it wasn't all that - still definitely worth visiting at least once though

Hoping the Gardener's Arms rumours are untrue.

Any thoughts on the Harcourt under new ownership? (Have still not managed to drink in there).

Drank in the revamped pub just along from the Harcourt - name escapes me, maybe something to do with a printing press - and it seemed to be doing an okay job of keeping locals (ie. those that had drunk in the old pub) happy while attracting new people. Food menu seemed expensive unless it is very good.

bookbinders

john finally gone from the harcourt? is he ok? i know he tore a ligament or sth in his knee and was finding it very difficult.

which gardener's arms is in trouble?

I think the landlord of the Harcourt had fallen down some stairs the first time I'd tried to go to the Harcourt (maybe around the time of my posts upthread). It closed but then re-opened fairly quickly with new landlords.

Gardener's Arms: the veggie one. Heard it was closing from a friend of a friend but it may be completely untrue.

yeah i posted about the stairs fall upthread.

are they confirmed new owners? john used to go on holiday about 2 weeks out of 8 or so and this couple would run it for him while he was away. not them?

pretty sure i read that it was new owners in the oxford times.

http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/9059511.Jericho_pubs_re_open_for_business/

this article is SO MUCH arsewater, as you'd expect from its byline, but also I have had some pleasant meals and many drinks in this place (West Oxford is v short on decent pubs - Perch good but too far and too busy) and now, ugh, do I really want to give these people more money? am I being... silly?

http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/opinions/graymatter/9656241.The_Prime_Minister_surprises_us_with_a_visit_to_The_Punter/

PS if you are unfortunate in timing a visit you too could hear Mr Gray living up to any prejudices you may have formed on reading his column
PPS the food has not been as good since their previous chef/barman left anyhow

Quite often read the Oxford Times ... Gray Matters really is dreadful, isn't it?

I am not sure which of his two pitches is more enraging, "how I met someone famous in 1978 who was clearly fascinated by my wit and enlightening use of the subjunctive" or "how the rules of cycling/garden maintenance/refuse collection should apply to everyone except me because I am very important and might be in a hurry"

(or the restaurant reviews, in which he fits the former via a story about how he first met the chef while golfing with a Bee Gee, plus the latter with a paragraph about his selected mode of transport to his meal, rounded off with a thrilling observation that his wife and her mother quite liked their starters)

Any suggestions for a *Christmas Day* meal out in Oxford(shire)?

i went to the perch last weekend for the first time since the fire(?)/change of ownership. it's set up like a restaurant now. i mean it's kind of cheesy but it was better than it used to be! not sure if they're open on xmas day though.

I see the Oxford Mail is suggesting The Black Boy (Headington), Weston Manor (Weston On The Green) and Majliss (Cowley Road).

Anyone been to the Oxford Arms in Kirtlington?

I know this isn't tripadvisor but why not try: to get to Oxford from Cambridge, is it better to go back to London, or is it better to take a bus or other transport directly from Cambridge to Oxford? I hope the latter but from net perusal I'm more confused than before.

& from Oxford to Coventry : any idea whether this is better by train or bus? so confused.

I'm very out of date on this stuff, but -
the Oxford-Cambridge coach ride is a bit of a pain (quite long, is all), but I wouldn't go in and out of London to dodge it. Coaches are comfortable and regular iirc.
I think I'd take the Oxford-Coventry train if you aren't broke. It's an easy journey.

yes money isn't too much of an object here. a long coach ride is ok. it seems like there ought to be a good rail connection between the two, but privatized transport ends up having its own inscrutable logic.

there used to be a direct train I think. Be prepared to see more of Bedford and Luton than you might have desired on your coach trip!

I have only ever been to London (and that but once), so this trip to the UK promises loads of novel fascinating provincial details.

there used to be a direct train I think. Be prepared to see more of Bedford and Luton than you might have desired on your coach trip!

Approximately a billion roundabouts too iirc. There was a direct link pre-60s; supposedly one reason Bletchley Park was where it was was because it was roughly halfway between the two on that line. I think there's talk of reviving part of the line too, but that doesn't help Euler right now either.

I agree with woof, I would probably take the coach (X5?) to Cambridge and the train to Coventry. Admittedly I haven't tried either method of getting to Cambridge but I've taken the train from Oxford to Birmingham a few times, which stops at Coventry iirc, and that's been reasonably quick and convenient each time, though be warned that trains in this country are expensive and get very full around commuter times.

NB I am possibly unusually averse to changing trains; a single cross-London change on the way to Cambridge shouldn't actually be that complicated and it would save you 1.5 hours (looks like 2.5 hours instead of the 4-hour coach journey), but if it's a busy time the tube will be completely packed, so be prepared to stand in someone else's armpit and for everyone (poss. including yourself) to curse you if you have luggage. Someone else might know if there's a better way to get from Paddington to King's Cross to change trains.

No, I'm with you, I would much rather take the extra 1.5 hours sitting and reading on a coach than doing a cross-London hop, even a short-ish one.

take the bus. they have wifi these days. london is shit.

I have to get to Cambridge from London also, but I'm taking the Chunnel over so I gather I can just walk across the street to change trains in order to get to Cambridge.

I'm used to long commutes these days; Paris is expensive like London. but our trains are cheap at least if you have a monthly pass (which employers have to pay at least 50%, yay socialism). and comfortable and reliable enough, unless there's a strike. so you can just live further away and commute into the city.

I'm more worried about the Eurostar's reliability for this trip tbh.

fwiw seems like the closure of the oxford/cambridge line predates privatisation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varsity_Line

"gardeners arms on north parade is good trad local pub."

still good? staying quite close to this for the next few nights, have tonight free, never been to an english pub

belly currently full of BEANS! first english breakfast too, in a cambridge college

If you've never been to an English pub go to the rose and crown opposite. Or for a longer walk, the harcourt arms.

I did go to the rose and crown after all and had a nice time.

beer seems very expensive here compared to other beer countries like say germany, at least the "real ale" I was drinking. but it was very good. hoping that others will be buying after my talk today.

wifi on the X5 was very good. ride itself was nondescript, had been hoping for some shenanigans like you get on usa greyhound trips (e.g. people fucking, brandishing weapons) but nothing. did see a lot more of milton keynes that I needed to.

rose and crown is a v expensive pub but beer in the uk is certainly more expensive than germany, it's true

royal oak tonight b/c it's across from the philo building, very nice. I like Oxford.

This thread inspires a wave of nostalgia for Ask A Drunk. We drunkards would have made a proper hash of it.

royal oak tonight b/c it's across from the philo building, very nice. I like Oxford.

That used to be my playground, do they still have a bar billiards table? (It's like pool but smaller and with the holes in the middle of the table.)

no they removed bar billiards some time in the last 5 years (was the default speaker drinks place after astro talks during my phd, and i was there last month)

if you are right there then do go to the harcourt arms. new owners but still the best pub in oxford imo. and then the bookbinders arms is a couple of blocks closer to the canal.

the gardners arms on plantation road (not the one on north parade) is also worth the trip.

I am close to the harcourt arms, will go tonight

Drank in Beerd (formerly The Grapes) today. Bemused to find drinks served as two-third pints rather than pints. Can see that would make sense for ridiculously strong beers but ... it just irritated me.

http://www.zhengoxford.co.uk/index.html

^ Here was amazing, this evening.

Beerd is fortunately now back to being the Grapes again and pintage is restored!

2/3 & 1/3 measures are the order of the day in The Big Society (formerly the Elm Tree, and briefly a Chinese restaurant) and Brewdog (formerly The Corridor, and before that The New Inn - v popular with people in bands). In Brewdog I will let this aberration pass seeing as the beers are mostly stupid percent.

Coming back here chiefly to say, we have a NEW Oxford FAP planned! At a revived Oxford pub!

Thread here!

why didn't that work? still hate bbcode

try FAP Oxford

Not an Oxford question just chucking it here rather than starting a new thread. Day off and I'll be travelling *from* Oxford.

Any Bath, Cheltenham or Cirencester recommendations?