Pubs/Restaurants in Oxford

[Eric Blair]

Coconut Tree in St Clements is absolutely excellent for food. Highly recommend.

Just went there for the first time last week and totally agree

 

[Eric Blair]

F

Almost as if they knew we wanted more opinions, in today's Telegraph. I am not convinced by all the reviews but it's a good starting guide.

The 21 best restaurants in Oxford


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Forgot about Taste Tibet - really tasty.

Also match day tradition is for me and my daughter to get a slice of pizza and cake on the way to the game from Hamblin bread. Not cheap but massively tasty

 

[Eric Blair]

My recommendations may perhaps differ to some of the others?

Personally I prefer pubs to be pubs & restaurants/cafes to take care of the eatery side of things

too many former pubs have transmorphed into cafes with a licensed bar - yes I know its how many hostelries survive in current times, thing is too many IMO have pretentions ( and prices to match) way above what they really are.

If Im going to a pub ,I want to be able to have a few decent beers, and be able to chat , using adult, anglo-saxon language, without Jemima & Sebastian hyphen- hyphen's parents complaining about my topics of conversation and use of language to the barstaff, I also prefer to enjoy a few beers and adult conversation without the aformentioned hyphen hyphen's offsping, & their chums, tear arsing around , shrieking, while they play chase me charlie around people eating and/ or drinking , while their parents appear oblivious to thier broods unruly, disruptive behavior. A pub is a pub, not a cafe nor a playground. Bring kids into pubs if they are respectful that its an adult environment, and accept that anglo saxon words will be heard. Better still, keep kids on short leads in 'pubs' I say!

Three Goats Head ( art deco exterior and interior- and a Sam Smith's pub) in town, near the Oxford Union, is a decent pub and a decent pint.
Jericho Tavern has a decent range of beers on offer too- ( yes they do a bit of food) but it is rare that unsupervised kids venture in there with mater & pater
The Library Cowley road is a decent pub too, honourable mentions for JST & The Star, both just off cowley rd, Masons Arms , Quarry is a free house, ( currently hosing a beer festival- also listed in the good beer guide)

There are of course other decentish pubs too

I prefer to avoid pubs with chemically infused, mass produced, generic swill & nowt else on draft if Im going to a pub- though needs musts and circumstances dictate at times

Giggling Squid on Walton Street is a decent ( Thai) eatery , Chutneys in Town is a decent too
An
eclectic and varied range of eateries on/ just off cowley road , with cuisine from all over the world on offer

Yeah, I hear you on the pubs sarge. It’s horse for courses though. I’d take the family to a gastro pub but with mates would prefer a proper boozer with proper ale. The Library is a good shout. Also The Star is a gem. Big fan of the Rusty Bike

 

[Stranger]

F

Forgot about Taste Tibet - really tasty.

Also match day tradition is for me and my daughter to get a slice of pizza and cake on the way to the game from Hamblin bread. Not cheap but massively tasty

Plus one for Taste Tibet. My main beef with them is that they close during the summer to do the festival circuit. I appreciate they make more money doing that than by having a static restaurant, but it would be good if they could maintain a presence in the city in the meantime.

Meanwhile, the good news is that Oli's Thai is reopening this month

 

[Stranger]

Also, I don't think it's been mentioned yet, but Lula's has a new premises in the covered market. A bit pricey but worth paying out for the best (only?) Ethiopian food in town

 

[Foley]

Went into Oxford city centre for the first time in years a few weeks ago (many, many years - like, almost a decade).

Wandered through Jericho, and that seemed as thriving as ever......but the centre itself? Seemed like a ghost town. Empty shopfronts all over the place - Debenhams, Waterstone's, George Street cinema, Paddyfield's restaurants all vacant or boarded up, and that's to name just a few of the higher profile spots.......

.....I get that it's tough on the high street at the moment, but did I catch it on a bad day, or is Oxford city centre really dying a slow death at the moment?

(also popped into the Turf, almost bolt's back. Not sure the students would get a look in any more amongst the thousands of foreign tourists that were milling about).

The City centre never seems dead to me although it has 'moved'
I don't like going to shops unless I have to, but the Westgate always seems very busy whenever I go there ( virtually all of the shops are full now?)
I love the Covered Market which seems to be getting busier all of the time.

Cornmarket Street and High Street have suffered due to the new Westgate I reckon.

 

[werthersoriginal]

The City centre never seems dead to me although it has 'moved'
I don't like going to shops unless I have to, but the Westgate always seems very busy whenever I go there ( virtually all of the shops are full now?)
I love the Covered Market which seems to be getting busier all of the time.

Cornmarket Street and High Street have suffered due to the new Westgate I reckon.

Yes agree. The centre is always really busy but a lot of shops have moved to rhe Westgate. Waterstones is moving to Queen Street and the old site will be a Harry Potter shop, oh joy.

 

[Basham Wonderland]

Turf Tavern is nice when you can get in and sat down. Sometimes it feels more like an expensive Spoons than a real pub though - tourist magnet.

 

[southwarkox]

Pompette has been mentioned a couple of times including that Telegraph article. We were disappointed for the price.

For mass brands, Mowgli is really good. Six by Nico we had one great and one poor, particularly service where courses were missed.

Chester Arms steak platter worth trying once.

Am going to sample Dosa and Jin Jin soon. Save Porterhouse for a treat

 

[Stranger]

Turf Tavern is nice when you can get in and sat down. Sometimes it feels more like an expensive Spoons than a real pub though - tourist magnet.

Better food and beer than spoons

 

[Eric Blair]

Plus one for Taste Tibet. My main beef with them is that they close during the summer to do the festival circuit. I appreciate they make more money doing that than by having a static restaurant, but it would be good if they could maintain a presence in the city in the meantime.

Meanwhile, the good news is that Oli's Thai is reopening this month

Oli Thai is incredible but so hard to get a table. Well worth a try though

 

[Basham Wonderland]

Better food and beer than spoons

That's right. But when you're packed in with 300 other diners (half will be vaping if you sit outside), taking a p**s in a porta cabin, and eating reheated food, you've got to ask what you're actually really paying for.

It's just posher reheated food.

 

[MarkG]

Turf Tavern is nice when you can get in and sat down. Sometimes it feels more like an expensive Spoons than a real pub though - tourist magnet.

Just another greene king pub serving the same poor beers they sell everywhere else but just sticking a new badge on the pump saying “butterbeer”.

 

[Foley]

Turf Tavern is nice when you can get in and sat down. Sometimes it feels more like an expensive Spoons than a real pub though - tourist magnet.

I tried to go yesterday.
It was heaving and rather that it being 3 deep at the bar, there was a huge queue ?
I walked straight back out again....

 

[Eric Blair]

I tried to go yesterday.
It was heaving and rather that it being 3 deep at the bar, there was a huge queue ?
I walked straight back out again....

Don’t get me started on queuing at the bar

 

[Basham Wonderland]

I tried to go yesterday.
It was heaving and rather that it being 3 deep at the bar, there was a huge queue ?
I walked straight back out again....

Lots of yanks and tourists who have no idea what they're doing.

The Turf is the only pub I've ever seen a queue for the bar. I know it's a growing problem, but probably worse in the tourist spots!

 

[werthersoriginal]

I tried to go yesterday.
It was heaving and rather that it being 3 deep at the bar, there was a huge queue ?
I walked straight back out again....

Thanks for the warning, I do like the setting outdoors . The Kings Arms is still good if you can get a table outside

 

[Old Man]

Is it The White Heart at Wytham or Wytam .

 

[Foley]

Is it The White Heart at Wytham or Wytam .

Closed down now.

 

[Eric Blair]

Chester good for beer garden as well

 

[Carlislehotdog]

Lots of yanks and tourists who have no idea what they're doing.

The Turf is the only pub I've ever seen a queue for the bar. I know it's a growing problem, but probably worse in the tourist spots!

Call me a heretic or unbritish but to be honest if there's space for it, I think a queue is the best system, except for possibly table service (wetherspoon's app).

 

[holdsteady]

Call me a heretic or unbritish but to be honest if there's space for it, I think a queue is the best system, except for possibly table service (wetherspoon's app).

No.

 

[carefreeoufc]

Lots of yanks and tourists who have no idea what they're doing.

The Turf is the only pub I've ever seen a queue for the bar. I know it's a growing problem, but probably worse in the tourist spots!

Queuing at a bar has got much worse since Covid. Gone are the days of 2-3 deep and people holding out a note.

If you want to watch queuing at its finest, the Boundary House in Abingdon

 

[carefreeoufc]

The act of queuing at a bar in a line is arguably one of the worst repercussions of Covid. The Boundary House in Abingdon is a classic when it comes to people queuing in a line, seemingly unaware that there’s 50ft of bar in the pub.

 

[Essexyellows]

Don’t get me started on queuing at the bar

Not just me then?

Went into town a couple of weeks back, went into our "go to" pub. Its a small place, been there since 1720, and there were 6 folk forming a line at the corner of the public bar. The rest of the bar was empty.

Walked past the queue to where the lad on the lounge bar could see us, he came through to serve and a bloke said "There`s a queue mate" to which I retorted "Snooze you lose".

Furthermore the sign of good bar staff is knowing who is next.............. without a queue! Its not a feckin bank or supermarket!

 

[Sarge]

Lots of yanks and tourists who have no idea what they're doing.

The Turf is the only pub I've ever seen a queue for the bar. I know it's a growing problem, but probably worse in the tourist spots!

there is a small outside bar at the turf' - up a few steps and towards the back of the 'garden' , no queue there ( unlike in the pub itself), only know this from when a couple of friends visited Oxford back in July ( theyd never been to Oxford city centre, turf' was on their list of to do things), we got served pretty much instantly

 

[MarkG]

Almost as if they knew we wanted more opinions, in today's Telegraph. I am not convinced by all the reviews but it's a good starting guide.

The 21 best restaurants in Oxford


Paywall removed

The Porterhouse sounds like somewhere good to treat yourself to a grill breakfast and not far from the station just off the Botley Road. I saw a poster for it by the bus station after my afternoon out on Saturday but didn't know where it was, and had already had lunch from one of the stalls at Gloucester Green.

I do like these street markets where you have a huge choice of international dishes, and hope we have something similar at the Triangle rather than just burgers chips pies and sausages. Bristol City and I think it was Lincoln have a good range of stalls.

 

[Manorlounger]

I do like these street markets where you have a huge choice of international dishes, and hope we have something similar at the Triangle rather than just burgers chips pies and sausages. Bristol City and I think it was Lincoln have a good range of stalls.

I said as much to the folks at the exhibition during the first consultation period. Even gave them an example of the science park at Harwell. There, they have a very neat area comprised of small independant food outlets all offering food far more interesting than just a dry burger and stale bun. Done right, there should be no reason why these sort of outlets couldn't be profitable on days when there is no football game. Given that the stadium area will be, or is planned to be, functioning as a centre for all sorts of activities, that offering could be very attractive to visitors and locals alike.

However, if the current commercial & marketing johnnies get their hands on it, forget it. The club must, must employ specialists. Gastronomic entrepeneurs with experience, imagination and proven success. Knowing how to screen print T-Shirts is not qualification!

 

[Ox4Eva]

I refuse to queue at a bar!

 

[SteMerritt]

I refuse to queue at a bar!

Same here. I send Mrs M to get the drinks.