Oxford, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“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).

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”.

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”.

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)”.

2023 Review: This “picturesque riverside venue” on Oxford’s Osney Island (which opened in 1871 as The Waterman) is notable for its “laid-back but beautifully presented vegetarian food, full of flavours from a varied and interesting menu”. “I’m not a vegetarian myself but most definitely hope to be back”. Top Tip – “the whipped goats’ cheese”.

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 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”.

2023 Review: “A foodie gem”, this well-known eighteenth-century pub in a village on the outskirts of Oxford has been going through a period of flux, hence we’ve removed a rating for the time being. High-profile chef Jon Parry joined in summer 2022, after our annual diners’ poll had concluded, having made a name for himself cooking over an open fire at The Mash Inn in Buckinghamshire, and declared his ambition to ‘turn The White Hart into something really special’. Four months later, owner Baz Butcher announced his intention to sell up and retire to France.

“Definitely a good choice if you’re in the area” – i.e. just five miles from the dreaming spires of Oxford – this “very comfortable country pub” boasts one of the best gardens in these parts and is particularly appealing come summer. Some feel the menu is “limited” and “relatively expensive”, albeit “generally good with some unusual dishes”, much local sourcing, and a fair selection of veggie-friendly options.

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.

2022 Review: 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”.

“Michael North delivers sublime food and Imogen North creates the perfect front-of-house ambience” according to the many fans of this well-known foodie destination, which occupies a thatched rural pub. “Mike and Imogen have maintained such high standards since the first day they opened” in 2006. You can go for the short ‘Pub Classics’ menu – which delivers superior steak or fish ’n’ chips in the bar – but our reporters are more generally interested in the seven-course tasting menu (plus bread) for £115 per person. In either case, it’s a “lovely setting” and you get “high quality every time”. (A plea from one regular though: “I hope they go back to a full à la carte menu some time soon”).

2021 Review: It’s the picture of a traditional thatched pub, but the “cosy” interior and “heartwarming” menu have been funked up at this rural inn, which was consistently highly rated last year.

Since selling The Ebrington Arms a few years back, Jim & Claire Alexander have fully turned their focus to this historic pub in a picturesque Oxfordshire village, whose local and seasonal cooking is also overseen by ex-Ebrington chef Adam Brown. “After reading so many ‘outstanding’ reviews” (besides 3 AA Rosettes, ‘The Killy’ is on Estrella Damm’s Top 50 UK Gastropubs list), some reporters felt a little underwhelmed, but there was praise too for the “amazing” tasting menu and – if you opt for one of their nine bedrooms – the “breakfasts are super”.

2022 Review: This rural pub (complete with beams and roaring fire, and also accommodation) in a lovely Buckinghamshire village still achieves solid ratings, and – notwithstanding gripes from the occasional reporter about its takeover by Oakman Inns in late 2019 – most feedback rates the food as “very good”.

2023 Review: “Very San Francisco vibes here… and that’s meant as a compliment!” – this funky haunt has become “very popular”, especially for brunch. Top Tip – the “best seats are in the corner at the back!”