Oxford Restaurants

  Trendy and Traditional

Advantages: historical, wonderful smells, eateries and interesting shops
Disadvantages: none unless you're a veggie

...and unsavoury stalls’ from the Oxford streets. Originally it housed only butcher’s shops but eventually had a variety of food stalls. The market has changed quite dramatically in recent years. It used to house almost only food shops, the majority supplying the kitchens of the University colleges but in more recent years many of the traditional shops have given way to a variety of different businesses, all independents I think, but many are still ...
...of the food shops have Oxford specialities including Oxford sausages, Oxford Lardy cake, Local rare breed meats and also the now world famous Oxford Blue cheese. Modern shoppers used to the sanitary conditions and shrink wrapped cuts of meat of the supermarkets might find the carcasses hanging outside the butcher’s shops distasteful but regardless of how it is packaged this is how all meat begins. A couple of the Butchers are worthy of note: firstly ...

Freespirit 28.07.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Oxford Covered Garden (Oxford)

Oxford's Cruising Restaurant

Advantages: A wonderfully special evening out.
Disadvantages: none that I can think of.

...take his mistress on the Rosamund the Fair. Rosamund the Fair is a purpose built narrow boat restaurant which cruises the canal and river of Oxford transporting its privileged diners back through time to what is possibly Oxford's most romantic piece of history. Rosamund, the daughter of a welsh Knight, was the much loved mistress of King Henry II. During this medieval period the English kings made nearby Woodstock their favourite hunting lodge and ...
...Many legends and myths surround Rosamund but the most romantic and tragic comes from the fifteenth century. This story says that Henry kept Rosamund in a secret tower, enclosed by a rose bower which in turn was surrounded by a labyrinth. The way through the labyrinth could only be found by following a silver thread. When Henry went to war in 1175 Rosamund pleaded to go with him but he preferred to leave her in the safety of this secret place. However, ...

Freespirit 09.01.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Rosamund the Fair, Oxford

French But Not Fancy

Advantages: Good food at very reasonable prices.
Disadvantages: I don't think there is a no smoking area.

...Brasserie and Café Rouge flank Pierre Victoire on either side which, at lunchtime anyway, is by far the most popular for reasons which will soon become apparent. Pierre Victoire is a chain of French restaurants which you may have heard of. Pierre is the name of the French trained chef Pierre Levicky and Victoire comes from the name of the street in Edinburgh (Victoria St.) where he opened his first restaurant. Pierre’s aim was to offer excellent ...
...of my favourite restaurants. Pierre Victoire is fairly basic – it has wooden tables, chairs and floor but this gives it a casual ambience and its popularity gives it a bustling pleasant atmosphere. In the evening with the lights dimmed, candles add a touch of romance. You are probably thinking by now ‘Yes – but what about the food’, but I have kept the best to last. The lunch menu is served from 12 – 3 and costs just ...

Freespirit 01.02.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Pierre Victoire, Oxford

Vegetarian Magic

Advantages: A friendly and relaxing, totally no smoking veggie cafe.
Disadvantages: Its not in the city centre.

The Magic Café is one of the few completely vegetarian eating places in Oxford. Painted bright red it stands like a beacon amidst the dilapidated buildings of Madgalen Road and does indeed bring some sort of magic to East Oxford. As you enter you can immediately sense an atmosphere that is warm, cosy and friendly but at the same time interesting and stimulating. On the right as you enter you will find a comfortable three piece suite covered in throws ...
...the café you will find an assortment of wooden tables with equally eclectic chairs. Tables for two, old draw leaf tables, and round tables mingle with large tables seating up to 12 people. The Café regularly hosts exhibitions of paintings by local artists which are displayed on the bright yellow walls. The décor of the café is actually quite bright and cheerful with yellow and orange walls and deep blue ceiling and carpet but in spite of this it ...

Freespirit 01.02.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Magic Cafe (Oxford)

The KA

Advantages: Good beer
Disadvantages: Solid but unspectacular

The Kings Arms, or KA to aficionados, is one of the more well-established pubs in Oxford. It is frequented by students and fellows alike, though the absence of locals at busy times tells its own story - more on that later. The KA is a pub in the mould of English tradition, serving bitter from proper taps and having a wide selection of beers from independent brewers, rather than pouring pints of Carlsberg or Fosters from refridgerated pumps (which, ...
...over £3 per pint for the privilege of drinking beers made popular not through taste but through expensive marketing). Additionally, in the tradition of typical English pubs, the KA serves what is infamously known by the cliche of 'Fayre' - that is, food that I suppose people used to eat when nobody knew how to cook properly. Meat pie, shepherds' pie, fish and chips, scampi and chips are ubiquitous on the menu under the title 'Fayre'. In the best ...

lleppaj 06.08.2006 · Read full review
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Review of The Kings Arms (Oxford)