Restaurants in Oxford
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Branca
Floor-to-ceiling glass, dark woods, moody lighting and exposed pipework set the scene at this slick Italian restaurant in Jericho. The food is rustic, though, with stone-baked pizzas, simple pastas and hearty meats pulling in the crowds every night of the week.
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Jericho Café
Chill out and relax with the paper over a coffee and a slab of cake, or go for some of the wholesome lunch and dinner specials, which encompass everything from sausages and mash to Lebanese lamb kibbeh. There are plenty of hearty salads and lots of options for vegetarians.
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Bangkok House
The food's delicious, the service impeccable, the prices affordable, and unsurprisingly, this little slice of Thailand is always packed. Elaborately carved tables, massive chairs and ornate wall hangings set the scene for the wonderfully aromatic Thai curries, sizzling meat dishes and delicately prepared dumplings.
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Café Coco
This Cowley Rd institution is a hip hang-out, with classic posters on the walls and a bald plaster-cast clown in an ice bath. The food combines Mediterranean mains with waffles and pecan pie, and most people come for the atmosphere.
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Quod
Bright, buzzing and decked out with modern art and beautiful people, this joint dishes up modern brasserie-style food to the masses. It’s always bustling and, at worst, will tempt you to chill by the bar with a cocktail while you wait. The two-course set lunch (£12.95) is great value.
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G&D’s
One of three outlets of Oxford’s own mini ice cream chain, this branch will satisfy a craving for frozen lactose till the (almost) wee hours.
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Noodle Bar
For hearty fare try the Noodle Bar for bowls of steaming noodles and generous rice dishes.
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Chutneys
A mostly vegetarian south Indian brasserie a curry whiff away from the bus station, Chutneys attracts customers as much by its brightly coloured exterior as its affordable idlis (fermented rice cakes eaten with chutney) and dosas (filled rice-flour pancakes). Express lunch is just £7.50.
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Mortons
For a quick bite en route between colleges, look out for the ever-popular Covered Market (103 Covered Market); Broad St (22 Broad St); Little Clarendon St (36 Little Clarendon St); New Inn Hall St (22 New Inn Hall St) for its fine selection of innovatively filled baguettes.
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Aziz
Award-winning curry house attracting vegans, vegetarians and curry-lovers in hoards. Standout items on the extensive menu include lamb razalla and murgh kaliya (black-pepper chicken in creamy sauce), and portions are generous enough to ensure you’ll be rolling out the door.
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Georgina's
Hidden up a scruffy staircase in the covered market and plastered with old cinema posters, this is a funky little cafe serving a bumper crop of bulging salads, hearty soups and such goodies as goat-cheese quesadillas and scrumptious cakes.
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Edamame
The queue out the door speaks volumes about the quality of the food here. This tiny joint, all light wood and friendly bustle, is the best place in town for genuine Japanese – bento boxes, tempura, noodle dishes and even the love-it-or-hate-it natto, plus divine sushi (Thursday night only, £2.70 to £4.30). Arrive early; be prepared to wait.
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Big Bang
It's small, not much to look at and has a very simple menu, but deciding between the tasty sausages, choosing a speciality mash and selecting just the right gravy can be very difficult indeed. Come on a Wednesday and you'll even get live jazz thrown in.
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Fishers
Nautically themed and generally buzzing, Oxford's finest seafood restaurant serves up simple but heavenly plates of everything from traditional haddock and chips to Shetland mussels, yellow fin tuna and New England lobster.
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Red Star
Red Star boasts pan-Asian dishes and giant bento boxes.
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Missing Bean
The Brazilian medium roast and cappuccino art at this independent coffee shop is a daily staple for many students, and there are loose-leaf teas, shakes and smoothies for the less caffeine-dependent. The fresh muffins, cakes and ciabatta sandwiches make this a great lunchtime stop.
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Fire & Stone
The wood-fired pizzas within this slick, colourful interior take their inspiration from five continents. Try the ‘Marrakesh’ with ground lamb and mint-and-cucumber yoghurt, the sweet potato and yellow curry ‘Koh Samui’ or the classic ‘New York’ with crispy smoked bacon and mozzarella.
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Chiang Mai Kitchen
Authentic Thai cuisine in the heart of Oxford, complete with tear-jerkingly spicy som tum (spicy papaya salad), a range of curries (including, unusually, venison), noodle dishes and standout classics such as chicken with cashew nuts. There’s an extensive separate menu for vegetarians.
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Atomic Burger
Atomic comes with the Fallout Challenge, which involves consuming a triple burger stack complete with fear-inducing ghost chilli hot sauce. Not keen on killing your taste buds? Try the inventive Messy Jessie, Dead Elvis, the barbeque ribs and nachos and curly fries, all washed down with mega shakes. Everything is freshly made; it’s fast food, but not as you know it.
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Vaults
Set in a vaulted 14th-century Congregation House, this place serves a wholesome line of soups, salads, pastas and paellas with plenty of choice for vegetarians. It's one of the most beautiful lunch venues in Oxford, with a lovely garden overlooking Radcliffe Sq. Come early for lunch as it's a local favourite.
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Manos
For delicious home-cooked tastes of the Med, head for this Greek deli and restaurant where you’ll find the likes of spinach and feta tart, chicken souvlaki and a great selection of meze. The ground floor has a cafe and deli, serving inexpensive wraps and salads, while downstairs has more style and comfort.
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Gee’s
Set in a Victorian conservatory, this top-notch restaurant is popular with the visiting parents of university students, thanks to its creative menu of modern British and European dishes. The two-/three-course lunch menu is a great bet at £17/21 and the setting is stunning, though the atmosphere is rather formal. Book ahead.
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Fishes
Old and quaint on the outside but sleek and modern inside, this popular summer haunt, a couple of miles west of the city centre, is gastropubbery at its best, with more unusual ingredients such as quinoa sitting comfortably alongside great bangers and mash on the menu. The pub is 3 miles out of town; head south along the A34 and follow the sign after the Botley junction.
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Door 74
This cosy little place woos its fans with a rich mix of British and Mediterranean flavours and friendly service. The menu is limited and the tables tightly packed, but the food is consistently good and weekend brunches (full English breakfast, pancakes) supremely filling. Book ahead.
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Grand Café
This museum piece of a cafe done up in the Regency style – it’s really more Brighton than Oxford – is on the site of England’s first coffee house (1650), with great cream teas in the afternoon.
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