Oxford is devoted to matters of the mind, not to fuelling the baser appetites. That’s one theory, but Neil Sowerby discovers there are some increasingly good food and drink options around…
1 Art for food’s sake – Ashmolean Dining Room
COMBING museums, even ones as superbly organised as the refurbished Ashmolean, always gives me a raging hunger, so their daytime Dining Room, serving from breakfast through to tea-time, is a massive boon. Especially since its light-filled rooftop position is perfect for pondering Oxford’s dreaming spires. Head chef Alun Roberts’ food is equally inspiring, innovative modern European, with a well thought-out wine list to match. Currently they are offering a lunchtime set menu (two courses £19, three £21.50, cheaper pre-theatre Thu-Sat) celebrating the ‘Titian to Canaletto – Drawing in Venice’ exhibition featuring the likes of polpettone al latte and braised cuttlefish. The Dining Room opens later for dinner Thursday to Saturdays with an outside entrance on St Giles.
Ashmolean Museum, Beaumont Street, OX1 2PH. 01865 553 823.
2 Craft beer goes varsity – The Beerd
A SHORT hop from the New Theatre, Beerd, Oxford's first craft beer and pizza bar is the new incarnation of the sole surviving Victorian pub in central Oxford, formerly known as The Grapes. The ever-changing beer list is available in one third, two third and full pint measures, allowing a more comprehensive (while remaining compos mentis) sampling of the huge range of British and global craft beers. Main focus of the food menu is freshly made Neapolitan-style pizzas, though crispy pig skins and cured meat platters are snackier alternatives. Owners Bath Ales offer a range of hare-themed ales. We recommend the silky-smooth Dark Side stout.
Beerd Oxford, 7 George Street, OX1 2AT. 01865 793 380,
3 Down by the riverside – Cherwell Boathouse
WINE list of the year 2014, awarded by the Good Food Guide and this family-run riverside Oxford institution has the food and setting to match. Enjoy chef NIck Welford’s classic yet innovative cuisine on the terrace as you watch the swans sails serenely by. The restaurant is open lunch and dinner, seven days a week all year round. Fish and desserts are specialities in good value tasting menus, while monthly wine dinners are a big draw. It all feels idyllically remote, yet is only just off the Banbury Road. Over hundred years after it was first built it still operates as a working boathouse, hiring out 80 punts.
Cherwell Boathouse, Bardwell Road, 0X2 6ST. 01865 552746.
4 Japanese home cooking – Edamame
AFFORDABLE, if quick turn around, Peter and Mieko Galpin’s casual cafe offers authentic Japanese home cooking. Signature dish, as the name suggests, is edamame – juicy, baby soy beans, which you pop ou tof thei salted pods as an appetiser, ideally accompanied by an Asahi beer, though there is also sake and shotchu spirits available. The owners warn that since they rely on daily deliveries of meat and fish some dishes may run out when it gets busy (and it does). Get there early to enjoy the sushi. Note: no bookings and dinner is available only on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Edamame, 15 Holywell Street, OX1 3SA. 01865 246916.
5 Med to measure up the Banbury Road – Gee’s
THIS listed Victorian glasshouse, once a florist’s does a roaring trade in students being treated to a meal by proud parents. That’s been going on for 30 years now, with the kitchen combining seasonal British produce with a strong Mediterranean influence in a way that never seems dated. Indeed, under chef Jamie King they even seem to have upped their game. That doesn’t mean you should ignore the steaks and signature burger Gee’s is renowned for. Under the same ownership as the Old Parsonage Hotel down the road and the Bank Hotel in High Street, both of which boast excellent restaurants, too.
Gee’s, 61 Banbury Road OX2 6PE. 01865 553540.
6 Gastropub pioneer – the Magdalen Arms
FOR the best gastropub in town wander 15 minutes down Iffley Road or catch the number 3 bus. It’s run by a former chef at the Anchor and Hope in Waterloo and it has a slightly louche metropolitan feel to it (deep claret coloured walls and bizarre artwork) despite the rustic tables and sturdy food, including cassoulet, sat-marsh lamb shank and seriously good pies. The beer selection is less impressive, so stick to wine from an interesting, affordable list. It’s on the corner of Magdalen Road, which is an interesting foodie enclave, boasting the organic cafe Oxfork, community pub The Rusty Bicycle, the Wild Honey health store, the revamped Chester Arms and the terrific Oli’s Thai (see below).
Magdalen Arms, 243 Iffley Road, OX4 1SJ. 01865 243159.
7 Spicy game changer – Oli’s Thai
NAMED after the owner’s young son, this tiny 20-seater Thai cafe is a hot ticket; it’s best to book or take your chances at the small bar, which fortunately offers an interesting, if limited, selection of wine and beer while you wait. Despite English ownership, the food is uncompromising spicy. A papaya salad (£6) had me reaching for the water jug. There was less chilli kick but some intriguing spicing in their currently most popular dish, confit duck panang (£11.50) – a successful fusing of east and west. Highly recommended.
Oli’s Thai, 38 Magdalen Road, OX4 1RB, 01865 790223.
8 Perfect for picnic picking – Oxford Covered Market
OXFORD has probably had a market since the ninth century, though in those days designer shoes and cupcakes didn’t make the stalls. The current market building, accessed either from the High Street, Market Street or through the Golden Cross in Cornmarket Street, dates back to the 1770s and is nowadays home to 40 traders and more of a craft-led bazaar than a fresh produce market, though it has the venerable Cardew’s coffee shop, a good greengrocer and fishmonger and the outstanding Oxford Cheese Company. Plus there's an enviable array of butchers, including David John, who still makes the traditional Oxford sausage, albeit these days without nay veal content. The Market's a great place to gather together a picnic to take out to The Parks or Christ Chutch Meadow.
Oxford Market, Market Street, OX1 3DZ.
9 A proper quirky old boozer – the Rose and Crown
Even the most characterful city centre hostelries can wilt under the blue plaque burden of history or the sheer volume of tourist trade. Gone are the days of dons sitting quietly in a corner reading Beowulf. Best then to stray out just a little. This family-run free house is a 10 minute walk up the Banbury Road, but you are rewarded with well kept Hook Norton and Adnams ales and a good selection of books to browse in three cosy cottage-like rooms. There’s a heated rear patio, too, and mobile phones are banned. If you need to sup centrally, I’d go for the equally intimate The Bear Inn (6 Alfred Street, OX1 4EH), tucked in behind Christ Church. Oxford’s oldest pub, dating back to 1242, it’s famous for a wall-to-wall tie collection. Inspect them while downing a pint of Fuller’s London Pride.
Rose and Crown, 14 North Parade, OX2 6LX.
10 Michelin star gazing in the countryside – Manoir and Nut Tree
THE city is glorious but so too is the surrounding countryside, notably the Cotswolds to the West. Stick closer to the city and check out two Michelin-starred establishments that are poles apart – except in their mutual devotion to the freshest, best sourced produce. The Manoir aux Quat’Saisons is a 15th century manor house that is the culinary bastion of all things French. Last year it celebrated 30 years under high profile chef/proprietor Raymond Blanc. Thirty fertile, certified organic, acres supply raw materials for its two Michelin star restaurant. For a special occasion I’d recommend its seven-course “Menu Decouverte” at £159 a head. On behalf of Confidential I also road-tested one of the Manoir’s cookery courses – the diploma sits proudly in my kitchen. The Nut Tree Inn couldn’t be more different. For seven years this thatched village hostelry up on on windswept Otmoor 15 miles north east of Oxford has held on to its Michelin star. It also merits a place in the Good Beer Guide – perhaps a unique combination. To the front is an idyllic duck pond; to the rear the inn’s rare breed pigs roam. So do order the belly pork. But almost everything on Mike North’s menu is sustainable, well sourced and intense in flavour.
Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Church Road, Great Milton OX44 7PD, 01844 278881; Nut Tree Inn, Main Street, Murcott, OX5 2RE. 01865 331253.
Our room at the Old Parsonage; below, a welcoming fire and the gazebo 
Oli's credentials on the shelf; below, that spicy papaya salad and confit duck panang
Fact file
Neil Sowerby stayed at The Old Parsonage Hotel (below) at 1 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6NN. It has 35 luxury rooms and suites, all recently redesigned by Sally Conran using 100 per cent natural materials, while retaining features of the original 16th century building. With its library and sheltered garden gazebo it is an utterly gorgeous bolthole, convenient for all the sights. It also offers Oxford’s best afternoon tea. Rooms from £235 a night; suites are considerably more. Set menus, £18 for three courses are a bargain.
The Old Parsonage’s sister hotel is the Old Bank, 92-94 High St, Oxford OX1 4BJ. Its buzzing bar/restaurant, the Quad Room, looks across to historic centrepiece St Mary’s Church. Rates here fluctuate according to season and room type with a night’s stay B&B starting at £205. Both hotels showcase owner Jeremy Mogford’s extensive 20th century and contemporary art collection. He is also sponsor of the £7,500 Jeremy Mogford Prize for Food and Drink Writing, a short story with a food theme competition launched in 2013.
