Restaurants in Oxford

The city’s best selection of independent restaurants can be found in East Oxford, especially the area on and around Cowley Road. For Italian food, try Mario’s and make sure that you arrive early, since it is often so bustling with actual Italians (surely the best authenticity indicator there is) that it is difficult to get a seat. Ten minutes’ walk away, on the corner of Cowley Road’s more sedate neighbour, Iffley Road, the Magdalen Arms serves delicious, upscale pub grub and an alluring Sunday lunch. 

Cowley Road is also the heart of Oxford’s south Asian community and accordingly home to the best Indian and Bangladeshi food in the city. Try longstanding institution Aziz – which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2015 – or Qumins on St Clement’s. There has been a happy boomlet of Nepalese restaurants in recent years, so go along to Kadai & Naan or Everest – a converted ex-pub on Howard Street – for something a bit different. Best of all is Yeti, where the manically loquacious chef might give you some free popadoms.

Twenty years ago, you might have been hard pressed to find Asian cuisine in the city that did not consist entirely of curry. Thankfully, Oxford’s food scene has diversified and improved since then and Japanese, Chinese, Lebanese and Thai restaurants are all in good supply. Al Shami is an excellent Lebanese option, especially for large groups, since its long tables and mezze style menu make sharing a doddle. The consensus is that SoJo serves some of the spiciest, tastiest Chinese food around, although since chef Adam Tan left to establish his own, Chinese-Malaysian establishment Zheng, the competition has undoubtedly become fiercer. If you have never sampled aromatic Thai dishes below Elizabethan timber beams, we recommend that you go promptly to Chiang Mai Kitchen.

For Japanese food, try Taberu or Edamamé and be aware that the latter’s tiny size, strange hours and no-booking policy might mean it is difficult to get a seat at peak times. Edamamé will be a doddle, however, in comparison with much-hyped Oli’s Thai, which is often fully booked months in advance. They do leave some tables unreserved for walk-ins, so arrive early and in a small group for your best chance of sampling their daily-changing menu.

Oxford has a smallish number of delicious, upscale restaurants perfect for special occasions. Students: wait until your parents come to visit and make them take you for a meal at Gee’s, or in fancy riverside surroundings at The Folly or the Cherwell Boathouse.