Best restaurants in Oxford
Published 01 September 2025

Walton Street is abuzz night and day, and this up-tempo brasserie is regularly packed with all-comers – from university academics to locals from Jericho’s desirable residences. There’s ample space, with a bar (modern art, a chandelier and picture windows), a dining area (bare brick walls and parquet flooring), function rooms and a garden terrace at the back, plus a daytime café/deli next door. Not surprisingly, it's also great for large parties.

The menu, while short on thrills, does its job well enough, with Italian cooking to the fore – including a choice of four pizzas and a trio of pastas. Young staff with ‘all the right attitudes’ plonk excellent focaccia and olive oil/balsamic onto every table as an introduction. Maybe start with a warming bowl of borlotti bean and Swiss chard soup or one of the zingy salads (perhaps grilled halloumi with roasted butternut squash, tenderstem broccoli, chicory and fregola). Impressively proportioned mains cover a lot of ground, from fish stew with chickpeas and rouille to Moroccan lamb kebabs with harissa flatbread, bolstered by steaks and burgers.

Desserts end proceedings on a high note, offering anything from a brownie sundae with vanilla ice cream, raspberries and chocolate sauce to a lemon tart of rare delicacy. To drink, the decent Sicilian house white is supported by a pertinent selection of Old and New World choices, with almost everything available by the glass. 

The prospect of chilling out on a hugely desirable decked terrace by the river Cherwell makes this enchanting Victorian boathouse one of Oxford’s great delights – and that’s before you factor in its glorious wine cellar and the added temptations of punting on the water. Dating from 1904, this beloved institution is also a good shout for capably handled food with noticeable English and French accents. Nothing is overplayed here, but the kitchen comes up with subtly creative ideas to match the seasons. Eating alfresco in summer, you might indulge in a bowl of gazpacho with watermelon or Cornish mackerel with sauce pipérade ahead of Cotswold chicken breast with samphire, tarragon and pea fricassée. Come winter, other treats await those who congregate in the dining room – an affable blend of wooden floorboards, bare beams and white tablecloths. Openers such as venison fritters with Parmesan purée and crispy kale might precede guinea fowl adorned with a festive harvest of walnut purée, wild mushrooms, roasted Brussels sprouts and bone marrow jus. For afters, hot chocolate pot with passion fruit is a perennial favourite – although you might prefer local strawberries with elderflower custard or tarte tatin with Calvados ice cream, depending on the calendar. For many, however, it’s all about the superlative wine list, an all-embracing compendium stuffed with mouthwatering global selections ranging from Old World aristocrats of high pedigree to the most fashionable young contenders. Mark-ups are kind, with selections from the 'shortlist' starting at £19.75 (£5 for a standard glass).

‘A celebratory and inspiring environment offering a little bit of escapism in the heart of Oxford,’ is one reader’s verdict on this long-standing beau monde favourite, which now boasts a heated garden terrace and an adjacent art gallery/private dining space (handy for wedding bashes). The essence of Gees, though, has always been its beautiful conservatory restaurant, converted from a greengrocer’s in 1985 and still under the same ownership.

Globe lights dangle from the glass roof, while black-and-white tiled flooring and a convivial crowd of youngish locals add to the brasserie vibe – as does the catch-all Med-inspired menu. Crisp, thin-based pizzette with regularly changing toppings (including an inspired pairing of Taleggio with potatoes and thyme) are equally good as a first course or as a snack with drinks; alternatively, start with harissa-roasted squash, chickpeas and feta. Moving on, ‘today’s fish’ could be a little fillet of fresh mackerel matched with a wonderfully punchy anchovy and tomato salsa; otherwise, dip into the selection of pastas – perhaps rigatoni with duck ragù and pecorino. Sides such as tenderstem broccoli with chimichurri provide the greenery, yet also bump up an already sizeable bill.

To finish, desserts such as chocolate nemesis and crema catalana maintain the broadly Med theme, likewise unhurried Sunday roasts such as porchetta with chorizo-roast potatoes, carrots and courgettes. However, Gees' main attraction is its happy hubbub, helped along by agreeable young staff and a drinks list comprising cocktails and a 30-strong selection of wines with southern Europe as the main player.

The sign outside Kate and Hugo Hamblin’s neighbourhood-focused bakery is simple: Bread Baked Here Daily. And it is, along with carefully crafted cakes, biscuits, buns and cookies, with an array of deli items on sale too. Sourcing is of the utmost importance with only directly traded organic, stoneground flour baked into the custard and candied Seville cake, whole-fruit financiers and Swedish bun staples perfumed with cinnamon and cardamon. For something savoury, consider a slice of sourdough pizza made from Maris Widgeon and ‘population’ wheat, topped with Westcombe ricotta. A second location – Hamblin kiosk and snack bar – can be found in Oxford’s Covered Market.

A cheerful celebration of multicultural Oxford, Lula’s fits perfectly into its community-centre home near the railway station. Fairy lights and vibrant wall displays of ethnic artefacts temper the capacious, functional surroundings – as do enthusiastic staff and a menu of great-value dishes. Communal eating is the norm, with the classic meal consisting of various curries served on spongy injera flatbread: tear off some and scoop up the food. There’s plenty for vegetarians (try the gomen curry of carrots, cabbage and potatoes), although the best bet for newcomers is a sharing platter of four vegetable dishes plus a non-veg centrepiece – the tender lamb zigni is recommended. Accompany the feast with tej (honey wine).

A little slice of French bonhomie in north Oxford, Pompette is not only a godsend for Summertown locals, but also draws in diners who are prepared to undertake a long trip to sample its wares. With its walls emblazoned with artwork, a gorgeous summertime terrace and professional but personable staff, no wonder it is reckoned to be ‘a real gem’. And that’s before we get to the food. Chef/co-owner Pascal Wiedemann spent 14 years shaking the pans in big-name London kitchens (from Racine and Terroirs to Six Portland Road), before bringing his vision of bourgeois French cuisine to the city of dreaming spires. 

His menu is entrenched in the classics (with the odd European detour) and everything is crafted with ‘care, passion and precision’. Lyonnaise ‘cervelle de canut’ cheese dip, soupe de poissons, chalk stream trout with horseradish beurre blanc and onglet steaks share the billing with houmous, sumac and flatbread, cavatelli with datterini tomatoes and pecorino or charred cauliflower with pops of pomegranate and pistachio. French farmhouse cheeses, île flottante, Basque cheesecake and canelés de Bordeaux with salted rum caramel (Friday and Saturday nights only) round off a simple but satisfying offer. 

Alternatively, drop by for authentic French saucisse frites on Tuesday, poulet frites on Wednesday or steak frites on Thursday night, if you prefer; they even do a proper petit-déjeuner from 10am as well as a regular apero hour (5-6pm, Tue-Sat). Pompette is the charming French word for tipsy, so we do need to mention the libations: Ricard, Lillet Blanc, Picon Bière and Normandy cider all get a look-in alongside a list of patriotically French wines – including a big selection from Alsace (the owner’s homeland).

An expansive, cheering space full of warmth and energy, with partially sheltered outdoor seating too, the Magdalen has evolved into a dynamic dining pub in recent times. It runs to a mix of bookings and walk-ins, and is dog-friendly – as long as Rover is happy to stay under the table. An enthusiastically friendly team keeps things motoring, bringing generously laden plates from the open kitchen. A hungry late-summer group tackled the slow-cooked neck of lamb for three, served with excellent dauphinoise and spiced red cabbage, and still managed to take home a couple of portions.

There is rock-steady technique in the form of a four-cheese soufflé to start, twice-baked and served with pear and walnut salad or, perhaps, crisped pig's cheek with gribiche. Fish main courses can be as grand as the roast meats serve for Sunday lunch, with a whole sea bass flashed on the grill and dressed in cime di rapa, garlic and chilli.

‘Leave room for desserts,’ advises one happy visitor – not surprising when the line-up might include greengage crumble, bramble Bakewell, richly fashioned cheesecake and even simple ice cream and sorbet options (perhaps pistachio and pear, respectively). A concise list of fairly priced wines includes Gassac's Viognier-Chardonnay blend and Camillo's succulent Morellino di Scansano from Tuscany.