Travel Channel

Dining and Drinking

Thanks largely to the huge number of undergraduates in the city with wealthy parents, Oxford has plenty of places to eat, drink, and be merry. Somehow though, particularly at weekends, most of these venues are full, so it is almost always advisable to book. For those in search of a quick bite to eat, the numerous sandwich shops, particularly in the Covered Market, offer a pleasant alternative to the monopoly that certain global chains might elsewhere have on fast food.

People in no immediate rush to find a specific restaurant would be well advised to have a stroll down the Cowley Road, which, although predominantly lined by Indian restaurants, including the renowned Aziz, has many other interesting eateries, such as the Jamaican Hi-Lo. Those who want a slightly more lively and less civilized dinner could check out the Kashmir Halal Indian restaurant, which, as it's fairly cheap and allows you to bring your own alcohol, usually has a student sports team washing down its vindaloos with several beers.

Just next to the Cowley Road, St Clement's also has some highly recommended restaurants: Oxford's finest seafood restaurant, Fishers, and Genies, which specializes in Mediterranean food, as well as the Chinese Pink Giraffe are all very good.

While East Oxford has its fair share of Indian, Chinese and other casual restaurants, North Oxford is the place to go for a more expensive restaurant. Le Petit Blanc, Gee's, and The Lemon Tree respectively serving French, Mediterranean, and modern British food, are three such restaurants, though none of them is extortionate.

Oxford is bursting with pubs: there is probably no point within two miles of the city centre that is more than a hundred yards from the nearest watering hole. A decent meal can also be found at many of these pubs. While The Mitre on the High Street has a dining section as large as the drinking section, The Oxford Pub on Magdalen roundabout serves up a good burger and chips. Of all the pubs in central Oxford, perhaps The Turf which claims to be the oldest, has the most traditional feel. Thanks to its beer garden in the summer and its outdoor fires in the winter - over which marshmallows, bought at the bar, can be toasted - The Turf is extremely popular with students and tourists alike and is guaranteed always to be full, particularly in the evenings. As well as a large selection of ales, it also offers good standard of pub meals. The King's Arms is often fairly full during the day, located as it is next to the School of Geography, thus ensuring that hordes of idle geographers come here in their extended breaks, which generally seem to last for most of the day.

Anyone who comes to Oxford in the summer and has a full day on their hands should definitely visit The Trout in Godstow. Although literally jam-packed on a sunny day, often with a half-hour queue to order food, this pub is in the most idyllic setting, with the river Isis cascading past.

As well as having many pubs, Oxford also has numerous cocktail bars, many of which have a happy hour from about 6pm. Though the cocktails don't differ much between bars, Maxwell's is usually full, and has a good American food menu, while The Duke of York and The Beat Café, although small, are not normally so crowded. The Grand Café, which serves tapas, oysters, and champagne cocktails, as well as the more usual drinks, is certainly aimed at a more refined clientele than the average watering hole.

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