Family friendly restaurants in Oxford Published 01 July 2024
Enjoy delicious meals that the entire family will love with our curated list of family-friendly restaurants in Oxford. The Good Food Guide's team of anonymous inspectors has meticulously reviewed and selected the best dining spots in the city, ensuring a delightful experience for everyone.
Discover a variety of cuisines, from modern pub food at The Magdalen Arms to authentic Italian dishes at Branca. Our comprehensive list offers something to satisfy every family member's taste buds.
Buzzy up-tempo brasserie with decent Med-accented food
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 (mo… Read more
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… Read more
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… Read more
‘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.
Neighbourhood French fancy catering for north Oxford locals
Summertown locals are lucky to have family-run Pompette on their doorstep and they’re eager to applaud every aspect of this little slice of French bonhomie in the north of the city. With its walls emblazoned with artwork, a … Read more
Summertown locals are lucky to have family-run Pompette on their doorstep and they’re eager to applaud every aspect of this little slice of French bonhomie in the north of the city. With its walls emblazoned with artwork, a gorgeous summertime terrace and professional but personable staff, no wonder it is reckoned to be ‘an extra special place’. 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 Oxford.His menu is entrenched in the classics, but with the odd detour across the border. Fish soup, champignons à la grecque and côte de boeuf share the billing with ham and Manchego croquettes, white crab with ajo blanco, and grilled rabbit with Bomba rice, chorizo and piquillo peppers.French farmhouse cheeses, poached apricots and canelés de Bordeaux with salted rum caramel (Friday and Saturday nights only) round off a simple, satisfying offer.
Alternatively, drop by for poulet frites on Wednesday nights or steak frites on Thursday, if you prefer; they even do a proper petit-déjeuner from 10am. 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 (plus the odd interloper).
Even on a Tuesday evening, an exuberant buzz pulsates through this big old hostelry on the studenty outskirts of Oxford. Yes, the 'dining pub' recipe has been followed with dedication – bare boards, mismatched furniture and … Read more
Even on a Tuesday evening, an exuberant buzz pulsates through this big old hostelry on the studenty outskirts of Oxford. Yes, the 'dining pub' recipe has been followed with dedication – bare boards, mismatched furniture and all, both in the capacious bar and back restaurant – but there’s a vim and rhythm to proceedings that keeps the crowds coming back. Fair pricing and a daily changing menu of appealing modern pub food helps too. Start, perhaps, with a light goat's cheese soufflé, well-matched with a crunchy walnut and apple salad. Or look to the brief specials menu, where a consommé-like Provençal fish soup with heart-warming flavours comes with cheese-loaded rouille (pity about the slightly chewy croûtons). Next could be a hearty portion of fresh hake served on proper thick mash, with zip provided by a modest helping of peperonata. Meat dishes, too, come in satisfying proportions – for instance a plate of thin but tender venison slices, boosted by mouth-wateringly garlicky, creamy dauphinoise and purple sprouting broccoli. 'Party' dishes might include slow-cooked lamb shoulder for four or five people. High-quality ice cream makes a suitable finale – we recommend the almond praline version. Alert young waiting staff maintain the tempo throughout, and real ale provides an alternative to the keenly priced, chalked-up wine list (bottles from £21.50). The Magdalen Arms also runs its own 'pub shop emporium' and the owners aslo offer a limited takeaway menu.
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