Oxford’s top 10 budget eats
This weekend, the Foodies Festival takes over Oxford’s South Parks,
but where else in the city can you find great, affordable food? Tony
Naylor unearths Oxford’s best budget eats
Tony Naylor
guardian.co.uk,
Friday 27 August 2010 11.29 BST
The Big Bang’s quality sausage and mash.
1. The Mission Mexican Grill
This tribute to the taquerias of San Francisco’s Mission District,
aims to bring authentic Cal-Mex food to Oxford. Certainly, its
burritos bear comparison with the best that Britain, a country with a
burgeoning interest in pinto beans, sour cream and flour tortillas,
has to offer (see also, Daddy Donkey, London; Bar Burrito,
Manchester/Liverpool). The distribution of ingredients through my
sample burrito was a little uneven – the aim, surely, is to get a
little bit of everything in every bite? – but said ingredients were
first-rate. The Mission’s much vaunted carnitas, pork roasted very
slowly with thyme, bay leaves and orange zest, does, indeed, offer
fathoms of flavour. It’s the sort of meat that stirs the soul.
– Burritos from £4.95. 8 St Michael’s Street, +44 (0)1865 202016; 2
King Edward Street +44 (0)1865 722020; missionburritos.co.uk
2. Oxford Covered Market
It’s not exactly Barcelona’s Boqueria, but this market, which dates
to 1774, does include a surprisingly large number of interesting (and
cheap) places to eat. These include a cafe outpost of Bristol’s
gourmet pie company, Pieminister (meals from £5; takeaway pies £3.50;
pieminister.co.uk); the original Ben’s Cookies kiosk, where you can
pick-up oven-warm, ethereally light, moist cookies, the chocolate
still melting in the middle (cookies around £1.20; benscookies.com);
and the small, attractive corner deli, Fasta Pasta. The latter is
owned by Taylor’s (taylorsoxford.co.uk), an Oxford mini-chain of
upmarket sandwich shops, and Fasta Pasta’s sandwich selection is
similarly impressive (from £2). The breads are exceptionally fresh,
and a sandwich filling of chicken and chorizo bound with a homemade,
harissa-laced North African “pesto”, was winningly different. Locals,
meanwhile, swear by the ever busy Brown’s, the “original” market cafe,
where you can get a full English for £4.85, sandwiches from £1.50 and
home-cooked British staples such as liver and bacon and cottage pie
for around £6. There is, enthuses one Brown’s fan: “None of that
gastro rubbish!” Although, curiously, from its bolo de arroz cakes to
beef with fried eggs, there is a distinct Portuguese undercurrent
running through the menu.
– Market Street, oxford-covered-market.co.uk
3. The Nosebag Restaurant
This long-standing local favourite – upstairs from Makan La on St
Michael’s Street – is a simple, cafeteria-style eaterie offering
reliably good homemade pates, quiches, curries, casseroles and
lasagnes, most of them served with a choice of three salads from a
vibrant selection. There is always a good choice of vegetarian dishes
available (such as sweet pepper and lentil lasagne, or mushroom and
butter bean stroganoff), although it was a sampler of tasty,
generously filled salmon and watercress quiche that secured Nosebag’s
place in this top 10. The dishes on the evening menu are a little more
sophisticated and slightly more expensive (mains up to £11).
– Snacks from £1.50, dishes from £4-£8. 6-8 St Michael’s Street, +44
(0)1865 721033; nosebagoxford.co.uk
4. The Big Bang
Sausage ‘n’ mash is one of those classic British dishes which, after
years of neglect, we are belatedly beginning to take real pride in. No
one more so than Max Mason, owner of the Big Bang in Oxford’s trendy
Jericho enclave. The concept could not be simpler: he sources
high-quality sausages from small farms and traditional local butchers;
you match them to a range of mash and gravy options. The lunch deal
(£5.50), which allows you to choose two sausages with a substantial
dollop of well-worked, creamy mash, gravy and a sprinkling of
(slightly withered) fried onions, is particularly filling good value.
When in Rome and all that, you may want to try the Oxford sausage, a
stridently herby, peppery pork and sage banger. The range runs from a
simple pork and leek to specialities such as pheasant and pear, and
beef and Guinness, the latter a seriously meaty mouthful. The small
restaurant space itself is pretty basic – cheap bistro furniture,
utilitarian office carpet, dated polystyrene ceiling tiles – but the
service is pleasant, the sausages good and the price right. If you’re
really watching the pennies, but want to visit in the evening, note
the “cheapskate” and hot-dog menu options.
– Lunch deal £5.50, standard mains around £9. 124 Walton Street,
Jericho, +44 (0)1865 511441; thebigbangrestaurants.co.uk
5. Branca
Back in the day, Branca was a real innovation for Jericho; a big,
sexy, post-industrial bar-diner seemingly beamed in from London or New
York. If, since 2000, the novelty has worn off, the quality remains.
Prices are pretty keen, the cooking is of notable quality, the staff
are on the ball and, on a wet, grey Wednesday afternoon, it was still
buzzing with activity. 12-5pm daily, you can eat a “small” stonebaked
pizza, pasta, antipasti or risotto with a glass of house wine or a
Peroni for £6.65. A sampler plate of smoked haddock risotto looked
like a fair three-quarter portion and contained plenty of fish. It was
accurately cooked – properly seasoned; light and creamy; the rice had
retained a little bite; the peas and onions were still al dente – and
was conscientiously topped with a little chopped parsley and lemon
zest. Pound-for-pound it was the best thing I ate during this whizz
around Oxford. Two-course and drink offer (£10.45) available Mon-Fri,
midday-7pm, Saturday until 5pm.
– Lunch deal £6.65, standard mains/pizza from £8. 111 Walton Street,
+44 (0)1865 556111; branca-restaurants.com
6. Al-Shami
Twenty-two years in, this understated Lebanese restaurant continues to
attract Oxford’s foodies. The meze may be described as “small dishes”,
and start at just £1.80, but they’re bigger than tapas, and
six-to-eight between two would make for a substantial shared meal.
Favourites such as hummus, tabbouleh, falafel and fattoush are all
present and correct, but there are plenty of things that you might not
recognise, too, from bastorma (dried, cured and spiced beef) and the
spicy Armenian sausage, sujuq, to kibbeh maqlia, little shaped,
deep-fried “eggs” of ground meat and wheat, stuffed with a (slightly
underseasoned) mix of lamb, pine nuts and onion. Lebanese wines and
araks available, although the Almaza lager (£1.90) is as sweetly
nondescript as most Mediterranean beers. Please note that unusually a
£1 cover charge applies, per person, and a 10% service charge was also
added to the bill, which nudged a £7.90 sub-total up to £9.80.
– Meze £1.80-£4, larger dishes from £5.75. 25 Walton Crescent, +44
(0)1865 310066; al-shami.co.uk
7. The Yard at Modern Art Oxford
Even in its normal indoor incarnation, the Modern Art gallery’s cafe
is worth a visit. It does a strong, fruity flat white (coffees from
£1.50) and bakes a mean cake. Its crazily rich, inch-thick banana,
walnut and chocolate brownie has a dense, fondant consistency, more
chocolate truffle than cake. You can almost feel your arteries furring
up, but what a way to go. It also serves fat gourmet sandwiches
(£4.50), salads and savoury tarts, as well bottles of Friel’s cider
and St Peter’s ales (£3.50). However, at the moment, and until 12
September, it’s not just food that’s attracting people to the Modern
Art, but the space itself. In collaboration with architects, dRMM,
artist Richard Woods, who specialises in all-encompassing
installations, has transformed the Modern Art’s delivery bay into a
playful temporary cafe, The Yard.
– Snacks from around £2-£5. 30 Pembroke Street, +44 (0)1865 722733;
modernartoxford.org.uk
8. The Vaults & Garden Cafe
When they say small soup, they mean small soup. Literally, a cup, for
£2.75. But it’s a very tasty leek and potato, the real artisan bread
(50p) lives up to the billing, and, I suppose, local, organic
ingredients – vegetables from nearby Worton Organic Garden – don’t
come cheap. Elsewhere on the enticing menu, notable for its excellent
veggie options, you’ll find dishes such as spiced chickpea tagine with
roasted butternut squash, green olives and rosemary; puy lentil and
goat’s cheese gratin, with marinaded aubergine and roasted red
peppers; or organic beef lasagne (mains served with salad, brown rice,
potatoes etc.) The location also plays a big part in the Vaults’
popularity. It’s housed in a 14th-century hall, the “congregation
house”, built as Oxford University’s original administrative centre,
within the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, while the gardens
– actually the graveyard – look out on to the famous circular
Radcliffe Camera library and several university colleges.
– Snacks from around £2-£4, main dishes £6-£8. The Vaults & Garden
Café, University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Radcliffe Square, +44
(0)1865 279112; vaultsandgarden.com
9. Edamame
Peter and Mieko Galpin’s buzzy cafe-restaurant is actually shut now
until 28 September. Put the date in your diary. Authentic Japanese
home-cooking is the deal, here, and Edamame’s competitively priced
ramens, stir-frys and noodle dishes have made it a firm favourite with
local foodies, Japanese students and many national guides. Lunch is a
steal, with complete meals – for example, breaded, fried pork loin
cutlet (pork tonkatsu) served with rice, a fruity sauce and a bowl of
miso soup – costing £6-£9. However, even on Friday and Saturday
evenings (Thursday is sushi night), most of the main dishes, which are
designed to mix, match and share, come in at around £3-£6. You may
never look at Wagamama in quite the same way again. No bookings,
takeaway available (collection only).
– Lunch meals £6-9, evening dishes (Fri/ Sat only) £3-£8. 15 Holywell
Street, +44 (0)1865 246 916; edamame.co.uk
10. George & Davis’
The production headquarters for local ice-cream luminaries, G&Ds
(other branches at Cowley Road and the corner of Pembroke Street/St
Aldate’s), this brightly painted cafe – on the Little Clarendon Street
cut-through from town to Jericho – does a brisk trade in upmarket
ice-cream, as well as filled bagels, cookies and cakes. Having been
knocked-out by G&D’s ice-cream in the past, I must admit that I was
slightly disappointed with this visit’s sample. While the flavours
were typically true and clear, and the sweetness well-judged, my
Ferrero Rocher tribute was a bit too thick and dense. It lacked
something of that luscious creaminess which you – or, certainly, I –
want from a luxury ice-cream. That said, lick for lick, I’d still hunt
out a G&Ds over any of the big brand competition.
– One scoop £2.05, two scoops £3.05, bagels from £2.60. 55 Little
Clarendon Street, +44 (0)1865 516652; gdcafe.com
– Foodies Festival Oxford runs 28 to 30 August, South Parks, Oxford
(foodiesfestival.com)
– Cross Country trains (crosscountrytrains.co.uk) travel from
Manchester to Oxford from £15 one way.
From: A. Papazian