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Nibble on Mediterranean bites in a refurbished late-19th-century greenhouse at Gee's Restaurant.
(Photo: Courtesy of Gee's Restaurant) |
Join Oxford’s ladies who lunch at Gee’s Restaurant, which opened 30 years ago but underwent a complete restoration last year (three-course lunch, $27). Situated in an 1898 greenhouse, the space seems ripe for a posh but rustic garden party, with leather and burlap decor, rough-hewn wood tables, and white wrought-iron chairs. The new charcoal grill and wood-fire oven are put to good use in Mediterranean-tinged dishes like guinea fowl with lemon and sage ($29), Iberico ham and wild rocket pizzetta ($12), and veal heart with creamed white beans and green sauce ($17). Look for clever nods to the building’s history, such as fries served in terracotta pots and bread baskets woven from twine.
Sample farm-to-table pub grub at Jacobs Inn, which opened last year in nearby Wolvercote village. Though only three miles north of Oxford’s city center on the city6 bus line ($3), the spot feels like a cottage you’d stumble upon on a country walk, thanks to fireplace-warmed nooks and a look that’s British farmhouse by way of Brooklyn: antique tin signs, mason jars, Edison bulbs, and a roster of taxidermy. Out back, the owners raise pigs (which ultimately become house-cured chorizo) and chickens, which provide the village with fresh eggs. The menu hews closely to traditional British fare, with a twist, as in poached quail eggs with pickled wild mushrooms ($10) or bubble-and-squeak pancakes with crispy hen’s egg and creamed spinach ($16). Reserve a spot early for Sunday’s Great British Roast menu, which features some of the area’s best locally sourced meats�Oxfordshire beef, Sandy Lane organic lamb, Blythburgh free-range pork, or free-range chicken�served with roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, pot-roast root vegetables, braised red cabbage, and red-wine gravy ($24).
Order something hearty at the Rickety Press, a gastropub opened by three old schoolmates in 2011. With its tartan wallpaper, butcher-block tables, and shelves lined with leather-bound books and board games, the spot looks tailor-made for today’s young university gent. Though the room is casual and cozy, the food is surprisingly sophisticated, even earning a Michelin Bib Gourmand Award. Try refined dishes like smoked mackerel pâté ($12), truffle gnocchi with wild mushrooms ($20), and Wye Valley asparagus with burnt-butter hollandaise and poached duck egg ($14). Or just embrace the masculine tone of the room and go in on the shareable cote de boeuf ($12 per 100 grams), accompanied by fries, baby leaf salad, and roast onions, and, for a true trencherman’s appetite, topped with bone marrow ($2.50).