Edamame, Holywell Street

I nearly didn't publish last week's review on the grounds that, although I wasn't too keen on the restaurant, the reasons for this weren't especially interesting. This week I hesitated for a different reason. In the years that I've spent in Oxford I've never heard a bad word said about Edamame, I've eaten well there before, and it's always popular. You can tell it's open (their location on a residential street means that the hours are quite restricted - check before you go) because the queue for seats is generally snaking out of the door into Holywell Street. What could I add to this?

AT Thai, High Street

At one point I wasn't sure whether to write this review up at all, as there's not that much to say about my visit to AT Thai: we didn't order a wide range of food, and with one exception what we ate was neither outstandingly bad nor particularly good. Those who would like detailed commentary or profound insights into Thai cuisine should probably stop reading now. But I'd like this blog to become a kind of directory of as many Oxford restaurants as possible, and as I ate at this one, and took photographs (even though the low lighting means that they didn't come out very well), and I'm unlikely to rush to return, I see no reason to 'waste' my visit.

Gee's, Banbury Road

Apparently it's not always a good idea to visit a restaurant on a Sunday evening: the staff can be tired, stocks may be low, and everyone knows that it's the end of the weekend. But this time of the week is a bit of an occasion at Gee's, with a jazz trio in situ and a special menu (two courses for £25.95, three for £28.95) replacing the à la carte. Several of our group had previously eaten from the latter and enjoyed it (while the other week I was very impressed by the sibling of Gee's, Quod). Tucked away in north Oxford, in a cosy conservatory, this is one of the city's most atmospheric places to eat, and as we trudged up the Banbury Road on a cold, snowy evening, the restaurant lights twinkled invitingly. Expectations were high.

The High Table, High Street

I often walk past the High Table and admire its smart-looking black and white interior, which contrasts nicely with the brickwork of its parent establishment, the Eastgate Hotel. The shiny, mirrored decor is matched by the ambitious menu. Each dish is followed by a list of wildly varying accompaniments, as if someone has been playing word association with a food theme. I know that happens in London all the time, but not so much on the High Street in Oxford.