Oxford's Grill, Cowley Road

Apologies for the silence - I'm still here, although I think the days of four reviews a month are probably over for good. Today we have a review of an establishment occupying a site at the bottom of the Cowley Road that's been through a few incarnations over the years. Once a sibling of Joe's in Summertown, and then a decent Mediterranean place (called something like L21?), it's now Oxford's Grill.

 

(image from http://www.oxfordsgrill.com - watch out for the music)

It doesn't look like much more than a glorified kebab shop from the outside, but I'd heard good things and an earlier visit had turned out very impressively, so eventually I managed to return with a camera. The menu is predominantly Turkish, with the addition of a few dishes - spaghetti and moussaka, for example - from other parts of the Mediterranean. It's the kind of place where you could probably order a selection to share if you wanted, although they've bowed to English tastes and divided everything up into starters and main courses: there's also a good value two-course deal for £10.95. Cubes of nice fresh pitta-style bread and very moreish hummus are also offered (for free) while you're ordering (and on this visit we were grateful to the proprietor for moving us away from a table of people who seemed to be aiming for some sort of world decibel record).

 

On my previous visit I'd had the grilled hellim cheese as a starter (£4.95), but on the assumption that I can eat all the halloumi I need (and more) at home, this time I chose the Sigara Borek (£3.45), cylinders of pastry stuffed with feta, spinach and parsley. These weren't for those who shun salt, but were fresh and hot and the cheese inside had achieved that perfect melting consistency. The Photographer, meanwhile, went for the grilled Sucuk, Turkish garlic sausage (£3.95), which (blogging cliché alert) disappeared too quickly for me to ask for a taste.

The Administrator, meanwhile, was served with a vegetable lasagne (£7.95) in which a sprig of rosemary had been jauntily impaled. It wasn't an especially subtle specimen, consisting of pasta and vegetables with a very thick layer of cheese in the middle, but it was tasty and flavoursome. My Iskender (£9.95), grilled chicken, kofte and lamb, was a beautiful combination of tender meats, cooked to perfection, although the increasingly soggy bread cubes in tomato sauce that they rested on started to pall after a while, and I envied the Photographer the rice that came with his mixed grill (£13.95), which was another well-judged, non-greasy and appetising dish.

We then heeded the call of the 'homemade desserts' signs around the place. My baklava (£4.55) was sticky, distinctly nutty and not excessively sweet, while a chocolate soufflé (£5.25) - i.e. one of those melting middle puddings - compared very well with others sampled elsewhere.

Given that many of Oxford's restaurants can only be recommended with a caveat of some sort attached, it's a relief to find somewhere that's friendly, well-priced, and serves fresh and delicious food. Let's hope that Oxford's Grill stays for a long time.


Oxford's Grill
21 Cowley Road
Oxford OX4 1HP

01865 201120

9/10