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Oxford students know one often-hidden truth: for the best restaurants in Oxford, you’ll often need to cross (the extremely picturesque) Magdalene Bridge and head into Cowley Road.
Living in Oxford can often seem like a bubble. There’s lots of tradition, pomp and academic chatter. One evening spent in the restaurants of Cowley Road quickly bursts that bubble. If Oxford is a truly international city, Cowley is the beating heart of multicultural Oxford. And unsurprisingly, Cowley has some of the best restaurants in Oxford.
If Cowley Road sounds like your vibe, you may want to consider diving deeper into Oxford’s dining scene. In our opinion, the best way to do this is with an expertly curated food and drinking tour of Oxford. As you’ll soon learn, there’s so much more to this city than scones (although we do love scones).
After living in Oxford for a few years, I have strong opinions on the best restaurants on Cowley Road, Oxford. In this guide, I’ll be sharing a few of my favorites, including the best restaurant in Oxford.
Arbequina
Forget the best restaurants around Cowley Road. If I had to name the best restaurant in Oxford, there’s a good chance that Arbequina would be my answer.
Set in an old chemist and watchmaker (with vintage signage to match), Arbequina is no casual British countryside restaurant. Rather, this chic, Spanish-inspired, tapas-style restaurant wouldn’t be out of place in the hip corners of East London. Despite the often rustic nature of Cowley Road restaurants, Arbequina is suave, with both table and bar stool dining and expert mixology to match your dishes.
The menu here is short but powerful, and the staff recommend ordering two dishes per guest. It’s all designed for sharing, but I assure you there’s a handful of dishes you most certainly will not want to share. I always aim to try new dishes, but my go-to orders always include the onion tortilla (it is a tapas restaurant after all) and the crispy chickpea salad, served with a spiced yoghurt and chilli butter.
There’s often a handful of walk-in tables available. However, Arbequina is easily one of the most popular restaurants in Oxford. My tip? Reserve well in advance.
The Coconut Tree
This is not your ordinary Sri Lankan restaurant. The Coconut Tree prides itself on explosive flavors (in a good way). While South Asian food can often be very heavy, The Coconut Tree is full of extremely fresh flavors, with a heavy dose of vegetables and fish.
As you would expect from a Sri Lankan restaurant, I love the hoppers (you’ll want the egg hopper) and kotthu (with the best chopped up rotti). If you’re keen to try something new, the Kaju Maluwa offers a creamy, cashew-based coconut curry (and one of my favorites).
The Coconut Tree also offers an ‘Express Lunch‘ (30 minutes in and out) from 12 – 4 pm. You’ll get a hopper, curry, rotti, drink and sambol for only £15.
Delhish
Does it get any more Cowley than this? A self-styled vegan Indian street food kitchen, Delhish offers one of the most unique Indian menus in Oxford.
The interior of Delhish features a beautiful and eclectic collection of South Asian crafts. However, the layout isn’t like some tacky souvenir store, but rather it feels like thought was behind every placement. In many ways, Delhish feels like you’ve walked into someone’s home.
The food menu is split into a number of distinct sections, including Gujarati snacks, shaak (curries) and Gujarati street food chaats. You’ll probably want to order a few of each, but if you’re struggling to decide the Gujarati snack sharing platter comes with a little bit of everything.
In our opinion, Delhish really shines with their chaat menu. For the uninitiated, chaat involves layers of chopped onions, pomegranate, fenugreek and chickpeas, (vegan) yoghurt and various chutneys and sauces. If its your first chaat, you’ll want to go with the samosa chaat – because who doesn’t want an upgraded samosa?
Taste Tibet
If dining on Cowley Road is about delving into Oxford’s multicultural food scene, it doesn’t get better than Tibetan food. An extremely casual restaurant with shared tables, Taste Tibet prides themselves on being ‘the best Tibetan food this side of the Himalayas‘.
I love trying everything on the menu at a restaurant – and Taste Tibet totally understands that. The ‘feast for one‘ gives you two Tibetan curries, one momo (you can always order more) and rice. As you’d expect from a Tibetan restaurant, the momos are the star of the show. On a cold Oxford day, there’s nothing quite like a plate full of steaming momos and a cup of Taste Tibet’s homemade tea.
I love going grocery shopping along Cowley Road, where you can find stores stocking products from Iraq to Poland. Among my favorites is Taste Tibet’s small shop. Here, you can buy their homemade chilli oil, pickles and completely unique chocolate tsampa truffles.
Za’atar Bake
If you ask any Oxford student for their favorite restaurant on Cowley Road, there is a good chance Za’atar Bake will feature on the list.
Drawing from the best flavors of the Levant, Za’atar Bake offers some of the best Middle Eastern food outside of Amman. I’m a little obsessed with manakeesh (more generally) and if there’s one way to get me over to Cowley, it’s to suggest a manakeesh feast at Za’atar Bake. Despite promising every time to try something new, I always go for the classic za’atar and cheese.
The fattoush salad at Za’atar Bake is generously dowsed in the perfect balance of lemon and sumac, while the Palestinian (or Jordanian?) maqloubeh is a crowd favorite.
Local tip: If you like to photograph your meal, have your camera handy for when the maqloubeh is served!
The interior aesthetic is tasteful without being kitsch: vintage ‘visit Syria’ posters and Bedouin-style cushions. Lebanese pop classics fill the air.
Za’atar Bake is also one of the best restaurants for vegetarians in Oxford, with a clearly labeled menu full of veggie options. Having spent much time in the Middle East, it is so rare to find a vegetarian maqloubeh on the menu.
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Zainab
Thursday 18th of July 2024
Spot on - these folks really know Oxford!