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Browns - Oxford

British, Modern European·
££££
·

SquareMeal Review of Browns - Oxford

Brown’s, a university town fixture, has now extended its reach from Brighton in the south to Glasgow in the north – with further openings on the agenda. There’s clearly mileage in its potted palms, bentwood chairs & a ‘something for everyone’ formula. Alas, readers continue to berate poor service & forgettable food that puts ‘quantity over quality’. Find a good branch or a good day though, & that old warm familiarity returns. The brasserie/grill menu gets it right with a retro offering of burgers, fish pies, lobster tagliatelle & chicken Caesar salads, while pork belly with cauliflower cheese ‘bread & butter pudding’ or cured Trealy Farm ham with figs feel right for today’s budget foodie. Inexpensive cocktails & some interesting wines (Brachetto d’Acqui, Château Musar among others) might surprise you.

Good to know

Average Price
££££ - £30 - £49
Cuisines
British, Modern European
Ambience
Glamorous
Food Occasions
Dinner, Lunch
Special Features
Vegetarian options
Perfect for
Birthdays, Celebrations, Child friendly, Group dining [8+], Special occasions

About

Browns in Oxford is just one of the brand’s locations that you’ll find dotted around the country. From dawn till dusk, Browns’ doors welcome customers with a selection of quintessentially British food and plenty of innovative seasonal dishes. Fresh catch from the market arrives daily, and these dishes are served alongside the menu that features beloved classics, afternoon teas, and traditional Sunday roasts. Whether you’re looking for somewhere to enjoy a big booking with the whole family, a romantic date night, or after work dinner that you don’t have to cook, Browns in Oxford is well worth your visit.

Starters are pretty delicious, and there is plenty to choose from. Why not try the dish of conference pear, dolcelatte and beetroot salad with red chicory, baby gem lettuce, candied seeds, and a Cabernet Sauvignon vinaigrette. Other starter dishes include the crispy cod cheeks with a buttermilk tartare sauce and red apple, along with mushrooms on toasted sourdough with wilted spinach, white wine, garlic and toasted pine nuts, and teriyaki chicken skewers with pickled vegetables, lemongrass and ginger dipping sauce.

When you get to the main part of your meal, why not try the harissa spiced lamb rack with couscous, preserved lemon, semi-dried tomatoes, mint yoghurt, pomegranate and micro coriander, or the firm favourite of maple and cinnamon glazed pork belly with sage mash, seasonal greens, brandy and Pink Lady jus and delicious crackling. If you like steak, you can choose from sirloin, ribeye and fillet, with sides of fries, onion rings, grilled mushrooms, asparagus, lemon and sauteed la ratte potatoes. There are lots of chef's specials on the menu, too, including a fresh whole lobster with fries, watercress and thermidor sauce.


FAQs

Is there a dress code?

There is no dress code, but we would advise smart casual

Helpful? 0

Is it child friendly?

Yes, children of all ages are welcome

Helpful? 0

Location

5-11 Woodstock Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 6HA

01865 511 995 01865 511 995

Website

Opening Times

All day
Mon 10:00-23:00
Tue 10:00-23:00
Wed 10:00-23:00
Thu 10:00-23:00
Fri 10:00-00:00
Sat 09:00-00:00
Sun 09:00-22:00

Reviews

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6 Reviews 
Food/Drink
Service
Atmosphere
Value

Sue G

28 April 2024   - Verified Diner
Food & Drink 4
Service 4
Atmosphere 4
Value 4
Mostly very good, once they'd read the message!

The food was good, the service was good.  But it is so irritating when a message about reuqirements (not vague wishes, but requirements) for seating is sent - and completely ignored.  Much rearranging in a flurry didn't get our visit off to a good start.

Tessa H

29 March 2024   - Verified Diner
Food & Drink 1.5
Service 4.5
Atmosphere 3
Value 1.5
Disappointing

The service was excellent but the food was indifferent and we were disappointed as usually much better.

STEPHEN K

26 February 2024   - Verified Diner
Food & Drink 3
Service 3
Atmosphere 3
Value 3
Disappointing

Went here about three weeks ago and had a fab meal/experience so we thought we'd try it again yesterda (25/02) Amazing how things can change in a few weeks? Had to wait a staggering 45 mins for our starters to arrive of which by and large were ok, but the main, although not as long arriving was dissapointing, My wife had the Roast Beef sunday lunch which looked very wrinkled as if it had either been re heated or left under a heat lamp waiting for service? stangly though she said although it was not cold,it was "cool" Meanwhile I had the Cod (which I had the previous visist) the portion size was no where near that of the previous visit and there was only half the amount of veg compared to the other visit, it to was wrinkled and had little or no taste - a disappointing experience !

Sam G

28 January 2024   - Verified Diner
Food & Drink 4
Service 4
Atmosphere 3.5
Value 2.5
Good food at a price!

Good food in a nice setting. Service was friendly & attentive. Prices were a bit high, but we had a good time.

Anon

30 September 2020  
Food & Drink 0.5
Service 3
Atmosphere 0.5
Value 0.5
Food wasn’t great

Really disappointing. Food was worse than average. Fish pie...returned...just awful. Other main dishes barely average. Deserts were okay. 
Have been coming here for 8 years...2 of our children studying here...21st's here, always been great....won't be coming again, unfortunately. Such a shame.

 

Jacqui T

13 June 2013  
Food & Drink 1.5
Service 1.5
Atmosphere 2
Value 2.5
Beastly Brunch at Browns
Having reviewed brunch at Browns earlier on in the year, and finding it very pleasant, we decided on a return visit. Off we went, with bellies rumbling and eager for a good feed… Unfortunately, I have to report, this second visit was a sheer and utter disaster. Please do excuse the bullet points, I wouldn't normally use them in a review, in this case though they are the best way of highlighting the crazy catalogue of errors: - Having ordered four Traditional Breakfasts and one small portion of Sausage and Scrambled Egg (for MiniF), we were disappointed to find out that, when our food arrived, there was no black pudding as advertised – it had been replaced rather assumptively with a rasher of bacon. No major big deal but it would have been nice to have been consulted. – The mushrooms were stone cold. Again, no major big deal, but getting worse. - THIS IS WHERE IT GETS REALLY BAD… The sausage served to my one year old son was undercooked and pink through the middle. - The waitress, having disappeared to rectify the undercooked sausage, did so without offering any sauces, leaving us to wait a good 5 minutes till we could stop another member of staff to get any – most of the food was quite cool by this point. - The sausage served to me was also undercooked – thoroughly pink through the entire middle. Bearing in mind I'm five months pregnant, and that undercooked meat can be very dangerous to unborn babies, things were getting pretty serious by this point. - Finally, the replacement sausage delivered to me had clearly been blasted in a microwave (the gnarled side gave it away instantly). The final nail in the coffin. On summarising our complaints at the end of the meal, we were further disappointed to receive a couple of excuses from the waitress: she didn't know they had run out of black pudding (possibly come and advise us to see if we want to change our order / swap for another item of our choice); and they don't have a microwave in the kitchen (if they don't, then the chef has clearly found some other dreadful way of cooking sausages that makes them look thoroughly microwaved). Ultimately, they knocked two breakfasts off the bill – quite rightly so given the dreadful performance. For me, the worst part of the whole experience was the fact that, after serving up two undercooked sausages – to a child and a pregnant lady – the chef didn't even have the decency to rectify the situation by providing a decently cooked sausage. Zero care and consideration went into the cooking of that final sausage, in fact my assumption would be that he/she had been annoyed by our earlier sausage complaints. Terribly, terribly poor show.
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01865 511 995 01865 511 995

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