The Alice restaurant at The Randolph

Located inside the historic Randolph Hotel, the restaurant’s eponymous nod to Lewis Caroll's famous children's book immediately evident through misaligned character portraits on the wall – their chaotic placement giving one the feeling of stepping inside the Mad Hatter’s tea party. Adding to the experiential look and feel of the place are candy pink booths, blue and white striped walls and three extravagant crystal chandeliers that draw the eye towards the bar at the head of the room.  

We attended a lunch sitting and dined from the set menu, available for a reasonable £22 for two courses, or £29 with dessert. To start, we chose a duo of refreshing cocktails named ‘Through the Looking Glass’ and ‘Pool of Tears’, giving weight to the fiction-through-food theme.  

Service was speedy and our starters arrived in a prompt fashion: one fresh and zingy and the other gratifyingly rich. The former saw a barbecued fillet of mackerel, smoky flavour intact, served with delicate cubes of crisp green apple, a bright lovage oil and edible flowers to boot – its only let down was that it was over in a few bites. At the other end of the flavour spectrum, a soft-boiled crispy egg was paired with Jerusalem artichoke and a tangle of crispy leaves, while a noticeable, but not overpowering, hum of truffle ran beneath.  

Mushroom risotto, often a one-dimensional dish, was anything but. Buttery, rice pudding-like rice was topped with a garden of foraged mushrooms while toasted hazelnuts provided welcome crunch to each oozy bite. Slightly less sleep-inducing was a bulbous hunk of seared cod on a bed of smoky chickpeas, surrounded by a mote of bright green dill oil with a creamy tomato butter sauce. Bread was required to soak up every last drop.  

The desserts provided a final fittingly theatrical display. Our friendly waiter appeared with a transparent teapot filled with strawberry consommé, which he poured over a buttermilk and vanilla panacotta. Modest in size but punchy in flavour, the not-too-sweet dish ended our meal on a high. 

The Alice is a unique venture in both surrounds and food and a wonderful option for a special occasion. 

Set inside the historic Randolph hotel in the heart of Oxford, The Alice is an all-day dining room serving seasonal, locally-sourced British dishes with a contemporary twist. The 78-cover restaurant serves breakfast, a set lunch, dinner, pre-theatre dining and afternoon tea. Of course, if you’re just in town for a drink, then The Alice bar offers an extensive range of wines, craft beers and spirits, as well as house cocktails including signatures such as Through the Looking Glass and Down the Rabbit Hole.  

The menu’s illustrations are by artist John Broadley who takes inspiration from cartoonist Osbert Lancaster (a former resident at the hotel). The artwork brings together ideas from Emery’s menu, the city of Oxford and Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland.  

Heading up the kitchen is executive chef Chris Emery whose menu revolves around the turn of the seasons. Dishes include heirloom tomatoes with burrata and sourdough, cured chalk steam trout with charcoal mayonnaise, cep risotto, 36-day aged beef rump, braised cheek with beef fat potatoes and celeriac pithivier with swiss chard. To finish, choose from lemon and lime parfait, banana tarte tatin (for two) or chocolate fudge with coffee and yoghurt.  

Emery also creates the menus for the other hotel dining rooms, including The Snug, Morse Bar, The Drawing Room and The Lancaster Room. Adjoining The Alice is The Snug, an intimate lounge which is as cosy as it sounds featuring pastel-hued furniture and blue and white pinstriped walls. It’s designed to be a cosy nook between restaurant and private dining.  

High ceilings and giant crystal chandeliers inject the main dining room with a decidedly grand feel, while pink booth seating and misaligned artwork on the walls invoke a sense of playfulness that ensures the fictional spirit of the place is not lost.  

The space is available to book by hotel guests and visitors alike. Emery says: ‘’We want the hotel and the restaurant to be accessible to everybody so that they can come in and have a bite to eat for lunch, or afternoon tea, or a cocktail before going to the theatre - I want people to walk through the door and feel relaxed."