Branca Restaurant and Bar in Oxford

Have been here a few times and is consistently good. The atmosphere is great, the menu is diverse and the options we’ve tried have all been delicious. Would thoroughly recommend Branca. Also the fantastic staff make the experience even better

Was recommended this place by a friend. It must have declined since he was last there. Unfortunately, hardly any redeeming features at all. Service is pretty much non existent. It’s a get-it-yourself kind of place. Food is average and not that cheap. A great opportunity missed, as there is a big market on their doorstep.

Tan pronto como mi hermana me preguntó a qué restaurante de Oxford me gustaría ir por mi cumpleaños, le dije Branca! Pensé que me había arriesgado y que tenía el potencial de defraudar mis recuerdos anteriores. Fue realmente encantador. Nuestra camarera era tan amable y profesional, que realmente fue lo que hizo nuestra comida perfecta. Disfrutamos mucho de nuestra comida y la lingüina era tan deliciosa como la recordaba. Muchas gracias chicos.

We had a lovely time here! The food was fantastic and the staff went above and beyond what they needed to! we got some lovely extras for my sister's birthday and felt very well looked after!

Éramos asiduos a Branca cuando vivíamos y trabajábamos localmente, y en una visita de regreso a Oxford decidimos visitar para cenar por los viejos tiempos. Al llegar nos recibieron y nos llevaron a nuestra mesa en la nueva parte de 'deli' del restaurante, lo que fue una pena, ya que carece del ambiente del espacio principal. Pedimos bebidas rápidamente, luego los pedidos de comida fueron tomados por un miembro diferente del equipo que no parecía darse cuenta de que ya habíamos pedido bebidas, y pasó la noche dirigiéndose a nosotros como "hola chicos", que se ralla masivamente, especialmente porque definitivamente no soy un chico. Alrededor de media hora después, el mismo camarero (hola chicos) nos informó que la cocina había perdido nuestro pedido (chicos) y podríamos recordarle lo que queríamos (lo siento chicos). Para ser justos, las bebidas de cortesía fueron traídas rápidamente a modo de disculpa, pero cuando nuestra comida finalmente llegó estaba claro que mi plato de lubina en realidad había estado sentado en el paso durante algún tiempo, ya que el puré era tibio en el mejor de los casos y la salsa de mantequilla estaba congelada. Todo sabía muy bien, aunque teníamos mucha hambre en ese momento, y probablemente hubiera sido mejor 20 minutos antes cuando estaba chapado y caliente. Tiramisú de postre todavía era bueno. Los baños todavía están en el sótano por una escalera de caracol incómoda y huelen un poco a moho. La foccacia y los baños gratuitos siguen siendo buenos. En general, CHICOS, no es tan brillante como solía ser, CHICOS. Abróchate un poco.

I first visited Branca about 10 years ago and had a disappointing, greasy meal. My friends convinced me to give it another try for a get-together, but unfortunately, the food was just as underwhelming as before. The restaurant is clearly popular with a young crowd who may not be too discerning about great food, but at these prices, the quality should have been far better. The fish board was exactly that—a fish board, with nothing exciting about it. The salmon pot lacked seasoning and was simply bland. The venison ragu pasta was particularly disappointing—it wasn’t a ragu at all, just boiled pasta with a bit of minced meat on top. With no real flavour to it, I decided it wasn’t worth the calories and left it almost untouched. Despite this, it was not taken off the bill. Instead, I ended up sharing a margherita pizza with a friend—at least that’s hard to get wrong. Even the cocktails missed the mark. My cosmopolitan was missing triple sec, making it nothing more than vodka, cranberry, and lime. The only redeeming aspects of the night were the restaurant’s décor, the friendly service, and the risotto, which was actually quite good. Safe to say, I won’t be giving Branca a third chance.

Went in for an early dinner ahead of the theatre so the restaurant was quiet but well staffed with friendly and attentive servers Good choice of drinks and wine and quick service. Both the beef short rib from the specials menu and the sea bass were excellent

Delicious and varied food! A variety of foods, including pizza, sandwiches, salads, and rice, are served during lunch hours. The downside is that the price isn't written down, so you don't know how much it will cost! But the taste is excellent. The plate below is 14 pounds.

Beautiful food and salad. Yes it pricey but it’s so fresh and cooked well and the staff are very lovely. The friands are to die for and the baked bread is some of Oxford finest. I’d recommend if you would like a fresh and authentic lunch and are willing to pay for good quality

Had a great time with friends here Saturday night. The food was lovely, the atmosphere was great and the service was excellent from Toby!

Estábamos visitando Oxford por la noche y reservé Branca después de leer las críticas, desafortunadamente no me pareció que coincidía con las buenas críticas, que fue decepcionante. Pedí la sopa de calabaza butternut - no pude terminar esto ya que el curry / especia era demasiado potente y quitó y sabor de la calabaza butternut. Nadie preguntó por qué el cuenco seguía lleno cuando recogieron los platos, lo que me pareció un poco extraño. Mi pareja tenía el entrante de pescado que terminamos compartiendo y esto fue sabroso! Para nuestra red los dos teníamos el kebab de cordero con la ensalada, el hummus y el pan plano. El cordero, aunque rosado, era duro y la slaw tenía un aderezo en el que no era demasiado agradable y ambos dejamos esto. El pan plano y el hummus era bueno. Decidimos no tomar un postre basado en lo anterior. El restaurante en sí es muy agradable y otros huéspedes comida que vi salir se veía bien, pero el nuestro no cumplió con nuestras expectativas tristemente y no volveríamos. También tienes un cargo por servicio añadido a tu factura que debido a que la comida no era genial y tener que pedir un cuchillo diferente como uno de los que teníamos no cortaría la carne y sintiendo que éramos una molestia por pedir, no estaba muy contento con tener que pagar esto en la parte superior de la cuenta.

I recently hosted my 21st birthday dinner party here, I had the most amazing night, the food was so delicious! The service was great and Fiona who organised the evening was so so helpful. Would definitely recommend. Thank you!!

Had Caspian as our waiter. Really nice guy, great service. Food and vibe was outstanding.

Very impressed with Branco, the service was great, the food was great, the venue was comfortable, great vibe without being too loud, I would definitely recommend!

Always enjoy eating at Branca, they're so good at making everything happen smoothly, and the food is always delicious and a very varied choice of veggie, meat, or fish. Our waiter was charming and kind too.

Me encantó. Gran comida y muy buen servicio. El bistec era excelente. Cócteles deliciosos. Espacioso y divertido. Gran experiencia en general.

Early dinner before comedy at Oxford Playhouse - what could be better 🎯. Great team looked after us very well and the food was delicious. Light, tasty and wide ranging menu. Bright, sparky and attentive waiters couldn't have been better. Panettone bread and butter pudding is out of this world ...

Great atmosphere, brilliant service and delicious food - as always

Amazing service, food was prefect. Will be back. Thanks

We had birthday celebration and got table for 8 by the door, was cold not atmospheric. Some main were okay, some not. Drinks were very good, desserts not great. 3 guests had upset stomach after dinner. We had great meals there before but this time not so much, sorry but won't be rushing back soon.

The place is charming, the food delicious and Francesco, our waiter, amazingly kind and helpful. Great experience. Will definitively go back.

We had an outstanding meal the staff and restaurant were above and beyond expectation a truly wonderful experience

Good vibe early on a Saturday night, very mixed crowd , good service , good food . We were a party of six friends . Would come again !

Really good, great service and friendly staff, enjoyed the starter and the complimentary bread.

This is a nice comfortable venue, good food friendly service and for Oxford reasonable value. The only disappointment was the burger, not great meat, some grissly bits in there. The venison special was delicious as was the fish stew.

it was fantastic! they gave me and my boyfriend free prosecco! definitely coming back.

Delicious food, good welcoming service, quite chilly temperature as they struggled to keep the restaurant warm on this cold day.

Great food and service. Not much atmosphere and it was quite cold in the building. Wound definitely go back and recommend.

Love Branca. Have never had a bad experience dining there. Staff are friendly, food delicious and atmosphere is relaxed

I liked their wide range of options for food. There is only one bad thing. Cafe is very small and it will be full very soon on busy days/hrs

It was our first visit to Branca. We just loved the vibe, with friendly staff and great food.

We went to Branca for a family dinner on New Year’s Eve. It was a wonderful experience. Not only was the food amazing, but the service was incredible. They were so polite and fun and it was a welcoming environment. One of our pizzas was slightly late, and they apologised profusely and then took the pizza off the bill which was so kind. Would 100% return.

We had a lovely NYE meal at Branca, the slow roast pork belly was superb and my partner enjoyed her lamb. The service was attentive and they did everything to make our evening enjoyable and relaxed. Good value for the quality of food also.

Good food, nice space. Cocktail leaned a bit sweet for me, but probably not for most. I was a little surprised not to see Fernet on the menu (I have no idea if there’s a connection to the name) but was happy to spy it behind the bar.

Found this restaurant for a New Year’s Eve meal after previous plans were cancelled due to the weather. So glad we did find this place as everything about it was amazing. Service was outstanding and the food was delicious. Couldn’t fault a single thing and will definitely dine here again when we are back in Oxford

Thoroughly enjoyed the food and service at Branca.

Good food well prepared and cooked. Very friendly and helpful staff.

Great food and drinks, but the restaurant was very cold.

Family meal for 10 on a Sunday evening. Great food - everyone loved their choices. Restaurant was busy enough to have a good atmosphere, but not overcrowded or noisy. Will definitely return soon!

The best restaurant in Oxford. Always welcoming. Delicious food & staff brilliant. Just perfect

A most enjoyable Saturday evening. A little quieter than usual post Christmas. We had venison and linguine both of which were superb and generous portions. Very relaxed atmosphere and great service.

Food always good here. However the letdown last night was that the restaurant was far too cold.

It was a lovely Xmas eve lunch for our family. The difficulty was the acoustic and very noisy tables around us which meant at times we couldn’t hear one another at all. Also, we had no Christmas crackers on the table even though they told me on the phone we would when I booked. I expected a Christmassy table.

He comido aquí en un par de ocasiones y me ha impresionado. Las comidas eran sabrosas y parecía que se estaban utilizando ingredientes frescos de alta calidad. Sin duda volvería de nuevo. El restaurante es amplio y atmosférico.

Excellent food, warm and welcoming atmosphere and wonderful staff

As always excellent service, lovely food , brilliant staff a wonderful experience all round.

Fabulous food and a lovely atmosphere. The service was excellent. Thank you!

Lovely food and good service in very relaxed surroundings

Have visited this restaurant a fare few times. As always fantastic food & service.

Expensive and yet tasteless and small portions. Used to be much much better!

This was my second visit, first was a meal as part of a conference. This time we met with friends. Great menu, food and service.

Overall it was a very good experience, the food is amazing, the attention was great and even so we had a misunderstanding with the reservation they resolved it quickly and we got a table. Was a lovely family dinner and hopefully we will come back again.

Fantastic food, service and atmosphere. Been good since we first went around 10 years ago! Very good quality produce and meal choice. Lovely pizza and great pasta. My 8 year old says; “I love their bread..”

Relaxed atmosphere, family friendly (although felt important to respect non family diners) food well presented delicious and fresh.

Vine aquí para una cena femenina un viernes por la noche para celebrar el cumpleaños de mis amigos. El servicio fue fantástico y muy personal. El entorno relajado y frío y la comida era deliciosa! Sin duda volveremos!

The food was fantastic, as was the service. Great place for a meal.

Value for money was not great, food is okay but not outstanding.

I want to like Branca more than feels possible! I has all the right elements, but is let down by over-stretched service. It's always a warning, when you have to flag someone down for drinks after 15 minutes on arrival...

This was a very busy night. It was noisy and we couldn't hear each other speak on our table of 8. Food we ordered did not arrive together and we had to wait for two dishes which arrived several minutes after most of us had started our meals. The moroccan lamb was chewy and the coleslaw was the main feature on the plate, if I wanted coleslaw as a main I would ask for it ! The prawn linguine was swimming in a thin broth like sauce, we didn't order noodle soup! I won't revisit.

Love coming here. The cocktail barman makes a mean espresso martini and the food is very good

Lovely restaurant, good menu choices, nice food and very friendly staff

Great atmosphere, super friendly staff and great food, everyone fully enjoyed themselves

Lovely welcome from staff. Our table wasn’t quite ready as we were a bit early but had a good time at the bar with friendly and helpful staff. Good food and service when we did sit down. Great atmosphere. We were celebrating a big birthday and the birthday girl was given a glass of bubbles and a dessert with a candle. Nice touches, so thank you!

Great atmosphere for an early evening supper. Great menu choices and reasonable house wine quality and cost

Really helpful staff. Couldn’t have been more welcoming.

Lovely service, food was okay. Happy to have a meal there anytime when in Oxford.

Service was exemplary. Shout out to Caspian for being so attentive. Food was solid and the atmosphere was lovely for a Friday evening. A nice buzz without being too loud. Overall, they made my birthday a lovely time.

This lovely building is superb, the staff so friendly and professional, really good quality and fresh food! Came to take my mum for a special lunch while visiting feom Brazil and didnt disappoint. Also the deli is a must visit!

Evening supper with super atmosphere and great waiter suitably attentive but great manner to seamlessly pull our evening together

Really great experience on Friday night. Cheerful, attentive service, delicious selection of tasty food. Wine was good but quite expensive. Tiramisu was particularly good but we enjoyed all of the food. Restaurant seemed to thin out relatively early.

Really lovely evening with good food and atmosphere.

Amazing service and the most friendly cheerful staff. Loved the place. Very dog friendly too providing a water bowl and treat! Definitely returning soon Thank u.

Un ambiente encantador. Bueno y las bebidas estaban bien servidos. El personal de camareros era atento y profesional - uno en particular (alto, oscuro, con cola de caballo) era excepcional. Tuvimos un almuerzo especial y no dudaría en volver.

The staff were absolutely fantastic and pivotal to our lovely night! The food was delightful especially the king prawn bruschetta and pistachio ice cream!! Can’t wait to come back!

lovely restaurant, fantastic service and great food. I would definitely recommend.

We had a delicious dinner here last night. The food was beautifully cooked, the atmosphere was great and the service with Callan was excellent.

Lovely welcome as we came through the door . Beautiful restaurant with plenty of seating spaced well apart. Waiting staff were very attentive. Food was very scrummy , nicely presented and hot! And the bread and dipping oil on the table was a very nice touch. We enjoyed the whole experience and thought Branca was good value for money.

The pastas were dry and didn’t taste good - way overpriced for what it was ! The place looks nice but the food was not good so I won’t be returning.

I do like this place and go regularly, but I'd recommend going after 9/10 in the morning. The cafe opens at 8, but they are still vacuuming and sweeping up the main cafe floor (where customers are sitting) for about 45 minutes. It's loud and chairs are moved around for it. For coffee or breakfast in the morning it's not a great time.

Branca is our favourite restaurant in Oxford. We had another fantastic meal and outstanding service from Francessco and Rob. Everything was perfect. Looking forward to our next visit very soon.

I ordered a red mullet dish (today’s special) and was underwhelmed. Besides that the portion of fish was tiny. Aside from that the rest of the dishes were decent. They give you delicious focaccia when you first sit down.

Lovely birthday lunch for my wife. Excellent service and super food enjoyed by all four of us! Would definitely recommend and we will be back!

The deli salads are daylight robbery! £18 for two small salads. They pack them with the heaviest items to up the weight. Couldn’t believe my ears when I heard £18!!

Great night at Branca's, as always. Very busy when we walked in at 1800, but made no difference to level of service or speed at which the food arrived. Staff lovely and welcoming. Its our go to restaurant in Oxford

Really lovely, went there for my birthday dinner with a group of friends. The ambiance was great and it made it feel really special. Would definitely recommend!

He comido aquí antes y he tenido buenos almuerzos, pero el almuerzo del domingo después de la media maratón de Oxford decepcionante. Hija (corredor) desesperado por los carbohidratos por lo que tenía pizza que era perfecto. Yerno disfrutó de salmonete rojo especial - también bueno. Tenía estofado de pescado que estaba sobredotado de patata y no suficiente pescado. Hubiera preferido nada de patata y solo un trozo de pan. Sentí que esto era caro para lo que era. La mayor decepción fue la comida de los niños - hamburguesa con patatas fritas más bebida £ 15 ! ! ! ! Rigatoni (sin gluten tan solo lingüina) con ragu plus bebida £ 13. 00 … Sé que son excelentes para veganos y vegetarianos, pero califican como muy pobres para los niños y las dietas sin gluten. El servicio fue excelente a pesar de un día muy ocupado.

The cake was lovely but the service was appalling. The young man who serviced me was rude and told us to go elsewhere, when I asked to be seated inside. He then didn’t bring our cakes and tea to the table this was the service provided to all other paying customers. Branca teach your staff manners they cost nothing.

Great restaurant, although I found menu slightly limited

Excellent front of house staff team, really enjoyed the experience.

It was a wonderful lunch for our family gathering. I am grateful that they were able to accommodate my request to change my booking. The food was delicious, and I highly recommend the halloumi salad.

Went to dinner with my dad- we were sat outside because it was so busy but they kindly put on the outside heater and gave us blankets at the table. Our waitresses were top tier: friendly and charismatic as well as having productive and speedy service! The food was delicious - some of the better pizza I've had while here in the UK. Highly recommend the beef and fennel Ragu pasta and the Margherita pizza.

As fabulous as always! Great staff, great service, great food!

We had a tremendous time for our one year anniversary dinner. The free Prosecco to start was a lovely touch. Food was delicious and Faye (our waitress) was first class - very attentive! Have always loved Branca but will be recommending it even more highly now! A top evening.

Really lovely meal. Very tasty and full of flavour. Could have been a bit hotter but didnt impact us at all. We had mushroom risotto, linguine and a margarita pizza. Delicious. Would definitely return.

Always good food but service was amazing... thanks Fay

Another fantastic meal. Branca never fails to deliver excellent food and service

Branca was a fantastic choice. The service was first rate, and the food was delicious. An interesting menu meant we were spoilt for choice. Service was helpful and attentive, but not intrusive and was friendly and professional. The atmosphere was just want you would want from eating out on a Saturday - lively and jolly.

Just been for my birthday lunch. Our server was so lovely and welcoming. Food was great and plenty of it and a lovely atmosphere. I would definitely recommend.

Fantastic service and food. The serving staff always make us feel welcome and are really nice to the kids.

Friday 20th September Our server was Faye, who I think is one of the nicest people I have ever met. She made sure every person at the table was happy with our orders and if something was not on the menu or available, she found a perfect alternative. There are good and fantastic serves, but I think Faye was far superior!! We all had a fabulous evening, which was mainly due to Faye. An enormous thank you to her. The food was also perfect! I had a classic margarita pizza with a sprinkle of cheese (I don't like too much cheese) and they did exactly that and it was delicious! We also ordered another pizza and the Vegan plant based burger which again was fantastic! Ps. It is dog friendly!!!! I hope this is seen by the relevant people and both Faye and the Chef's get the recognition they deserve! Thank you for a lovely evening!